Helland: House Works Hard to Continue Progress on Key Issues

From ErikHelland.com

Last week I filed my papers to run for my third term as a State Representative.  My district will be Johnston, Grimes, Jefferson Township, and portion of Urbandale.  It has been an honor to represent the hard working taxpayers of Northern Polk County.  I am looking forward to continuing the fight to balance the budget, control spending, and reduce taxes and regulations.  I want to make sure that Iowa is a great place not only to run a business, but also to raise a family and run a business.

The House is hard at work as we continue to make progress on legislation important to everyday Iowans.  I wanted to give you an update on a few key issues.

Much of the attention last week centered on Education reform. The House and the Governor worked together to compromise on a bill that will raise teacher standards, provide more options for parents, and return more control to local school boards. It’s one of my top priorities to ensure that Iowa students get a world class education. We took an important step by returning more control to local communities and giving parents more options for their child’s education. Perhaps one of the most important parts of the bill is granting schools greater home rule authority. This puts more options in the hands of parents and takes the power away from bureaucracy.

A highly controversial issue in the minds of many voters is red light cameras. While the bill has slowed down it is alive and eligible for debate next week.  I appreciate constituents on both sides of the issue and their input.  This issue has received more attention this year from voters than any other bill we have worked on, and I am grateful for voters who take the time to let me know what they think.

The House Ways and Means passed a sales tax credit for students in college to purchase textbooks. With exploding student debt, this is a small step to help future professionals achieve their education without running up massive loans.

When meeting with employers all over Iowa, a common theme was burdensome regulation preventing the hiring of more Iowans. To address this, the House this week passed a rules overhaul to help reign in bureaucracies and give all Iowans greater control over their government.

I look forward to meeting with constituents and hearing their opinions.  Please feel free to visit me at the Capitol.  If you can’t make it you can always email me at erik.helland@legis.state.ia.us or call me at (515) 986-1030.