We have reached the beginning of the 14th week of the 2023 Regular Session of the Iowa General Assembly. Today marks the 92nd day of the 110-day scheduled session. Less than 20 days remain until legislative per diems run out on Friday, April 28th.The only policy bills remaining for consideration are those that have been passed by a committee in both chambers.
The one thing the Legislature must get done before they adjourn is passing a Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget. The House ($8.58B) and Senate ($8.49B) are roughly $90 million apart, with the House willing to spend a little more. Both chambers’ overall numbers would spend less than 90% of incoming revenue.
Typically, we ride into the final part of the Legislative session knowing the House and Senate each still have 3 or 4 initiatives they need to get done. This year, while a lot of important policy remains in play, there really isn’t any single big issue that we know they need to complete, especially since it’s the first year of the two-year General Assembly which enables them to push issues to the sideline and take them up next year where they left off.
The one issue that seems to be standing out as one they may try to address is property tax reform. Part of this is seems to be driven as a result of constituents receiving their every-other-year housing value assessments in recent weeks that reflect home value increases caused by Iowa’s hot real estate market over the last few years. In previous issues, we have discussed the existing property tax bills out there for consideration – SF 356 andHF 1. If legislators are serious about trying to find common ground on property tax reform, we anticipate the House and Senate may soon introduce a new bill that has some similar components to those included in SF 356 and HF 1.
The House and Senate have now each passed legislation (SF 228) to cap noneconomic damages in commercial motor vehicle accidents. The House took the most recent action, raising the Senate’s $2 million cap up to $5 million, with inflationary adjustments starting in 2028. The Senate now needs to determine whether they will accept the House’s change.
To review other bills being tracked by Professional Developers of Iowa, go to www.ialobby.com/billtracker/pdi.