Week eight and the First Funnel

By Rep. Jon Dunwell

So where are we in the legislative process? Week Eight has come to an end and with it, the First Funnel. For a bill to still be considered, it must have passed through a committee. The exceptions are Ways and Means & Appropriation Bills.

A few things to keep in mind.

1) Just because a bill passed through a committee doesn’t mean it will get to the House Floor.

2) There are many bills that proceed out of committee with the expressed intent of generating greater discussion and further improvements.

3) Bills will change. As more time passes and members beyond the committee begin to look at the narrowed list, amendments (changes) will be proposed. And in many cases, the bill will be adapted.

4) Just because a member voted for a bill to get through a committee doesn’t mean they will vote for it on the House floor. Why? As stated above, they may have moved it through committee to see if time and more effort could improve the bill. Or they may have voted the bill through committee to get the perspective of the rest of the caucus (their party’s representatives).

5) Even if a bill gets placed on the Debate Calendar by the Majority Leader, there is no guarantee it will be debated. Before any bill makes it to the House Floor, the caucus (for me, all the House Republicans) will debate it behind closed doors to determine if it should be adapted, brought to the House Floor for debate, or die.

Everything in the Iowa House involves process and teamwork. The process of moving through a subcommittee, full committee, to the caucus, and then to the House Floor (and then doing the same thing with the Senate), allows the bill to be touched by many hands and reviewed/adapted by an ever-growing diverse group of people. And no bill moves forward without the support of 51 House members, 26 Senators, and the Governor. It takes a lot of agreement and working together to get things done. Around 85-87 percent of our bills pass with strong bi-partisan support. You probably find that surprising.

Over the next few weeks, our legislative days will be filled with committee meetings reviewing the bills sent over from the Senate and debating the bills we’ve determined should make it to the House Floor. And before you know it, April 4 and the Second Funnel will be here. For any bill to be considered, it will need to have passed one of the Chambers.

Let’s keep the discussion going!