Lawmakers call for special session to fix Iowa Values, other issues

Republican legislators today delivered a message to democrat Governor Tom Vilsack: call lawmakers back in special session soon. House Speaker Christopher Rants, a republican from Sioux City, says last week’s Supreme Court ruling did more than just put the state’s new “Iowa Values” economic development program in limbo.Rants says lawmakers want to ensure the “open for business” sign above Iowa remains lit. Rants says the bill nullified by the Supreme Court also included workforce development center operations, the way banks and credit unions compute interest, and the Endow Iowa Fund which invests in community cultural activities. Rants says the governor, on his own, can’t keep those programs operating, and Vilsack should call lawmakers back in special session to fix things.Rants says “sooner is better than later” and a special session should happen by mid-July. Rants and other republican leaders, though, say they will insist that Vilsack make some concessions and accept some business reforms and tax cuts. Rants and other republican legislative leaders met with Governor Vilsack this morning, face-to-face. Vilsack said afterward that neither republicans nor democrats can pursue a conservative or liberal agenda, and they’ll have to come up with a solution that’s “in the middle.”