BW INSIGHTS

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Three

By BrownWinick | 01.29.2024

Capitol Update General Assembly Update. The third week of session was hectic with 176 subcommittee meetings scheduled. We expect this pace to continue as the first major funnel is fast approaching. By February 16, all bills must be voted out of the Committee of origin. That means the bill must be filed, subcommittee assigned, passed subcommittee,... Read More

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Two

By BrownWinick | 01.22.2024

Capitol Update The second week of session picked up speed following Monday’s caucus events. On Wednesday the first “floor work” for the session was conducted. Both the House and Senate passed resolutions, SR 102 and HR 102, to recognize the term “brain health” as a term that may be used synonymously with the terms mental health, mental illness and... Read More

Government Relations Legislative Update - Week One

By BrownWinick | 01.16.2024

Capitol Update Iowa lawmakers returned to Des Moines on Monday to convene the second legislative session of the 90th General Assembly.  General Assemblies run in two-year cycles.  The second session is the shorter of the two, with the goal of sine die by April 16 this year.  Bills that were declared “dead” in the first session (2023) may be... Read More

December 13, 2023 REC Summary

By BrownWinick | 12.15.2023

The Revenue Estimating Conference (“REC”) comprised of a three-member panel (Kraig Paulsen, David Underwood, and Jennifer Acton) met Wednesday (12.13.23) as part of their standard schedule of meetings to estimate future state revenues. A summary of the information discussed during the meeting is below, along with the linked spreadsheet distributed... Read More

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE - 10-12-2023

By BrownWinick | 10.16.2023

The Revenue Estimating Conference (“REC”), comprised of a three-member panel (Kraig Paulsen, David Underwood, and Jennifer Acton), met Thursday (10/12/23) as part of its standard schedule of meetings to estimate future state revenues. A summary of the information discussed during the meeting is below, along with the linked spreadsheet distributed... Read More

Iowa Workforce Development Expands Registered Apprenticeship Programs

By Hannah C. Welch | 06.19.2023

Governor Reynolds continues to work towards creating new and expanding current opportunities for apprenticeships throughout the state. At the beginning of the 2023 Legislative Session, Governor Reynolds gave her Condition of the State address where she announced new funding that would be focused on growing Iowa’s Registered Apprenticeship (RA)... Read More

Government Relations Update - 05-04-2023

By BrownWinick | 05.04.2023

The 2023 Iowa Legislature adjourned sine die Thursday afternoon, capping a 116-day session. The final gavel fell at 12:04 PM in the Senate and at 12:33 PM in the House. The final week of session concluded with the passage of a few remaining policy bills, including property tax reform (HF 718). Governor Reynolds plans to sign the property tax... Read More

2023 Iowa Legislative Session - Week 16 Summary

By BrownWinick | 05.01.2023

The 110th day of the legislative session has come and gone with no adjournment. Conjecture is adjournment “sine die” will likely occur sometime next week. The House has issued a lengthy debate calendar for next Monday May 1 - signaling the House’s intent to finish. The Senate debated each day this week and passed 44 bills. This despite the fact... Read More

2023 Iowa Legislative Session - Week 15 Summary

By BrownWinick | 04.21.2023

The Senate continued its confirmation of the Governor’s appointees this week. Erik Helland, a lawyer and former Republican state representative, was confirmed as the new Chairperson of the Iowa Utilities Board. Sarah Martz, the engineering director of utilities at Iowa State University was confirmed as a new Iowa Utilities Board member. The IUB... Read More

2023 Iowa Legislative Session - Week 14 Summary

By BrownWinick | 04.14.2023

This week, the Senate focused on advancing a number of the Governor’s appointees through Committees, including: appointees to the Iowa Autism Council, the Department of Education Director, and appointees to the Iowa Higher Education Loan Authority through the Education Committee; appointees to the Board of Veterinary Medicine Board through the... Read More