Rep. Brian Best (Iowa House District 12)

Week Eight News

Update to the AEA legislation:
The bill had many changes.

1. It keeps Special Ed. services under AEA.  Schools cannot opt out of Special Ed.
2. It creates a task force made up of key stake holders.
3. Gives schools control on how to use media services and educational services money.
4. Education Chiefs are required to have a Special Ed. Endorsement.
5. Gives the task force until 12/31/2024 to make recommendations to the Iowa Legislature.
6. It does not terminate AEA employees.
7. AEA went from opposed on the bill to neutral.

When I spoke on this issue, I didn’t believe that the bill could change enough to gain my support.  Now with the changes made I believe it strives to look at how we can improve the education experience for our kids, without causing damage to the AEA system.

The three biggest factors that made me change my mind.

1. The task force will be made up of parties truly affected, including teachers, administrators, and parents.
2. The Education committee met with AEAs and because of the input, AEAs switched to neutral instead of opposed.
3. No actual changes take place until after the task force reports back to the legislature.

I will be watching carefully to see if the Senate makes changes.  I will oppose any changes that I feel will damage AEAs ability to help our rural schools.

HF 2594: Deterring Smash and Grab mobs

• We’ve seen an increase in retail theft both nationally and here in Iowa.
• Smash and grab mobs have taken over cities, not just on the coasts, but here in the Midwest as well. We do not want to see these violent mobs make their way to Iowa.
• HF 2594 establishes the crime of organized retail theft and lays out a tiered system of punishment depending on the value of the stolen goods.
• This will not only punish those who commit this crime, but it should act as a deterrent for this trend and prevent it from becoming prevalent in Iowa the way it has in other states.
• This bill passed unanimously through the Iowa House.

House File 2483/Senate File 2483: Foreign Farmland Ownership

• This bill strengthens Iowa’s already strong and comprehensive laws protecting Iowa’s precious farmland from foreign entities.
• Chinese nationals are buying farmland near military bases, attempting to steal our intellectual properties and livestock practices and it must end.
• This bill amends current registration requirements for nonresident owners of agricultural land to include birthplace, nationality, the purpose of the business, information of the daily supervisor of the land, and the information of the owner’s company and parent companies.
• It increases the financial penalty for failing to register or falsifying information from $2,000 to 25% of the land’s assessed value.
• It also empowers the Attorney General to investigate these reports and requires an annual report to the governor and Legislature of these reports.
• Iowans across all 99 counties have expressed the need for tougher foreign ownership laws and we delivered.

Already Filed Your Iowa Tax Return? Where is your Refund?
If you are ahead of the game and have already filed your Iowa return, you can use the “Where’s My Refund” to check on its status. Simply go to https://tax.iowa.gov/wheres-my-refund. You will need to use the same information used on your return: Social Security Number, Tax Year, and Refund Amount.

The information in this web portal is updated in real-time and is the same if you call Taxpayer Services. When your return is processed, you will see the date your refund was issued. The anticipated time frame for refund processing is 30 days. The Department issues $825.0 million in individual income tax refunds per calendar year. Most are issued before the end of May.

There are various things that can delay a return’s processing. A few examples are mailing a paper return, not choosing direct deposit, having errors on a return, missing documentation, and returns identified for additional review. Iowa returns are due April 30^th.

Representative Brian Best

Week Seven News

Iowa Rated Best State to Drive In
This may come as a surprise to some, but a national website has rated Iowa as the best state to drive in.
The survey, by the website WalletHub, looks at 31 different indicators in four categories to determine its rankings of the best and worst states to drive in.  The website compared the fifty states for:

• Cost of Vehicle Ownership and Maintenance
• Traffic & Infrastructure
• Safety
• Access to Vehicles and Maintenance.

Among those categories, Iowa ranked 5^th for the cost of car ownership and maintenance, 6^th for traffic and infrastructure, 30^th in safety, and 18^th for access to vehicles and maintenance.  Here is the link to the WalletHub report:  https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-drive-in/43012

These rankings placed Iowa as the leader of WalletHub’s rankings, ahead of Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Alabama.  Hawaii has distinction of being rated as the worst state to drive in, with Washington, Delaware, West Virginia and California also residing in the bottom five.

