Rep. Peter Cownie: Reach Consensus on Key Priorities Soon to Avoid Another June Adjournment

By Rep. Peter Cownie
The Legislature is two months into the 2012 legislative session and I thought it would be constructive to give an update on the session in general. What are the main themes? What are the top priorities? What will this session be remembered for? And what do I hope this session is remembered for?

What is the most important thing the Legislature can do this session to improve business conditions?

The central themes of the 2012 session are property taxes, education reform, mental health reform, and the budget. Simply put, all are still live rounds and none have been signed into law. I don’t think anyone would have predicted these bills would be law at this point, but nonetheless, progress is being made.

The Iowa House passed property tax relief that lowers the valuation of commercial property from 100 percent to 60 percent over an eight-year period. The state also makes up any lost revenue for our schools and local government up to $848 million over that time. The Iowa Senate has not passed a property tax proposal this session.

Education reform has passed the House Education Committee. I predict it will be passed off the floor of the House soon. At this time, I do not have an inclination for its future in the Iowa Senate. A majority of legislators and the governor believe K-12 education in Iowa needs to be reformed, though consensus has not been reached at this point.

Mental health reform is a work in progress. Good people on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate are working on this problem. The goal is to have a more efficient, reliable, and up-to-date program for some of Iowa’s most vulnerable citizens. The current system is

The House, Senate and the governor have all submitted budgets with the lowest being the House at $6.059 billion. The governor is next at $6.24 billion and the Senate is highest at $6.33 billion. Budget bills are starting to make their way through the process.

I think everyone realizes consensus needs to be reached soon as to avoid a situation similar to 2011 with session lasting until June. We simply do not know what that final number will be and similar to last year, the budget will most likely be the last issue debated this year.

I started the 2012 session with high hopes and I still believe we will end the session leaving Iowa better than we found it. I am hopeful meaningful property tax relief will be passed, education reform enacted, mental health reform signed into law and a responsible budget passed that does not spend more than the state takes in while still adequately funding Iowans priorities.