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Governor says there’s no one single answer to school safety issues

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Governor Kim Reynolds (file photo)

Students in some Iowa schools walked out of classes this morning to join a national protest on the 19th anniversary of a school shooting in Colorado. Thirteen students were killed and 24 were injured by the two gunmen at Columbine High School on April 20th, 1999 — before today’s high school seniors were born.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said there is “no one single answer” to school safety.

“We’ll continue to bring all of the agencies together, school boards, administrators — people we need to have at the table to talk about how we can make sure that when we drop off our children at school that they’re safe and they’re able to learn in a safe environment,” Reynolds told reporters Thursday.

Reynolds, a Republican, said the Republican-led legislature has already passed a bill that requires all Iowa school districts to have a safety plan and conduct yearly active shooter drills. As for new gun regulations, Reynolds is opposed. She said the priority should be enforcing the laws already on the books and updating the existing federal background check system.

Senate President Charles Schneider, a Republican from West Des Moines, said the Iowa legislature is setting aside $35 million in grant money to help schools pay for safety upgrades to buildings, like lock down systems or stronger classroom doors. But Schneider, like the governor, suggested new gun regulations are not on this year’s agenda.

“We always have to take into consideration the balance of school safety and the balance of constitutional rights as well,” Schneider told reporters this morning.

Senator Janet Petersen of Des Moines, the Democratic leader in the senate, attended a local school walk-out as well as a student-led rally at the statehouse late this morning.

“I think it’s an important time in our country as we see kids getting more civically engaged, so it’s exciting to see,” Petersen said this morning. “…All Iowans want to make sure that our kids are safe in our schools and so it’s time to listen to what our kids have to say.”

Students involved in today’s protests are calling for gun law changes.

Strings of pearls in Iowa statehouse, in tribute to Barbara Bush

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Governor Reynolds and other Republicans wear pearls to honor Barbara Bush.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds and the nine Republican women who are members of the Iowa House are wearing pearls today in honor of former First Lady Barbara Bush.

Mrs. Bush, who died last night, made a string of imitation pearls a staple of her wardrobe. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake is wearing a long strand of pearls and confirmed to reporters that hers aren’t real either.

“Absolutely faux,” Upmeyer told reporters this afternoon. “No doubt about it. Faux!”

Upmeyer called Bush was an amazing woman.

“She was one of those ladies who could just speak her mind really well and you always knew she was being pretty candid,” Upmeyer said. “I liked that.”

In November of 1995 Upmeyer got to visit with Bush when the former first lady visited Mason City and delivered a speech at the community college.

“I had an opportunity to actually sit at the table and visit with her a little during dinner,” Upmeyer said, “so it was nice.”

Mrs. Bush told the audience in Mason City to remember that “what happens in your house is more important than what happens in White House.”

(Photo courtesy of Iowa House GOP Caucus Staff)

Governor approves new Iowa law on ‘food shaming’ and unpaid school lunch debt

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Herman Quirmbach

The governor has signed a bill into law that seeks to address lunch money problems in Iowa schools. The policy is a response to reports of high levels of lunch debt and the so-called “food shaming” of some students.

Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames said it’s been a problem in his community and “many others.”

“Children whose parents are either unable or perhaps unwilling to pay for their lunches have been subjected to embarrassment and even…humiliation because they’re denied a meal or given an inferior meal or otherwise exposed to public ridicule,” Quirmbach said during debate of the bill in the Senate.

Some schools have hung lists in public areas with the names of students with outstanding lunch debt or even forced the students to sit in a separate area or wear wristbands.

Some Iowa school districts have tens of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid lunch bills. Ottumwa, for example, had nearly $68,000 in school meal debt in February. The new law will let schools claim lottery winnings or state tax refunds from parents who have school lunch debt. Schools may also accept private donations to cover those meals.

Senator Ken Rozenboom of Oskaloosa said schools will be able to use those donations to write-off debt at the end of every year.

“School districts know and understand the situations in their districts better than we do,” Rozenboom said during Senate debate. “A $500 debt is different to a family of five, for instance, than it is to a family with one child.”

The bill cleared the House and Senate unanimously. The handful of legislators who publicly remarked on the bill made the common point that it’s not the fault of the child if their parent fails to pay for their school lunch.

Governor calls for awarding Pell Grants for short-term certificate programs

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Governor Reynolds and Andy Van Kleunen.

Governor Kim Reynolds is urging congress to expand the federal Pell Grant program for college students.

Reynolds says the financial aid should be available to low-income students in programs offering a professional certificate for high-demand jobs like welders, computer technicians or certified nursing assistants.

“Right now, students can only receive a Pell Grant if they enroll in a for-credit program over at least 15 weeks or one semester, so the shorter for-credit and non-credit programs are not included in those options,” Reynolds says.

National Skills Coalition CEO Andy Van Kleunen says Pell Grants are the “primary” financial help that’s available to low-income students, however all but five percent of Pell Grants go to full-time students seeking a four-year degree.

“Not only is this federal approach outdated, it’s just plainly unfair to working students who don’t have time to take a long-term degree program, but who still need some financial assistance to help them keep their jobs or advance their careers,” Van Kleunen says.

Chris Duree

Iowa Valley Community College chancellor Chris Duree says his college has short-term certificate programs that help students qualify for a job in a manufacturing plant or a health care facility, but students enrolled in those programs don’t qualify for Pell Grants.

“The time has come to update federal financial aid policies to be better aligned with the needs of today’s students and employers,” Wynes says. “This can start with making the Pell funding available for the short-term programs that all of our community colleages have available and already in place.”

Governor Reynolds used her weekly news conference to highlight the issue. A bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate would “modernize” how the Pell Grant is used, according to Reynolds.