What was WalletHub’s explanation for putting Iowa atop the list?  “Iowa is the best state to drive in, due in part to the fact that it’s a rural state and has one of the lowest rush-hour traffic congestion rates in the country.  Less than a quarter of urban interstates in Iowa experience congestion during peak hours.  In addition, Iowa drivers tend to have short commutes, at less than 20 minutes on average.

Iowa residents also can save a lot of money on their vehicle expenses, given that Iowa is in the top 10 states when it comes to low gas prices and car insurance rates.  Plus, the Hawkeye state has one of the lowest rates of vehicle theft and larceny, so residents can feel safe and secure.”

Highlights from the Education Committee:
These bills came about as an effort in the Iowa House to make sure that students understand the American political system and World History better than what they know now. With the rise of Antisemitism, we thought this was an appropriate addition to education.

1. House File 2545/House File 2329—School Standards Review

Directs the Department to conduct a comprehensive review of the graduation requirements, core curriculum, core content standards, and education standards. Public comment and input from stakeholders will be considered. The director shall convene committees that contain members of the GA that serve in an ex officio capacity.

1. House File 2457/House File 2197—Holocaust Education

Requires school districts to provide Holocaust education in middle school and high school.

Highlights from the Commerce Committee:
We passed two bills out of the Commerce committee that deal with unfair practices by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM’s). They say that unethical practices by PBM’s threaten small rural pharmacies.

1. HF 2401 – Pharmacy Benefit Managers – This bill prohibits discrimination by PBMs against pharmacies, requires profits from spread-pricing to go back to the employer/insurer, and requires an appeals process for pharmacies that are unable to acquire drugs at the reimbursement rate from the PBM.
2. HF 2099 – PBM bill from Insurance Division – This bill comes from the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services regarding Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). This bill expands the PBM’s duty of good faith and fair dealing to pharmacies, prohibits retaliation against pharmacies that comply with the law, and cleans up reporting requirements.

Small Farm and Beginning Farmer Webinars
On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach issued a press release announcing a series of webinars dealing with small farm and beginning farmers and invited interested parties to participate in the Small Farm & Beginning Farmer series, designed exclusively for beginning farmers and small acreage owners.  Hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach in Muscatine County, this series is a combination of informative webinars and hands-on, in-person events.  It is tailored to provide essential insight and practical advice for those venturing into farming or seeking to enhance their small-scale agricultural operations.  Each session, led by industry experts and seasoned professionals, covers critical topics relevant to the challenges and opportunities of small-scale farming.

The series continues through December.  Other topics include manure management for small farms, sheep and goat management, orchards and commercial vegetable production, and private well stewardship.  Each webinar delves deep into pertinent aspects of farm management.

All webinars start at 6 p.m. and are offered through Zoom.  Dates and topics are as follows:

• March 7: Small-Scale Poultry Management
• April 11: Manure Management for Small Farms
• May 9: Sheep and Goat Management: Starting Your Flock
• June 13: Maximizing Pasture Potential: Multispecies Grazing Strategies
• Aug. 29: Sheep and Goat Breeding Management: Maximizing Your Flock’s Potential
• Sept. 12: Working with an Ag Lender
• Oct. 10: Private Well Stewardship for Well Owners
• Nov. 14: Small Orchard Management
• Dec. 12: Getting Started in Commercial Vegetable Production

Registration is open to all and is free.  Participants can register for each session at– https://go.iastate.edu/FH5MHR.

Representative Brian Best

Week Six News

Education Update

• The House has been engaging in conversations with the AEAs, teachers’ union, superintendents, and parents to develop bills to improve special education outcomes and increase teacher pay.
• This week, we have introduced three bills as a result of these in-depth discussions. One on AEA reform, one on increasing teacher pay, and one on a 3% SSA increase.
• These bills are not set in stone and discussions are ongoing. However, these will be the bills we work off of next week after the funnel deadline.

