We're quickly approaching the end of the 2024 Legislative Session, with only days left until the scheduled conclusion on April 16th, the 100th Session Day. Come that day, legislators will lose both their per diems and their clerks. Despite the unlikelihood of wrapping up on Tuesday, there's considerable pressure to expedite proceedings, which gives us a decent chance of them wrapping up business within the next two weeks.

In the past two weeks, the House has seen a slowdown in legislative activity, passing only 31 bills. In contrast, the Senate has doubled that, passing 71 bills during the same period. Part of this stems from the House passing a higher number of bills over to the Senate last month, many of which died in the Second Funnel. They are simply running out of policy bills as the focus shifts to the budget and taxes.

As we get closer to adjournment, focus remains on finalizing the FY 2025 budget and agreeing on a tax bill (or not agreeing on one and deciding to let the surplus grow until a bigger tax bill can be passed next year). The Senate has made significant progress by sending all of their budget bills to the floor for debate, and the House has been slower about rolling out their budget bills. Both chambers and the Governor still need to confer among themselves to nail down identical numbers they can agree on.

Confirmations

Last week, the Senate undertook confirmation proceedings for the Governor's appointees to lead state agencies and serve on state boards and commissions. While most appointees received bipartisan support, contentious party-line votes marked confirmations for Douglas Hoisington, Catherine Lucas, and McKenzie Snow. 

Senate confirmations require an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Senate, or 34 Senators voting Yea. At the end of the day, since Republicans control the Senate 34-16, the majority party has the votes needed to pass any confirmation without support from the minority party.

Retirements

The announcement of 16 legislators not seeking reelection has prompted the semi-annual tradition of retirement speeches. These speeches offer a moment for those who are leaving the legislature to reflect on their time in office, express gratitude towards their leadership, acknowledge their colleagues past and present, and describe their hopes for Iowa's future.

FY 2025 Budget Taking Shape

While the House, Senate and Governor make a decision about whether to push a late tax bill through this session, the House and Senate are advancing their own version of the 10 budget bills they will need to pass before adjournment to enact the FY 2025 budget. 

In past years, each chamber has started 5 of the appropriations bills each, and they would swap those assignments in the 2nd year of the 2-year General Assembly. Over the last couple of years, as one party has controlled both chambers and the Governor’s Office, that practice has been much more informal. This year, the Senate has 9 of the 10 budget bills through committee and ready for debate, while the House has several of them IN committee but only one ready for debate. None of the House and Senate bills are identical yet, so negotiations will be intense over the days ahead.  

For those of you wanting to dig into the budget documents, our fabulous intern Chloe has put together a budget bill tracker that shows spreadsheet (if available), non-partisan fiscal staff write-ups called a “NOBA” (if available), and the links to the budget bills, along with their status. We will be updating this as the bills move forward. It’s never too late though to weigh in with legislators in support or opposition to programs in which you have an interest.    

Priorities We Continue to Push:

Assuming the Senate takes final action on the MEGA sites bill (SF 574) in the near future, here are four other legislative initiatives that PDI believes would be very beneficial to Iowa’s economic development efforts.  We urge you to talk with your legislators about these bills.

• Land Redevelopment Trusts
  • Legislation SF 182 and HF 2246 to allow for the creation of land redevelopment trusts that would give communities a tool for addressing dilapidated areas. SF 182 is ready for debate in the Senate while HF 2246 is in the House Ways & Means Committee. More info about the bill HERE.
• Infrastructure Revolving Fund
  • Legislation (SF 2413, formerly SF 2133) to create an Infrastructure Revolving Fund for vertical infrastructure projects is ready for debate by the full Senate. The proposal does not have a House companion bill. This bill could provide a way for communities to cover infrastructure costs encountered developing housing projects.
• Workforce Housing Cap Increase
  • Legislation (HF 2420) to increase the overall cap on the Workforce Housing Tax Credit (WHTC) program from $35 million to $50 million, as well as the rural setaside from $17.5 million to $25 million, is awaiting consideration by the House Ways & Means Committee. This proposal does not have a Senate companion bill.
• Rural Economic Development Tax Credit
  • Legislation (HF 2674, formerly HSB 722) aimed at encouraging investment into new or expanding businesses in Iowa's 88 smallest counties was passed nearly unanimously by the House and was passed by a Senate subcommittee this week. It now awaits consideration by the full Senate Ways & Means Committee. If you have a story of losing a project due to a cash shortage, tell that story! More info about the bill HERE and HERE.