Capitol Highlights Week 10

Greetings from Capitol Hill:

Education:
HF 546 SAVE Extension and Modifications— This bill makes some modifications to the uses of SAVE (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education) dollars, the distribution of the Property Tax Equity Relief (PTER) fund, and extends the sunset on the statewide penny that funds SAVE by 20 years. It provides for significantly more property tax relief and sets up a fund to help districts establish Career Academies.
HF 420-Financial Literacy Implementation— Amends language passed last year by the legislature regarding financial literacy. The legislation last year required all students pass a half-unit of financial literacy as a condition of graduation. It was effective immediately. This bill delays implementation, applying it to next year’s incoming freshman class. It is eligible for House Floor debate.

Agriculture: Protecting Iowa Agriculture
Agriculture is the backbone of Iowa’s economy. More importantly, Iowa’s agriculture industry doesn’t just consist of crop farmers and livestock producers. This wide-ranging industry includes small businesses, manufacturers, and financial services.
Due to an all-encompassing nature of the agriculture sector, it is critical that we do all we can to protect it from hostile individuals, organizations, and other countries who wish to cause significant harm. Any attack on Iowa’s agriculture sector could damage our economy, threaten thousands of jobs, and shut down family farms.
These threats are what made Senate File 519 necessary, which was passed and signed into law this last week. This legislation will protect Iowa’s agriculture industry from foreign agents or extreme environmental activists who wish to do harm. It specifically would penalize an individual that uses deception to gain access to agriculture production facilities with the intent to cause physical or economic harm.
Iowa is  a national leader in agricultural production and we have already witnessed many of these threats first hand.
House Republicans will always make Iowa’s farmers and agriculture industry a priority while fighting back attempts to harm a  critical piece of our state, culture, and economy.

Restoring Second Amendment Freedoms:
Last week the Iowa House took the first step to ensure Iowans’ Second Amendment freedoms are enshrined in the state Constitution for future generations. House Republicans believe it is long overdue that Iowa joins the other 44 states with this language in the Constitution. The proposed amendment is simple and easy to understand. It reads:
“The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.”
This amendment recognizes that Iowans have a fundamental, individual right to protect themselves, their families, and their liberty. It requires that the highest level of judicial review be applied to any government restriction on that right, just like other fundamental rights.
Contrary to Democrat arguments, this amendment would not nullify existing firearms laws that are already on the books.
Ultimately, Iowa voters will have the final say on the topic.

Ensuring a Reliable, Efficient Power Grid
Iowans understand the importance of investing in infrastructure. Iowans also understand that the people who use infrastructure should help pay for it. However, Iowa consumers who generate electricity using solar technology are utilizing the power grid but not paying for it’s costs.
That cost is passed onto every other consumer without solar. HF 669 would update how rate-regulated utilities bill for grid costs so that every consumer who benefits from the grid would help pay for it. HF 669 is a simple concept - Those who use the electric grid should also help maintain the grid.
What doesn’t HF 669 do?
• It doesn’t create a new tax on solar energy.
• It doesn’t force customers who already have private generation to installed to pay anything additional.
• It doesn’t charge a fee to install solar panels.
• It doesn’t end net-metering.
• It doesn’t change or eliminate any sort of solar/renewable energy incentives.
• It doesn’t hurt the growth of solar industry or other renewable energies.
This is a simple, common sense bill that is about basic fairness.
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