HSB 714: Increasing Teacher Pay

• We have taken feedback from the teachers’ union, superintendents and more as we crafted this legislation to responsibly raise teacher pay.
• Our bill increases the minimum teacher salary from the current amount of $33,500 to $47,500 beginning next year, and then bumps it up again to $50,000 the following year.
• This bill also increases the minimum wage for education support staff to $15/hour.
• Our teachers are doing essential, important work. We want our teachers to receive the compensation they deserve and incentivize more people to enter the profession.
• While some may say this bill may not directly address veteran teachers, our plan includes additional TSS money and increasing State Supplemental Aid by 3%, both of which would give schools additional money to spend on teacher salaries how they see fit.

HSB 713: Improving Special Education Outcomes

• While the Governor’s original AEA reform proposal has not passed committee, we have continued discussions with stakeholders to draft our own legislation to improve outcomes.
• The goal of our bill is to improve special education outcomes. We believe it does this by providing accountability over the AEA’s services, creating a task force to review the current system and look for areas for improvement, and giving more flexibility to the school districts on how to spend their money.
• A couple important things to note that are different about our bill from the original proposal you may have heard about previously:
  • The goal of our bill is for there to be no disruption to special education services.
  • This bill does not terminate any employees of the AEA’s.
  • This bill does not prohibit the AEAs ability to perform any of the services they do now.

Governor Reynolds Extends Harvest Proclamation
Governor Kim Reynolds has once again extended her annual proclamation waiving the limit of loads hauling commodities and products linked to the harvest.

The extended proclamation will now run through February 23, 2024. It allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage, stover, fertilizer (dry, liquid, and gas), and manure (dry and liquid) to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit for the duration of this proclamation.

This proclamation applies to loads being transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system).  The proclamation applies to those loads which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table in Iowa Code § 321.463 (6) (a) and (b), by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.

State Government Approves Bill on First Responders
Last week the State Government Committee passed a monumental piece of legislation to further protect the first responders across Iowa who protect and rescue Iowans every day. House File 2183 (now House File 2482) was reported out of State Government Committee unanimously. The bill, as amended by the Committee, changes Iowa Code to ensure that all types of cancer are covered for Iowa’s firefighters. Currently there are only 14 types of cancer that are covered under the presumption that it was contracted while on active duty as a result of the job. There are over 200 types of diagnosable cancers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, cancer is the leading cause of death among firefighters.  Research shows that due to the carcinogenic materials and the significantly greater exposure to chemicals, gases, vapors, and particles that firefighters are 9% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than the general population and 14% higher risk of dying of cancer than the general population. If enacted this legislation would provide coverage to all cancers and alleviate concern when a firefighter gets a life altering diagnoses that they have to wonder if their cancer treatment will be covered.

House File 2183 will move to the House floor for the consideration of the full legislative body. House Republicans have over the past several legislative sessions strongly supported legislative efforts in the House to provide expanded coverage for firefighters’ pension funds.

Representative Brian Best

Week Five News

Week Four News

Week Four News

DNR–Iowa State Parks and Forests Seek Seasonal Employees for Summer 2024
On Tuesday, January 30, 2024, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a press release announcing that the DNR Parks, Forests and Preserves Bureau has openings for recreational aides and seasonal patrol officers across the state park system for the summer 2024 season.  Jobs duties include assisting park staff in patrolling the park, helping visitors, leading programs, registering campers, and/or maintaining the park through duties such as mowing, trimming, cleaning, trail work and facility repairs.  Interested applicants should have skills in general maintenance, ability to work on a team or with minimal supervision and have strong customer relations skills.  If you enjoy spending time outdoors in Iowa’s most scenic natural areas, consider applying for a seasonal position.  For more details and how to apply, visit www.iowadnr.gov/Employment

Polling Suggests Americans Oppose DEI Agenda
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, or DEI, have recently come under fire at universities. America’s New Majority Project describes itself as an organization that “creates and shares trustworthy opinion research and strategic messaging guidance.” Some of their recent polling concerns DEI related topics at universities.

