Governor Kim Reynolds has offered very few clues about the policy agenda she’ll outline tonight in the annual “Condition of the State” speech at the statehouse.
In the past, Reynolds has used the speech to unveil tax policies. During a Republican party fundraiser on Monday morning, she reviewed a few of them. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done,” Reynolds said, “and as you all know, we’re not done yet.”
But that was it for hints about taxes. Late last year, Reynolds said she would ask legislators to address cell phone use in Iowa schools. This month, New Hampshire’s new Republican governor used her inaugural address to call for a ban on cell phones from New Hampshire classrooms. Last summer, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders approved $7 million in state funding so Arkansas schools could buy phone storage pouches or locks.
By the end of 2024, at least 19 states had policies in place that ban or restrict cell phone use in schools.
During a recent Radio Iowa interview, Reynolds hinted she may be proposing propose more streamlining in state government tonight.
“We did DOGE before DOGE was cool. We started it way ahead of Elon and Vivek,” Reynolds said. “I’m hoping they look to Iowa. We’re a great role model of what you can do and, you know, we’re just getting started.”
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are leading Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” or DOGE for the federal government. Two years ago, Reynolds oversaw a reorganization plan that shrunk the number of state government agencies from 37 to 16. Last year, she dramatically reduced the number of state boards and commissions.
“There’s a lot of money in the system is what I’m finding out as we do realignment and as we look at the inefficiencies and we look at the duplicated efforts. I’ll talk a lot about that in the priorities i’m putting forward in my 2025 program,” Reynolds said. “When you look at state dollars and federal dollars — a lot of duplication there. Are we using those appropriately?”
Reynolds said “taking advantage of the latest technology,” including artificial intelligence, will help make state government more efficient.
Tonight’s “Condition of the State” address begins at 6 p.m. and Governor Reynolds will be speaking to a joint session of the Iowa House and Senate.