BW INSIGHTS

2020 Legislative Session – Week 5

By BrownWinick | 02.17.2020

Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill last Thursday authorizing $21 million for ongoing flood relief in western Iowa. The Senate bill, SF 2144 initially called for $20 million in spending. But the House amended the measure, adding another $1 million. Both chambers unanimously passed the increased funding. Rep. David Sieck (R-Glenwood) said the... Read More

2020 Legislative Session - Week 4

By BrownWinick | 02.17.2020

Flood relief funding was a major focus for the Senate last week, with the full chamber passing a $20 million appropriation to fund those efforts. Damage estimates from last spring’s Missouri River floods range from $1.5 billion to $2 billion. Sen. Mark Costello’s (R-Imogene) district includes some of the flooded area. In a floor speech, he said... Read More

2020 Legislative Session - Week 3

By BrownWinick | 01.31.2020

House and Senate Republicans introduced their school funding proposals for the coming year. The House bill, HSB 587 would allocate $100 million for K-12 education—a 2.5% increase from last year. That’s slightly below the $103 million Governor Kim Reynolds called for in her Condition of the State address. The Senate measure, SSB 3096, would... Read More

2020 Legislative Session - Week 2

By BrownWinick | 01.24.2020

With subcommittee and committee work underway, moves to regulate vaping products are gaining steam on both sides of the aisle. In response to a new federal law raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21 years old, Iowa lawmakers are working toward codifying the change at the state level. Senate State Government... Read More

2020 Legislative Session-Week 1

By BrownWinick | 01.17.2020

The first week of the 2020 Iowa legislative sessionstarted Monday with the swearing-in of a new House Republican leadership team. Rep. Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) was officially named Speaker of the House, while Rep. Matt Windschitl (R-Missouri Valley) was sworn in as Majority Leader. Grassley listed workforce-related issues as his top concerns,... Read More

A New Definition Under the Federal Freedom of Information Act

By BrownWinick | 07.09.2019

Article written by BrownWinick 2019 Summer Associate, Mariah Kauder, and BrownWinick attorney, James White What qualifies as confidential? These days it might seem as if very little information truly remains private. However, when it comes to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has actually expanded the... Read More

Post Session Report 2019

By BrownWinick | 06.11.2019

Iowa lawmakers debated numerous policy proposals during the 2019 legislative session. Legalizing sports betting; establishing Iowa’s first children’s mental health system; restoring felon voting rights; and instituting work requirements for Medicaid recipients were just a few of the many issues debated at the Capitol. The Iowa House introduced... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 14

By BrownWinick | 04.22.2019

House and Senate Republicans have reached an agreement on the budget for next fiscal year (FY20). Under the joint plan, the state will spend $7.64 billion from the general fund. That’s a 0.2 percent increase from last year. Although lawmakers can legally spend 99 percent of ongoing revenues, the GOP proposal uses just north of 97 percent.... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 13

By BrownWinick | 04.12.2019

House and Senate Republicans are continuing to hash-out next year’s budget (FY20), but have yet to agree on the final figures. Those so-called “joint budget targets” lay out how much both chambers are willing to spend on big-ticket appropriations, like education, economic development, and health and human services. In the absence of joint targets,... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 12

By BrownWinick | 04.05.2019

Lawmakers raced bills through committee this week, scrambling to beat the second legislative “Funnel.” Most policy measures that didn’t pass out of the House or Senate, and a full committee in the opposite chamber by Friday are dead for the remainder of session. Tax, spending, government oversight, and leadership bills are largely exempt from this... Read More