According to ANMP, “A large majority (88%) of Americans believe universities should focus on teaching students to think for themselves and job preparation, rather than promote social activism.”

“43% of voters say that university professors and administrators are more liberal than the average American. Fewer than 2-in-10 say they are more moderate or conservative.”

63% agree with the statement, “Discrimination and racism are bad, but they are not the cause of all disparities in American society.”

61% believe “university professors and administrators are trying to push their own beliefs on students instead of teaching them to think for themselves.

Minor’s Driving Privileges Coming into Focus in the Transportation Committee
Changing how Iowa allows underage drivers to go to school and to work is about to take centerstage in the House Transportation Committee, as work begins on a bill that implements recommendations from the fall’s interim committee.
During the last session, several bills were filed to update, expand, or change the school driving permit process.  The work was spread out over several committees, with different solutions being brought forward.  When consensus was not found during the 2023 session, the issue was moved to the interim period.

Last fall, a six-member interim committee on minor driving privileges convened to meet with experts from inside state government and the insurance industry.  And over two meetings, several changes were discussed as the panel worked their way towards a bipartisan agreement.

The committee’s recommendations change the school permit and the farm work permit into essentially one permit – the special minor’s driving license.  Under this, a student, who not 16 years old but has completed driver’s education, could get a permit that would allow them to drive in certain circumstances:

• To and from school.
• To and from extracurricular activities they are participating in.
• To and from their work.
• And to and from a service station.

A student with this license would be limited in how far they could drive, which would be 25 miles and must be the most direct route.  The driving would have to take place one hour before or after these events.  The 25-mile limit would be a change from the current farm work permit.  That currently allows a student to drive up to 50 miles one way, and to drive at any time between 5 AM and 10 PM.

The biggest change is allowing these students to drive to a non-farm job too.  Currently that is not allowed under the current school permit.  But there are conditions that would have to be met before this would be allowed.  The parent or guardian of the student would have to submit written consent to the Department of Transportation before they could start driving to work.

Another change would be who could qualify for the new license.  Current law prevents students who live within one mile of their school from getting a school permit.  That exclusion is removed by the committee’s recommendations.  Current law also limits a student to one residence to travel to and from.  The committee’s recommendations now allow a student to have 3 residences, which would have to be consented to by the parent or guardian.  And the new license allows students to travel through a contiguous school district to attend their school, if they are using open enrollment.  They would still have to be within 25 miles of their residence.

The interim committee’s work has been put together in House Study Bill 612 in the Transportation Committee.  Subcommittee work on the bill began this week, with consideration by the full committee expected before the funnel deadline of February 15.

HF 2240 and HF 2241: Addressing AI Pornography

• This week The House Judiciary committee acted on bills to address the issue of pornography created through artificial intelligence.
• The first bill, now HF 2240, ensures a person can be charged with harassment if they share AI-generated pornography without the permission of the person it is created to look like.
  • Violation of this law is harassment in the first degree and is an aggressive misdemeanor, punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine of at least $855 but not more than $8,540.
• The second bill, now HF 2049, addresses AI-generated porn related to minors. This bill makes it a felony to create or possess an AI-generated pornographic content of a minor.
• As technology has advanced, this is unfortunately an update to code that needs to be made to protect Iowans. With these bills, we can ensure that there is no loophole in the law that would allow someone who commits this disturbing offense to avoid proper punishment.

Update on AEAs

• This week, Iowa House Republicans held a subcommittee on the Governor’s AEA proposal. In the end, the subcommittee decided not to advance the bill to the full committee, citing the need for more conversations on the matter.
• It has become clear that after taking feedback from Iowans, there is not support in the House to move this bill forward in its current form.
• We will continue to work with stakeholders and get feedback from Iowans to ensure that anything we pass in the House will truly help improve special education in our state.

