Greetings from Capitol Hill

On Tuesday, Jan. 13, I had morning coffee with the Governor and fellow Representatives and Senators. We discussed issues like Medicaid, mental health, and education in Iowa and what policies will best help our state. Coffee with the Governor is a way for Representatives and Senators to talk with Kim Reynolds to get an idea of what she is thinking and working on. She has become very knowledgeable about the issues, which makes coffee an informational experience for everyone involved on different viewpoints. The Governor also released a proposal to change our current tax policy. I have not had a chance to study the proposal. I do not like the idea of paying taxes on a tax. What do you think?
Committee Bills:
HSB573 was passed out of the House Education committee. This bill would require students to pass the US Citizenship test at a 60 percent level or greater prior to graduating from high school. Students could begin taking the exam in 7th grade, and could take the exam each year until they pass. Alternative assessment would be provided for special education students or students that have limited English proficiency. I will vote for this when it comes to the House floor.
HF2006:
The House Education committee passed HF2006 on February 14. This bill makes requirements in statute for coaches, state high school athletic unions, and schools in order to protect athletes. CPR training will be required for all coaches to obtain or maintain their coaching ability. Athletic unions will be required to create protocols for post-concussed athletes. Schools will be required to distribute concussion information to parents and obtain signatures in order for students to participate in athletic events. Finally, this bill would provide immunity protection for schools and care providers that follow the protocols laid out in HF2006. I believe that this is a good idea with new data coming out about the effects and severity of concussions. However, we must not force unfunded mandates on ur k-12 education system.
HF2176:
HF2176 was passed out of the House Education committee. This bill requires all licensed school employees to participate in an annual training in suicide prevention for 6-12th grades. It would also train staff in trauma-informed care for grades k-12. I believe that this is a worthy goal even though I do not like putting more responsibilities on our k-12 school systems, but if this initiative could save lives I am all for that.
HSB663:
HSB663 came from the Department of Education and was passed out of the House Education committee. This bill requires that school districts implementing a Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) system have in place an instructional rubric in order to help the program install effectively. School districts that are using the instructional rubric are to report their information and findings to the Department of Education. A rubric is an outline of the various aspects of instruction for a particular course of action.
HSB514:
This bill was passed out of the House Local Government committee. This bill requires that any election take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November that pertains to the issuance of bonds by a county, township, school corporation, city, or any local board. I think this is a good idea and I will vote for this when it comes to the House floor. The bond issue can be repeated once a year in the future as opposed to every six months now.
Funnel Week:
This week is funnel week at the Capitol, which means that if a bill has not passed through at least one committee it will no longer be considered in the future. There has been two hour committee time blocks this week in order to funnel as many bills through committee as possible. Next week will be the start of debates on bills that have been placed on the calendar.