The Constituent Connection

The legislative session re-started this week, continuing the work from a couple months ago and with a few new challenges ahead. This session looks much different than it did when we paused. Now, committee meetings are held in the Senate chamber instead of committee rooms to allow for social distancing, and speakers on bills will give comments from the Senate gallery instead of usually coming to the meeting tables. Our clerks that typically come in to help keep us on schedule and organized remain at home, ensuring a limited number of people in the Senate chamber and making sure we can work with distance in between each of our desks.
When the session was suspended, we still had a number of bills to get through a legislative deadline in order to be considered throughout the rest of the year. Now, we are taking that deadline and shortening it into a few days of work, while also debating bills on a wide range of issues.
 This week the Senate had over 20 bills on our schedule for debate, dealing with a wide range of issues. Bill topics ranged from expanding ethanol usage to changing some rules around public construction practices and protecting money in the veterans trust fund. One of the main issues remaining for the session is the passing a state budget for next year.
When we suspended the legislative session in March, there was a lot unknown about how it would affect our state and how it would affect our budget. Recently, we received an updated estimate on how the coronavirus would affect our state’s budget. The estimate for our general fund revenue next year has decreased by $360 million.
For the past several years, Republicans in the legislature have been passing conservative, responsible, and sustainable budgets, working to rein in government spending and using taxpayer money efficiently and effectively. In 2017, one of the very first bills passed in the Senate was to reduce the money already appropriated because the state couldn’t afford it. However, since then, we have gone from having millions of dollars in deficit, to millions of dollars in surplus, putting our state in a good position to face the budget situation ahead of us.
Now is not the time to abandon those principles. Much like Iowa families have had to cut spending as a consequence of the coronavirus, government should also be budgeting cautiously, look at where dollars are really needed, and ensure the most necessary functions of government are funded for the Iowans.
Throughout the last several weeks, even though we were not at the Capitol, we continued our work to ensure when we did come back, we would be ready. While we work on a responsible budget we know the state can afford, we will also be working to make sure the priorities we have been working on since the first day of session make it to the governor’s desk for her signature.
Recently, Iowa Finance Authority announced a new program to help people who have had trouble making rent or mortgage payments as a result of COVID-19. The program, the COVID-19 Iowa Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Program, can provide assistance to renters and homeowners at risk of eviction or foreclosure due to a COVID-19-related loss of income, like job loss or a reduction in hours. For more information on how to apply and questions on eligibility, please visit iowahousingrecovery.com.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns on legislation we are discussing, or have any questions about resources still available for those affected by the coronavirus, please feel free to contact me.
I am the chair of the Administrative Rules Review Committee and vice chair of the Transportation Committee. I also serve on the Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and Business Relations and Ways and Means committees.
Mailing Address: Waylon Brown, 1007 E Grand Ave, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-1001.

Lake Mills Graphic

204 N. Mill Street
Lake Mills, IA 50450

Office Number: (641) 592-4222
Fax Number: (641) 592-6397

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