Week Three News

Commerce Committee Advances PBM Legislation
Recently, the House Commerce Committee unanimously passed House File 2099.  The bill comes from the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services regarding Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).

PBMs are generally the middlemen between health insurers and drug manufacturers, who process prescription medication claims on behalf of the insurer or employer. In 2022, the Legislature brought PBM oversight under the Department of Insurance and this bill comes based on a year and a half of industry regulation. The bill expands PBM’s duty of good faith and fair dealing to pharmacies and prohibits retaliation against pharmacies that file complaints against PBMs. The bill now is able to be considered on the House Floor.

Bill to Penalize Political Candidates
This week the House State Government Committee reported legislation to provide and strengthen enforcement of Iowa’s Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board penalties.  Outstanding fees assessed by the board go as far back as the 1990s and total over $27,000. Decades of non-enforcement of these fees has sent the wrong message to candidates and potential candidates that there is no need to be held responsible for these penalties.

House File 638 as amended by the State Government Committee would amend code so that notices are sent via certified mail to the candidates if fines not paid within 30 days. After 60 days of the penalty being delinquent the Board shall assess a late fee once a month. If the penalty exceeds $250 and is more than 60 days delinquent the Board shall issue notice to the Iowa Department of Transportation, if the person is issued an Iowa driver’s license, for the suspension of their driver’s license until the debt is no longer delinquent. If a person does not have an Iowa driver’s license, their ability to operate as a political candidate or on a political committee is revoked until the debt is no longer delinquent. The bill will continue through the legislative process to the House floor for consideration by the full House.

Higher Costs Continue to Impact DOT Budget
Costs impacting the Department of Transportation remain at elevated levels, forcing the agency to spend even more on equipment replacement costs and road construction materials. The Department and Governor Reynolds are proposing to spend $452.9 million on DOT operations and facility improvements in Fiscal Year 2025.  This is a slight reduction of $1.8 million from the current fiscal year’s spending level of $454.7 million.  But the reduction is in the cost of replacing DOT facilities, while operational costs are actually climbing.

Fiscal Year 2024 saw the DOT replacing a series of buildings at its Davenport operations center.  This project cost $21.9 million, and now has been completed. For Fiscal Year 2025, the Department is proposing to replace the maintenance garages in Albia and Jefferson.  The combined cost of these two new garages is budgeted to be $14.3 million.  The reduction in costs from the previous year’s capital project will be needed to cover another hike for replacing the Department’s equipment.

The DOT is replacing vehicles and equipment on a 12-year schedule.  And for the second straight year, the replacement cost has taken a big jump.  As an example, the Department said the cost of replacing a truck purchased in 2011 for $137,000 had risen to $211,000 last year.  That is 62 percent increase over 12 years.   The budget line item for equipment replacement in Fiscal Year 2025 has risen by another $5.8 million, with the total cost of this year’s new equipment coming in at $38.1 million.  The cost of new equipment is not the only issue facing DOT when it comes to maintaining its vehicle fleet.  They are also having supply chain issues, as replacement vehicles are becoming harder to find.  This will not help the efforts to contain the costs of new equipment.

Retirement Income Exclusion Rules Effective on Valentine’s Day
The Department’s rules to implement the retirement exclusion enacted in Division VI of House File 2317 (2022) will be adopted and effective on February 14, 2024. By way of reminder for tax years prior to 2023, a taxpayer who was disabled, at least 55, or who was the surviving spouse of a qualifying taxpayer, could exclude a maximum of $6,000 of requirement income from individual income tax. House File 2317 excluded all retirement income from individual income tax beginning with tax year 2023.

