On Thursday, October 21, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) delivered its second redistricting plan, including the second set of maps, to the Iowa legislature....more
The Legislative Services Agency (LSA) delivered its second redistricting plan, including the second set of maps, to the legislature at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, October 21. A short time later the maps were released for the public...more
Today, October 5, 2021, the Iowa Senate rejected the first Legislative and Congressional District Plan. The plan, SF620, failed to pass 18-32, thus triggering the need for the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) to prepare a...more
On Thursday, September 16, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) delivered its first Proposed Redistricting Plan Report, to the Iowa legislature. The U.S. Census Bureau determined the total resident population of Iowa as of...more
At 10:00 a.m. Thursday, September 16, the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) delivered its first Proposed Redistricting Plan Report, including the first set of maps, to the legislature....more
Special Iowa Legislative Session -
Governor Reynolds signed a proclamation today, September 14, 2021, declaring a special legislative session to convene on Tuesday, October 5, 2021. The purpose of this special session...more
Two and a half weeks beyond the 110th calendar day of the session, the 2021 session of the 89th General Assembly of Iowa adjourned sine die just before midnight on Wednesday, May 19. Originally slated to end April 30,...more
5/24/2021
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Housing ,
Broadband ,
Child Tax Credit ,
Concealed Weapons ,
Diversity ,
Employee's Childcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Renewable Fuel ,
Social Media ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Education Departments ,
State Elections ,
State Legislatures ,
Tax Reform ,
Vaccine Passports
Officially into overtime, week 17 ended with many negotiations left to be had. Rank and file legislators were not called into the Capitol on Monday (5/3) or Tuesday (5/4) as there was no floor work or committee blocks...more
The 110th day of the legislative session is two weeks from today. Debate is now limited to: bills passed by both chambers, Appropriations bills, Ways and Means bills, Government Oversight bills, Administrative Rules Review...more
Budgets and floor debate dominated week 13. Most of the work was packed into Tuesday, April 6, and Wednesday, April 7, with short sessions at the beginning and end of the week....more
4/12/2021
/ Appropriation ,
Broadband ,
Constitutional Amendment ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Property Tax ,
Redistricting ,
State and Local Government ,
State Budgets ,
State Constitutions ,
State Legislatures ,
Tax Reform
The eleventh week brought a steady bustle around the Capitol as we head into the next important legislative deadline, the second and final funnel ends on Friday, April 2. In order for bills to continue to be considered by the...more
With two weeks until the second funnel, week 10 was dominated by extended floor debates on big-ticket Republican priorities.
..Rental Vouchers (SF252) prohibits local ordinances that require landlords to accept federal...more
3/22/2021
/ Background Checks ,
Censorship ,
Governor Reynolds ,
Gun Laws ,
Housing Choice Vouchers ,
Inheritance Tax ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Schools ,
Rental Property ,
Social Media ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
As this was the first funnel week of the 2021 legislative session, both chambers focused their efforts on committee work. Despite already passing a massive number of bills through committee in the first seven weeks of the...more
Week 5 at the Iowa legislature brought a lot of action both in committee and in each chamber. Dozens of bills passed out of House and Senate committees each day this week, which is a much faster pace than any recent session. ...more
Both chambers gaveled in for the third week of the legislative session, despite a massive snowstorm that dumped historic levels of snow across most of Iowa and the Des Moines metro.
While the emphasis this week was...more
The 2021 session of the 89th General Assembly began today, Monday, January 11.
The Makeup of the 89th General Assembly -
Republicans maintain their majority in both chambers. House Republicans picked up six seats in...more
Legislators returned to the Capitol Wednesday, June 3, to resume the 2020 session after being paused due to COVID-19 for 11 weeks. The session is expected to adjourn sine die for 2020 on Friday, June 12....more
On Wednesday, May 13, the Iowa House Republicans issued a press release, stating the intention of the legislature to resume the 2020 legislative session at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3. The Legislative Council will...more
This week saw more Governors easing restrictions on economic activity in their states as confidence grows that adequate resources have been marshaled by the government and health care systems to be able to respond to a surge...more
This week, as states around the country began slowly re-opening, the federal guidelines were allowed to expire signaling a shift in focus from quarantine to containment. The second round of Paycheck Protection Program funding...more
Federal Update -
This week, Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law H.R. 266, the interim coronavirus response package (known as Phase 3.5). The bill includes...more
With the Senate failing to reach agreement on additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), they have adjourned for the week planning to continue negotiations throughout the weekend. Majority Leader McConnell...more
Multiple financial assistance and relief programs are now available to help Iowa small businesses in light of the COVID-19 pandemic:
SBA loans, announced by Governor Reynolds on March 21. The U.S. Small Business...more
The Iowa Legislature met Monday, March 16 in a one-day session to officially “pause” the session for 30-days and address several funding issues.
Emergency Measures passed both chambers unanimously; the Governor signed...more
Candidate Filing Deadline -
Next Friday, March 13, is the filing deadline for the June primary. This is a critical deadline to watch because we will know the field of candidates (other than write-in) for all the...more