Rep. Gassman update

Greetings from Capitol Hill:
Introduced Bills:
This week I have worked with fellow representatives to create two transportation bills, as well as, refile last year’s parent-taught driver’s education bill. The first transportation bill that has been drafted pertains to giving economic relief to schools that have high transportation costs. This way, smaller schools that need help financially for student transportation can receive the funds they need. The other bill in transportation that I have created gives public schools the option to transport private and parochial students to their schools. I decided to refile last year’s parent-taught driver’s education bill because it would lower costs for families and lower governmental oversight in driver’s education. Both the transportation and the driver’s education bill are in an early stage. My hope is that these bills can move swiftly through their respective subcommittees and committees in order to reach the floor for a vote.
Committee Bills:
This week the House has begun to assign bills to their respective committees, which are then divided into subcommittees in order to discuss them. I have been assigned to serve on one developing bill already coming out of the Local Government committee.
HSB 525:
HSB 525 is a bill that deals with civil asset forfeiture. It protects innocent individuals who have been forced to forfeit property in order for investigations to take place. With this bill, I would like citizens to be entitled to their property after they have been proven innocent of any criminal nature.
Going Forward:
One goal of mine is to reduce the odor of hog confinements in order to help create a friendlier atmosphere between hog confinement farmers/owners and neighbors. In order to do this I reached out to a professional at Iowa State University who has done research on the best options to reduce odor, how to lower gases and dust particles in the atmosphere, and the cost to implement respective solutions. My goal is to prevent unnecessary legislation revising where hog confinements can be built. I believe that odor control is the first step we should take in order to prevent fellow representatives from making legislation against hog confinements.
Thank you to everyone in the 7th District for allowing me to serve you at our Capitol. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely, Rep. Tedd Gassman

Rep. Gassman is on the Economic Growth, Environmental Protection, Education, and Local Government Committees, and serves as the Vice Chair of the Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee. His district includes Emmet County, Winnebago County, and the northern parts of Kossuth County, including Algona. You can contact him at tedd.gassman@legis.iowa.gov.