This rulemaking is intended to implement the statutory change to the retirement income exclusion from a partial to a full exclusion for qualifying taxpayers receiving distributions from qualifying plans. This rulemaking identifies certain plans that do and do not qualify for the exclusion as well as defining how survivors with an insurable interest may qualify for the exclusion. It also updates what items of income are and are not required to be added back to Iowa taxable income to determine whether a taxpayer has a filing requirement, including eliminating excluded retirement income from the required add backs. Finally, this rulemaking updates rules related to withholding to implement the full exclusion for retirement income described above. The text of the rules can be found at https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/aco/arc/7502C.pdf

Expanding Child Support
HF 2103 requires child support to apply while the child is still in the womb. This would mean a father’s obligation to pay child support would begin as soon as the mother is pregnant, not when the child is born.

There are a lot of costs that occur during the pregnancy. From doctor’s appointments to the supplies new parents must have ready for when the child is born. Right now, child support laws imply only the mother must bear the responsibility for those costs. This bill ensures that fathers are held accountable as well. This bill is scheduled for a subcommittee next week.

Week Two News

Social Media Use Leads to Poor Mental Health Among Teens and Negatively Impacts Learning

According to a survey released by Gallup on October 13, 2023, the average U.S. teen uses social media 4.8 hours per day.  Girls use social media roughly one hour more than boys per day.  Teens favorite platforms are YouTube and TikTok with Instagram a distant third in popularity.

According to Gallup, “Amid declining teen mental health, many scholars such as social psychologist Jonathan Haidt have carefully investigated the role of social media, given the explosion in time spent using such applications. Studies have pointed out how technology companies manipulate users into spending more time on the apps through their designs.”

Mental health isn’t the only concern.  The proliferation of cell phone use during school also impacts learning.  Teens are easily distracted and exquisitely sensitive to peer judgement.  Results from a decade of observational research have now repeatedly shown a negative relationship between device use and life satisfaction, happiness, school attention, information retention, in-class note-taking, task-switching, and student achievement.

On Jan. 11, Daniel Buck of the Fordham Institute wrote, “The evidence in support of stricter policies is mounting. Several studies have confirmed that limiting phone usage during class increases performance on both standardized test scores and end-of-course exams. The gains were equivalent to an additional hour of instructional time per week. Restricting phone use outside class time also shows benefits. For example, when schools place limitations on them during recess, researchers found that students exercise far more, burning off energy, fostering physical health, and promoting later attention in class.”

House HHS Committee Hears Presentation on Mental Health

This week, the House Health and Human Services Committee heard a presentation from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services on recent updates in mental health in the state.  In the presentation, DHHS announced that there will be legislation this session to establish a new Behavioral Health Services System. The Committee looks forward to reviewing the legislation when it comes out and seeing how the state can move the system forward to provide services equally to all corners of the state.

The Legislature continues to prioritize expanding access to mental health. Below is a list of bills that passed just last year and were signed by the Governor:

• Mental Health Rate Increase – The HHS budget (SF561) provides $13 million in increased state funding towards mental health and substance abuse Medicaid rates. In total with federal funding, this is over $35 million increase to ensure that the state can recruit and retain mental health providers to care for Iowans in need. These increases came based on a Medicaid rate review that compared Iowa’s mental health rates to surrounding states and to Medicare.
• Medical Malpractice – House File 161 limits the total amount of noneconomic damages for a medical malpractice claim at $2 million for causes of action involving a hospital, and at $1 million for all other causes of action.
• Rural Emergency Hospitals – Senate File 75 establishes licensure in Iowa for Rural Emergency Hospitals. Federal law created this designation in 2020, and has allowed this new hospital designation to begin January 1, 2023. This bill also requires ambulatory surgical centers to be licensed in Iowa.
• Mental Health Non-Competes – House File 93 prohibits noncompete agreements with mental health providers, allowing the provider to stay with their patient.
• Psychologist Prescribing – House File 183 removes the requirement that a psychologist complete certain requirements within 5 years of being issued a conditional prescription certificate. This bill also changes that the physician supervising does not need to be board-certified in specific specialties.
• Psychiatrist Public Fellowship – House File 274 revises the state-funded psychiatry residency program that was established last session, to include two fellowship positions. The program will annually graduate 9 psychiatry residents and 2 psychiatry fellows.
• Physician Assistants – House File 424 repeals requirements that physician assistants practice under the supervision of a physician, and instead requires collaboration, including psychiatric PAs.
• Commitment Hearings – House File 466 allows health care providers who have examined a patient involved in a substance abuse or mental health commitment to testify by video. Current law only allows for telephone testimony.

