Statehouse republican leaders say the legislature should consider holding a special session every year. The suggestion comes as lawmakers debate how to fix legislation struck down by the court last week. Regular legislative sessions run from mid-January to late April. But in three of the last five years, the legislature has returned for a special session during the summer and it’ll become four out of five years, if the governor calls them back next month to re-approve the Iowa values fund. Senate president Jeff Lamberti says lawmakers should have a more permanent way to reconsider bills killed by the governor.Lamberti recommends considering a “veto session” every year, and if there’s nothing to try and override they could go home. Senator Lamberti says special sessions could be limited so lawmakers only consider bills that have been vetoed by the governor — no new legislation would be adopted. Five other states have these so-called veto sessions and Sioux City house speaker Christopher Rants says he’s open to the idea of having them here.Rants says it’d probably mean a shorter regular session, some time off for a break, and then they’d come back. Speaker Rants says the legislature would need to wait at least 30 days between the regular and special sessions because the governor has that long to approve or veto all the bills. But senate Minority Leader Mike Gronstal says overriding a governor’s veto is very uncommon. Gronstal says it takes a two-thirds majority vote in both the house and the senate. The Council Bluffs democrat says that hasn’t happened in about 40 years.
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