Democrats and Republicans disagree about success of session

A legislative deadline passed on Thursday. Bills had to get the approval of a House or Senate Committee, or the legislation’s died for the year. A bill to name the “black squirrel” the official Iowa animal died, but many bills remain “alive” such as legislation that would make hospitals “safe haven” drop-off sites for moms who don’t want their newborns. House Democrat Leader Dick Myers of Iowa City isn’t giving any stars to republicans who control the legislature’s agenda. He likens it to what he calls the “Seinfeld” session — it’s “much ado about nothing.”Senate Democrat Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says the G-O-P’s made things like the “English as the official language” bill a priority rather than things Iowans care about. He says almost everything they’re doing is being done in a partisan way, which he says is unfortunate.Republicans defend the 10-week record of the 2000 Legislature, such as the new law which gradually erases state sales taxes on your utility bill.House Speaker Brent Siegrist of Council Bluffs, the legislature’s top republican, says the Democrats are in a parallel universe. He says given the things they have to work with, he believes they’re doing okay.But Siegrist says this is a time for government to get smaller, not larger.