• Mental Health and Disability Services – House File 471 comes from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to specialize the Independence Mental Health Institute to behaviorally complex youth and the Cherokee MHI to acute and forensic adults, makes changes to the Regional MHDS Governing Board makeup, and adds competency-based restoration to the core service domains of the MHDS Regions.

You Can’t “Yada Yada” Road Safety Anymore

MORE COWBELL, LESS PHONE.  That was the message displayed by the Iowa DOT last summer urging Iowans to put the cell phone down and pay attention when driving.  That was the message on signs that sit above Iowa’s interstates in urban areas of Iowa.  These types of messages were used to interject some humor in our lives and to remind Iowans to drive safely.  The Federal Highway Administration says that humorous signs like these must go, beginning in 2025.  Their reason, is that the inventive slogans “might be misunderstood or understood by a limited segment of road users.”

This is another example of a Federal Government bureaucracy using its self-proclaimed, superior knowledge to tell us what is acceptable, and to tell Iowans that we aren’t smart enough to understand a serious message if humor is interjected. States have two years to get the fun out of their system and start using unimaginative and possible undecipherable safety message signs along federally funded roadways. Until then, motorists will crack a smile when they roll through Des Moines in August and see: CAMP AT THE STATE FAIR. NOT IN THE LEFT LANE.  Thank God for Big Brother looking after us!

Representative Brian Best

Week One News

January 16, 2024

Governor Releases FY 2025 DOT Budget Proposal
As part of the release of her Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal, Governor Reynolds also released her plan for spending at the Department of Transportation out of the Road Use Tax Fund.

There were two major increases in the operational part of the Department’s budget for Fiscal Year 2025.  The Governor proposed $5.8 million increases for both the Highway Operations and the Department’s budget for equipment replacement and inventory.  DOT has seen significant cost increases when it comes to purchasing equipment, and this continues in Fiscal Year 2025.  Maintenance of DOT facilities would also see a bump, as both major maintenance and routine maintenance would be increased in the new fiscal year.

Fiscal Year 2025 is a new map year, and the DOT budget reflects that with an appropriation of $195,000 for the printing of new transportation maps. Two major facility projects are funded in the FY 2025 budget.  Both the Albia and Jefferson garages are renovated and updated.  The Albia garage project is budgeted for $7.3 million, while the Jefferson garage gets $7 million.

In addition to the RUTF funding, the Governor also included a number of DOT items in the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund.  Under her FY 2025 RIIF budget, the Governor restores two line-items to their pre-2024 funding levels.  The Railroad Revolving Loan fund goes back to a $2 million appropriation, up from the $500,000 level agreed to in the FY 2024 budget.  The other program being restored is the Public Transit Infrastructure Grant fund, which returns to its previous level of $1.5 million under the Governor’s budget.  In FY 2024, this was funded at $1 million.  The Governor’s RIIF budget does not include a second year of funding for the Commercial Air Service Terminal grant program.

Governor Reynolds Proposes Additional Income Tax Cut
The 2022 plan, as passed,  has scheduled to lower Iowans’ income tax to a flat 3.9% on January 1, 2026.  Smart budgeting practices have put the state budget in position to support adjustments to that plan. The Governor proposes to accelerate the current tax cut to January 1, 2024 and reduce the flat rate to 3.65%.  Then on January 1, 2025 another round of income tax cuts would take effect lowering the flat rate to 3.5%.

She also has a plan to simplify and lower the unemployment tax employers pay. The Unemployment Trust Fund is at an all-time high of $1.8 billion.  That amount is more than enough to meet short-term needs of Iowans out of work.  As a result, the Governor is planning to reduce the unemployment tax by about 40% allowing businesses to keep and invest their money.

