The second week of the 2014 legislative session was short in terms of days spent at the Capitol, but it was a long week in terms of activity and trying to beat deadlines. With the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday and the Iowa Caucuses on Tuesday, legislative business didn’t get underway until Wednesday. However, it seemed like many of us were still cramming a week’s worth of activity into just a couple of days.
With a shortened calendar this session and legislative leaders already predicting a sooner-than-normal adjournment and with “funnel week” just around the corner, many legislators were busy putting the finishing touches on bills and making sure they were ready to go.
The next major deadline coming will be February 21, the first “funnel” date. The Iowa Legislature has self-imposed deadlines (or “funnels”) for legislation moving through the system.
In order for bills to stay alive during this legislative session, they must be voted out of the full committee that they were assigned to by Feb. 21. Of course, there are exceptions, such as tax and spending bills which are considered “funnel-proof.” This past week, I filed several pieces of legislation designed to root out inefficiencies in state government and also ensure that reporting intended to foster transparency and accountability in government are actually making good on their promises to deliver accurate, dependable, comprehensive, and user-friendly data.
Oftentimes we see overlap and redundancy in the various divisions, bureaus, and offices of state government. This is not only costly to you, the taxpayer, but it also hinders the effective delivery of services to those Iowans that are dependent upon these state functions.
It only seems reasonable that we would look for ways to realign our various agencies, based on function, so that we can reduce much of the unnecessary bureaucratic overhead that typically encumbers so much of government.
In the coming days, I will be filing a bill that would amend the joint rules of the House and Senate, requiring a bill that passes one chamber by a ¾ majority vote to automatically be considered and voted on by the other chamber. I believe this rule change is long overdue.
Currently, there are numerous bills which have passed the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support, many receiving more than 75 votes. Unfortunately, the Senate leadership chooses to ignore these overwhelmingly bipartisan House bills to serve their vested political interests.
In my opinion, this is an egregious disservice to the people of Iowa. Even if there are not enough votes to pass the bill in the Senate, Iowans still deserve a recorded vote; especially when the House can muster such strong bipartisan backing.
One individual should not be allowed to suppress legislation that receives such a wide margin of support (in some cases more than 90 votes) in the other chamber.
Please feel free to contact me with your issues or concerns as they arise. You may do so either by phone (515-281-3221), e-mail ([ mailto:greg.heartsill@legis.iowa.gov ]greg.heartsill@legis.iowa.gov), or when visiting the Capitol. I appreciate and welcome your comments and feedback. Also, if you would like to subscribe to my weekly e-newsletter, please send a quick note via email and I’ll put you on the list.
I am honored to be your representative in the Iowa Legislature. Until next time, God bless!