Here’s a rundown of what happened this week at the Iowa Legislature as lawmakers wrap up the fourth week of the 2022 session.

• The Senate Ways and Means Subcommittee on Thursday passed Senate Study Bill 3074, which is the Senate Republicans’ tax reform plan. The proposal would establish a 3.6% flat individual income tax rate, phased in over five years, and phase down corporate taxes to 5.3% for the first $100,000. Income above that would be taxed at 7.8%. The plan also would eliminate all taxes on retirement income, and restructure the Taxpayer Relief Fund into a Income Tax Elimination Fund, redirecting excess revenue collected by the state to reduce individual income, beginning in 2029 after the 3.6% flat income tax rate is implemented. Senate Study Bill 3074 would also eliminate local option sales tax and increase the state sales tax by 1 cent to fund the Iowa Water and Land Legacy Fund, with 3/8ths of a penny for IWILL initiatives.

• Democrats in the House and Senate unveiled their own tax plan Thursday. That proposal would lower income tax rates for the middle class and expand Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits. The plan would increase the credit for anyone making less than $90,000 a year, and remove the cliff effect on the tax credit. The Democrats’ plan would also double the Earned Income Tax Credit from 15% to 30% of the federal credit.

• The House Labor Subcommittee passed House Study Bill 631, which would reduce the benefit period for unemployment compensation from 26 weeks to 16 weeks. It also includes a one-week waiting period before benefits could be collected. The bill also proposes caps on jury verdicts for medical tort claims and on claims against commercial trucking operators. In medical claims the cap would be $250,000 unless a jury determines there is substantial or permanent loss, impairment, disfigurement or death. Then the cap would be set at $1 million. In cases against commercial vehicle operators, the cap would be $1 million for noneconomic damages for personal injury or death.

• The House on Wednesday passed House File 2128. The bill would require all existing gas stations with compatible infrastructure to offer E15 blend fuels from at least one pump by 2026, including sites that only need minor upgrades that could be funded by the Iowa Renewable Fuels Infrastructure grant program. Gas stations that open after Jan. 1, 2023, would have to offer E-15 blend fuel from at least 50% of their pumps. The bill also contains several reforms to biodiesel tax credits to boost access to B20 biodiesel blend and to put more money in the state’s Road Use Tax Fund.

• Democrats introduced their school spending plan, calling for a 5% increase in state supplemental aid for a $300 million investment in Iowa’s public schools. The proposal includes provisions for reducing class size, raising pay for teachers, and funding new textbooks and mental health services.