Finally, the Governor has a plan to reduce property taxes for Child Care providers.  She creates a subcategory of commercial property for child care centers allowing them to be taxes at lower rates.

Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Applications Open for 2024
The Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program application information is now available on Iowa Finance Authority’s website. The program provides an Iowa tax credit for agricultural asset owners to lease their land, equipment, and/or buildings to beginning farmers. Applicants to the program must be a resident of Iowa 18 years of age and have a net worth of no more than $833,000. Applicants must have sufficient education, training, or experience for the anticipated farm operations and have access to adequate working capital, equipment, and other items that are necessary to operate the farm.

In the program, a lease must be for a minimum of two years but no more than five years, and must include land. For cash rent leases, the tax credit equals 5% of the cash rent. The cash rent cannot be more than 30% above the average cash rent for the county according to the most recent ISU cropland survey. For crop share leases, the tax credit is 15%.  Applications for the program are processed on first-come/first-completed basis and will be accepted until August 1, or until all the tax credit allocation has been awarded – whichever comes first. More information can be found at https://www.iowafinance.com/beginning-farming-programs/

Governor Reynolds Lays Out Work Based Learning Plan for Students
In 2018, Governor Reynolds signed the Future Ready Iowa Act, launching a workforce policy initiative to ensure 70 percent of Iowans attained training or education beyond high school by 2025.

Thanks to the state’s strategic investments in scholarship programs for certificates or degrees leading to high-demand jobs, registered apprenticeship programs, child care, and more, Iowa has achieved its goal two years ahead of schedule. Now the Governor is shifting focus to recruiting the next generation of Iowa’s workforce—and that starts in the schools.

Work-based learning (WBL) experiences introduce young Iowans to the possibilities that await them in a dynamic economy and the various paths they can take to get there.

• Reinvest $30 million in already-existing funds to create the new Workforce Opportunity Fund for sustaining critical WBL programs
• Allow students to earn core credit for competency based WBL programs and define “WBL” in code to ensure consistent training.
• Refocus the Last Dollar Scholar program to reward WBL experience and high demand career paths.
• Update student teaching requirements to allow classroom time accrued by Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship participants to count toward their hours.

Iowa Spends $1 Billion on Mental Health, Study Finds Parent-Child Relationship Top Determinant of Youth Mental Health
Late last year, the non-partisan Institute for Family Studies along with Gallup published a report on adolescent mental health.  The topic has gained more intense interest in Iowa in the wake of the tragic shooting at Perry High School.

Overall, the study found that the most important determinant of youth mental health is the parent-child relationship. Remarkably, the study also found U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which is charged with documenting mental health problems, completely ignores the parent-child relationship in its analysis and recommendations.  Instead, the CDC focuses on diagnosis and access to mental health services.  In Iowa, over $1 billion was spent towards mental health services between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association issued a joint statement in 2021advocating for more taxpayer spending on the services they provide.

$1 billion in taxpayer money is already being spent on mental health diagnosis and access in Iowa.  It is fair to ask how Iowa youth are being treated and what they are being taught when they access mental health services.

Teacher Salaries
The Governor also announced details of her proposal to raise teacher pay. Her proposal would increase starting pay for teachers by 50% to $50,000. It would also set a minimum salary of $62,000 for teachers with at least 12 years of experience. This change would require a $96 million investment from the Legislature. The Governor also announced a $10 million merit-based grant program that will allow districts to reward teachers who have gone above and beyond. In the first year, this would be a pilot program funded from American Rescue Plan dollars.

Boards and Commissions
Last session we effectively reduced the size of state government to make it more efficient. This session, the Governor is proposing additional alignment in the government’s board and commissions. Her proposal, based off a comprehensive review, would eliminate 111 redundant or obsolete boards. This is the first time in the state’s history that we have reviewed our boards and commissions.

This is a very big bill that is still working it’s way through the legislative process. The Iowa House will be taking input from Iowans and learning more about these changes to ensure we are making government run most efficiently and effectively.

Representative Brian Best