The Legislature adjourned for the year early Wednesday.
Thank you to all who spoke up with your concerns and ideas throughout session. You made a difference by keeping many bad ideas from becoming law. You said “no” to:
- Private school vouchers that shift money from public schools to private schools (SF 2369)
- Letting politicians dictate classroom discussions (HF 2053), and threatening educators with jail (SF 2364)
- Setting up new barriers to vote by mail (HF 2526/SF 2343)
- Putting monetary value on lives forever impacted by medical malpractice (SF 2275)
Together, we also achieved some bipartisan successes that will put more money in Iowans’ pocketbooks by:
- Expanding opportunities for farmers and rural Iowa through increased hemp production (HF 2380), reducing our reliance on foreign oil (HF 2128), and expanding meat and poultry production (SF 2245)
- Investing in our homegrown energy future with the Iowa Energy Center (SF 2325)
- Promoting Iowa food products by through the “Choose Iowa” program (HF 2581)
- Cutting bureaucratic red tape for restaurant and bar owners (SF 2374)
- Making more students eligible for college and job training scholarships (HF 2165)
- Exempting diapers and feminine hygiene products from sales tax (SF 2367)
Sadly, Republican politicians in the House, Senate and Governor’s office have ignored real solutions to our state’s workforce crisis, instead treating workers as the enemy. There are fewer Iowans working today than when Gov. Reynolds took office, even as the U.S. has added more than 10 million new jobs.
GOP initiatives that have set Iowa back over the last couple years include:
- Using one-time federal money to support the state budget, while giving billions to big corporations and special interests (HF 2317)
- Cutting earned unemployment benefits for Iowans struggling to find a good job (HF 2355)
- Worsening Iowa’s child care crisis by lowering standards at child care facilities (HF 2198), and increasing the financial burden for the poorest families (HF 2127)
- Continuing the attack on public educations by raising class sizes and pushing teachers out of the profession (HF 2316), while increasing tuition at state universities and community colleges (HF 2575)
- Making it easier for out-of-state landlords to raise rent, increase fees and evict folks from their mobile homes (HF 2562), at a time when Iowans are already struggling to find safe, affordable housing.
Iowa’s future can be brighter than our past when we all do better. It’ll take a comprehensive approach that gives folks of all ages and backgrounds every reason to make Iowa their home by:
- Investing in our local public schools so that every student gets the opportunity to prepare for the college or career that’s right for them.
- Supporting workers’ rights and helping small businesses that respect and reward hard work in every field.
- Approving a balanced state budget that fully funds critical needs throughout the state—including affordable child care, access to health care, strong emergency services and public safety.
Below you’ll find a list of more highlights and disappointments from the 2022 session.
Download the 2022 End-of-session checklist.
EOS-CheckList-22.docx