In a change from the past few weeks which were booked with subcommittee and committee meetings, my calendar last week was instead booked with floor debate. This was where many of the bills we’ve focused on in committee meetings were brought in front of the full Senate, moving one step closer to becoming law as they head to the House of Representatives.

Floor Debate

The Senate ultimately passed about thirty bills this week, varying in topic from emergency medical services to statutes of limitations to gift card fraud and commercial driver’s license requirements (just to name a few!). There was one bill the Senate debated on Monday, however, that I was particularly passionate about: Senate File 75, the county supervisor bill. As a refresher, SF 75 requires counties that are home to the main campus of a Regent university to elect county supervisors using districts instead of an at-large vote. These counties must also fill vacancies on their boards of supervisors by special election.

This bill recognizes that Iowans, especially those in rural Iowa, deserve to have a voice—and their voices should not be overpowered by students who only reside seasonally in Iowa. Permanent residents deserve to have the opportunity to speak just as loudly as their seasonal counterparts, especially when it comes to county policy, and as the floor manager for SF 75 during debate this week, I was able to share these same sentiments with all of my colleagues in the Senate chamber. The bill ultimately passed the Senate 35-12 on Monday and will now move to the House of Representatives—one step closer to Governor Reynolds’s desk.

Property Tax Reform

At the end of last week, Senate Republicans released the next step in reforming property taxes in Iowa: Senate Study Bill 1208. The proposal, deemed to be the biggest overhaul to the property tax system since the 1970s, follows the lead of House File 718, which was the major property tax reform the legislature passed in 2023. SSB 1208 builds on the successes of HF 718 and is estimated to provide a $426 million cut in property taxes for homeowners, businesses, and farmers by limiting how much counties, cities, and schools can raise taxes every year. In addition, the bill provides a $25,000 homestead benefit, lowers the uniform levy to $2.97, delivers additional relief for Iowa’s veterans and senior citizens, and phases out the “rollback system” for residential, commercial, and industrial property over five years while lowering levy rates. This legislation makes it affordable for homeowners to continue to call Iowa home by moving to a simpler and fairer tax system.

Day in the District

Last week’s Day in the District revolved around a common theme: home building. Representatives Hora and Lawler joined me to tour Student Built House, which is a home building project that various local students actively participate in. We toured the house the students are currently building, and I was extremely impressed with the work these students have completed. I want to commend the students, as well as their teachers, for being involved in and utilizing home building programs in schools to create houses like these in their communities.

Following Student Built House, we went to the Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association to discuss current issues in the home building industry. Right of First Refusal (ROFR) and the impact ROFR has had on competition within the home building industry were big topics of discussion, as were how a lack of competition has led to major economic inefficiencies in this industry: homes are being built, but they cannot be sold or moved into because of significant delays in installing utilities. These delays in turn cost home builders thousands of dollars, and these increased costs then drive up market prices when homes are ready to sell. The ripple effect is staggering. We spent a good amount of time discussing legislative changes that could be made to help with these issues, and I appreciated the time and thought the HBA members put into our discussion.

This week looks to be another busy week of debate, so if you have any questions regarding certain pieces of legislation that are being debated, please reach out to me. It is an honor to represent District 46!