Week 4 Legislative Recap - February 1 - 5

It was another busy week at the State Capitol, with the House and Senate concentrated on moving more bills out of committee this week. The Governor's policy issues continued to move forward, including diversity and education bills.  

Childcare was a top focus, with two bills moving out of the Economic Growth Committee. The Governor emphasized her interest in childcare in her Condition of the State Address last month. The Governor also announced Michael Bousselt as the new director of the Department of Management, effective today, to replace David Roederer, who is retiring. Bousselot previously served as chief of staff, legal counsel and as a policy advisor in the Branstad-Reynolds administration.  

There was action for renewable energy last week on HF 221, an extension of the state's solar tax credit, which passed out of subcommittee on Jan. 29. Read the energy recap below for information on what's next, as well as a look at the status of other energy related bills.

Water program staff participated in a subcommittee hearing on the Forest and Fruit Trees tax exemption on Monday. Read more about the subcommittee vote and what IEC is discussing with partners on this bill, as well as other action on water and land bills IEC is tracking

 

Energy Program Activity

We were excited to see a bill to expand Iowa's state solar tax credit advance last week with bipartisan support. HF 221 passed out of the House Ways and Means subcommittee with unanimous (3-0) support. The bill will head to the full committee next, though no date for that vote has been announced at this time.

The energy program is also closely watching a set of bills introduced last week that would prohibit county supervisors and city council members from managing energy resources in their communities. HSB 166 and SSB 1126 would stop cities and counties from taking any action that would "restrict, impede, regulate, or prohibit" the use of natural gas or propane. These bills essentially create a carve-out for a product we import from Oklahoma and Texas, handing over decision-making power about infrastructure investments to the monopoly gas utilities who are looking to guarantee a future market for this uneconomical and polluting fuel source. Iowa is rich in renewable energy resources — we should not be adopting protections for dirty, expensive imports.

Electricity costs continue to decline while offering a clean, versatile, and locally-produced fuel source while many communities in Iowa actually face constraints on their access to natural gas because of limited pipeline capacity that is too expensive to expand. If communities cannot invest in electrification nor access natural gas, they are hamstrung in their ability to develop housing or attract new businesses and industry. These bills are moving quickly in the House and Senate Commerce committees, and IEC will educate legislators to battle against this policy that is a bad fit for Iowa.

 
 

Water Program Activity

IEC continues to track the growing number of land and water-related bills making their way through the Capitol. In addition to registering on bills, IEC also works with partners and legislators to improve bills by suggesting language changes. Last week we offered an amendment to add natural infrastructure considerations to HSB 56, which deals with county authority to implement flood mitigation.

Another bill of note is SF 112, which would modify various provisions of the forest and fruit tree property tax exemption program. The Water Program and our partners will be working with legislators to improve the bill language to continue to incentivize planting and protecting trees while reducing misuse of the program. The tradeoffs in bill illustrate why it is important to regularly meet and discuss proposed legislation with partner and member organizations and work toward consensus when possible.

While we're busy at the Iowa statehouse, we are also engaged in some federal legislation. We are working with our partners at the Mississippi River Network to build support for the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (MRRRI). Based on the highly successful Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, MRRRI directs EPA to work with federal, tribal, state and local entities to improve the health of the Mississippi’s water and ecosystems, increase its resilience to natural disasters, and more. MRRRI would establish a grant program, bringing environmental dollars to all 10 states along the river, and NPOs, tribes, and government bodies can apply. Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) is leading the call for a bill to be introduced in 2021, and organizations in states from the headwaters to the Gulf are working together to create a dedicated federal fund to restore the Mississippi River. Stay tuned in the coming months to track our work and progress on MRRRI.

 

Legislative Dates of Interest

 

2/09 - IFU Discussion with Rep. Cindy Axne
2/25 - IEC's Environmental Advocacy Day (virtual)
3/05 - First funnel
3/26 - IEC's March Legislative Lunch
4/02 - Second funnel

Take a look at an updated list of forums happening across Iowa this week.

 

Legislative News of Interest: 

 
 
 
 
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iecmail@iaenvironment.org
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