Lawmakers returned to the Statehouse Jan. 11 to begin the 2021 session with issues like business growth and education among their top priorities as the state continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Legislators began the 89th Iowa General Assembly hoping for a return to normalcy after the 2020 session was disrupted by the pandemic. Lawmakers adjourned in mid-March last year and didn’t reconvene until early June, leaving them to scramble to approve a state budget before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

The Business Record spoke with several lawmakers before the session started about what their priorities were and what issues they will be closely watching. Here is some of what they had to say.

 

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver

As leader of the Senate, where Republicans hold a 32-18 edge over Democrats, Whitver, R-Ankeny, said getting people back to work will be a priority this session.

“A year ago we were sitting here with the best economy Iowa has ever had,” he said. “We lost that with COVID, but because of a lot of the changes and improvements we made in the job climate we have been able to withstand that as good as any state in the country.”

Despite that, Whitver said lawmakers realize many industries are still hurting, and that “we need to take a look at and see what we can do, whether it’s tax policy, law changes, regulatory changes to help those industries. …” 

“But overall I think the best thing we can do is continue to get people back to work.”

He said tax reform to make the state more competitive will also be a priority, as will mental health funding.

Whitver also said issues that gained traction but were disrupted by the pandemic last year will see additional focus in 2021. One of those, he said, is the child care cliff effect where someone could lose assistance if they get a raise or promotion at work.

“We were on a pretty decent path to find some solutions and then the pandemic hit, paused the session for 12 weeks, and disrupted a lot of issues we were working on, child care being one of them,” he said. “We did make some changes there, but the child care cliff is, I think first and foremost, one we need to solve.” 

But none of it can be done without a strong budget, Whitver said.

“We don’t know if we’re out of the tough times yet,” he said. “This pandemic has been unpredictable and we have to make sure we’re still in a strong position budget-wise, because everything flows from the budget. You can’t make investments in these priority areas if you don’t have a strong, solid budget.”

Another major priority will be education, with many issues brought to the forefront by the pandemic, he said.

“There’s a lot of issues around education that need to be worked through,” Whitver said. “Those conversations will be the most important conversations.”

Sen. Janet Petersen

Petersen, D-Des Moines, said regulating marijuana for adult use to create a potentially significant revenue stream for the state will likely be an issue that will be heavily discussed in 2021. She said she envisions a structure similar to the regulation of alcohol.

Iowa, she said, is well behind other states on the issue, and the public will have to make its voice heard for it to advance.

“I believe the public is way ahead of most lawmakers on where they stand on the issue,” said Petersen, who supports the decriminalization of marijuna in Iowa. “If Iowans want to see traction on that issue, they are going to have to engage their lawmaker in a conversation to help push that issue along.”

Another issue Petersen said she will push is her proposals to create a Healthy Moms and Healthy Babies Act.

“We are seeing a dangerous uptick in maternal mortality, and since January last year we’ve lost another eight labor and delivery units across our state,” she said. 

Petersen said she will also push bills that would end the sales tax on period products and diapers for babies and adults. The other is ensuring period products are available and free in bathrooms not only in schools but in buildings the state manages.

Much of what she will focus on, Petersen said, will be advancing racial justice and equality in Iowa.

Petersen said workplace safety may also come into focus this session following issues raised during the pandemic, whether it be in schools, hospitals or meatpacking plants.

Another issue that may come up, she said, is updating the state’s unemployment system, which she described as antiquated, to “make it work better for Iowans when they need it.”

“The system needs to be fixed,” she said.

She also supports more funding to make child care more affordable and to improve accessibility. Part of that, Petersen said, is addressing the minimum wage and ensuring families are paid a living wage.

She didn’t specify what that wage should be, but said, “I support getting our state to a point where taxpayers don’t have to subsidize low-wage jobs and low-wage employers.”

Rep. Jennifer Konfrst

Konfrst, D-Des Moines and the minority whip in the House, said Democrats’ priorities will be getting children back to schools safely; helping small businesses reopen or stay open; bringing back jobs; improving child care, housing and health care; and worker safety, especially those working on the front lines of the pandemic.

Those priorities “really aren’t any different than we’ve had before, it’s just now it’s all seen through a COVID lens and a recovery lens,” said Konfrst, whose party is in the minority in the House, where Republicans hold a

59-41 edge.

Konfrst said one of her top priorities will be education.

She said there’s talk about parental choice and when students return to school, letting local districts decide when it’s safe for students to return.

“We all want kids back in school,” she said. “It’s about the parameters for when kids return to school that allows for teachers and staff to be safe, allows kids to be safe, and that happens when we have a clear plan and the ability for local school boards to make those decisions that are best for their communities.”

Konfrst also said lawmakers need to focus on helping small businesses recover from the pandemic with forgivable loans and grants, “especially in hard-hit sectors like restaurants and retail.”

She also said funding mental health services needs to be a priority, along with greater focus on access to mental health care in rural areas.

Another area of focus will be continuing the conversation around racial equity that began last spring, she said.

After passing initial criminal justice reform in 2020, Konfrst said she is reassured that it is still a topic of conversation this year.

“I was afraid that some folks would be like, ‘Great, check, we’re done,’ and that’s not how it works,” she said. “I’m heartened to hear that there’s continued talk and continued interest. This is not something that is going to get done in one session or two sessions.”

Konfrst said the discussion also needs to look beyond criminal justice reforms: “There are a lot of other things we need to do to look at systemic issues, and accept and acknowledge the inequities that exist in society as a whole, and how we can attack it from both sides.”

Rep. Brian Lohse

The Republican from Altoona said finding ways to reduce the tax burden on residents and businesses will be one priority for him this year.

Another area is attracting more workers to Iowa, Lohse said.

“Our focus is going to continue to be how we attract workforce, what sectors do we need to be looking at and just making sure employers have the resources they need to do the jobs they’re doing,” he said. 

Whether it be tax reform, attracting more workers or the continued expansion of broadband, especially in rural areas, much of what lawmakers will focus on will be about stimulating the state’s economy, Lohse said.

One issue he said he will be watching closely is what happens with the state’s bottle bill.

“It’s pretty much dying right now under its own weight,” he said. “Fixing that bottle bill or getting rid of it, there’s a lot of conversation about that and we need something to happen with that this year.”

Lohse said he will also focus on protections for mobile home owners from escalating mobile home park lot rental rates.

He said he hopes a bill that will be introduced this year will provide more parity to mobile home owners under state code.

“Over the years, it’s gotten out of whack, so a bill we’ll be filing, we hope will bring a little more parity to those rights,” Lohse said.

 

Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines

Like the other lawmakers, Gaines, who is in her sixth term in the Iowa House, said much of what will be discussed this session will be looked at through the lens of recovering from COVID-19.

“We are looking at COVID relief primarily,” said Gaines, D-Des Moines. “We want to provide funding for people who face home evictions. We want to give money to people who are owners of small businesses who may be in trouble. We want to provide some structure in education … because a lot of them have fallen into trouble learning virtually.”

She said she believes the state’s $305 billion budget surplus can be tapped to provide relief for those areas, including added mental health services for both children and adults.

But the top issue for lawmakers will be the economy, she said.

“Helping restore small business and getting people back to work, that will be tremendous,” she said. “That will do a lot for the state’s economy.”

Her second priority will be additional funding for summer school programming to help students who have fallen behind during the pandemic. Part of that will be added funding for teacher pay, she said.

“That’s where some of the money needs to go, paying teachers to help our kids,” Gaines said. “We need more money for summer school teacher pay so that more teachers will step up because they will get paid to help our kids during the summer.”