House Republicans unveil $7.4 billion state spending plan

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Pat Grassley (file photo)

Republicans in the Iowa House have unveiled a plan to increase spending by more than three percent for the next state budgeting year.

Republican Representative Pat Grassley of New Hartford suggests the plan’s overall $7.4 billion spending target is similar to what Senate Republicans have in mind.

“As far as the size of the pie would be, I would say we’re fairly close in those conversation and it just really is getting down to this point in the session, we need to get things moving,” Grassley told reporters yesterday.

There is no limit on how long an Iowa legislative session may last, but this is the 100th day of the 2018 and the final day members of the House and Senate get daily expense money. Jack Whitver, the Republican leader in the Iowa Senate, said he’s optimistic Republicans in the Senate and House are close to striking a final deal.

“Hopefully in the next few days we can get to some agreement on taxes and then we can get moving on the budget,” Whitver told reporters.

Yesterday, Governor Reynolds said she is not making any public demands about what her fellow Republicans in the legislature should include in their tax bill. Democrats like Senator Joe Bolkcom say the state is “flat broke” and cannot afford to cut taxes.

Aiming for consensus, Reynolds to avoid tax plan ultimatums (AUDIO)

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says she does not plan to dictate which components of her tax plan must be included in the final version she negotiates with Republicans who control the legislative branch of government.

“I’m not going to do that because that’s not how you build consensus,” Reynolds says.

For example, the governor’s original plan included a form of “speed bumps” so a yearly tax cut would not go into effect if there’s a downturn in Iowa’s economy. Those “triggers” are not included in two of the three tax plans that have emerged in the Republican-led legislature. Plus, the plan that cleared a House committee last Thursday did not include the governor’s proposal to end a state tax break for federal taxes. It’s a tax deduction that makes Iowa’s individual income tax rates look higher than they are when compared to other states.

“It’s part of the negotiation,” Reynolds says. “I believe it’s important that we do something with federal deductability because we have federal tax reform and so the timing seems appropriate.”

Because of that deduction and because federal taxes were cut, Iowans will wind up paying more income taxes to the State of Iowa if policymakers fail to do something to cut Iowa individual income tax rates.

As for the size of the tax cut, House Republicans are aligned with the governor at about $300 million a year, while Senate Republicans are proposing about three-quarters of a billion dollars. Reynolds told reporters today the final tally of tax cuts may wind up “somewhere in the middle.”

“But what I’ve said from the word go is that I want to make sure that it’s comprehensive, it’s significant, but sustainable,” Reynolds said during her weekly news conference.

A “sustainable” plan will leave the state with enough tax revenue to meet on-going commitments to the state’s education system, the Medicaid program and other priorities, according to the governor.

AUDIO of Reynolds’ weekly news conference

 

Reynolds heading to DC ‘to discuss trade’ with President Trump

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

Kim Reynolds will be among a group of governors and congressional leaders meeting with President Trump later this  morning “to discuss trade,” according to a news release from the governor’s office.

On Tuesday, Reynolds assembled a group of Iowa agricultural leaders in her office to send a public message about the impact of a trade war with China.

“Iowa has benefitted from our long-standing relationship with China by establishing new and expanded opportunities for not only our ag commodities (and) feed ingredients, but our agricultural equipment as well,” Reynolds said.

The mere “potential” of Chinese tariffs are creating real concern for Iowa farmers, according to Reynolds.

“No one wins in a trade war,” Reynolds said, “and while some disruption may be necessary and part of the negotiation process, we know that this absolutely can’t be done on the backs of Iowa farmers.”

Earlier this week, Reynolds told reporters she’s been assured by US Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue that some sort of federal financial aid will help mitigate losses to farmers. Today marks the second time Reynolds has traveled to the nation’s capital to speak with Trump about the importance of trade to Iowa’s economy, although the previous White House meeting was focused on convincing Trump not to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement.

 

 

House GOP unveils its first offer on tax cuts

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Linda Upmeyer and Guy Vander Linden.

A nearly 9%t reduction in most Iowans personal income tax rates. That’s the counter-offer Republicans in the Iowa House publicly released late Wednesday.

It’s the latest wrinkle in discussions among statehouse Republicans over how deeply to cut state taxes.

Speaker Linda Upmeyer, a Republican from Clear Lake, characterized the House GOP’s plan as middle class tax relief.

“Over 90 percent of the taxpayers will benefit,” Upmeyer said during a news conference on the House floor. “…It’s important for us to have families across this state see the benefit of putting tax dollars back in their pocket. I think this meets that goal.”

Senate Republicans have voted for a plan that would ultimately cut state taxes by $1 billion annually. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has proposed what would amount to a $300 million a year reduction in taxes. The House Republicans’ plan is a $140 million cut in the first year and a reduction of $300 million in the second year.

Upmeyer called it a “starting point” in negotiations and she said it was intentionally released late on a Wednesday afternoon to give House members a chance to hear from constituents this weekend.

“They’re having forums or they’re going to different events in their communities,” Upmeyer told reporters. “We can get a lot of good feedback and then we can build the bill even more, if we wish to, based on that feedback.”

Unlike Senate Republicans, House Republicans are not proposing a cut in the corporate income tax rate. Representative Guy Vander Linden, a Republican from Oskaloosa who is chairman of the House Ways and Means tax-writing Committee, told reporters corporate tax cuts can come “at a later date.”

“The important thing is to get a tax cut to individual Iowans,” Vander Linden said, “so that they get the full benefit of the federal tax cut.”

The House GOP plan does call for taxing Uber, Lyft, Netflix, Apple TV and other emerging services in what Vander Linden called the “modern economy.”

The plan does not raise taxes on some credit unions, as Senate Republicans proposed, nor does it get rid of the state income tax deduction for an individual’s federal tax payment. Critics say that deduction makes Iowa’s income tax rates look higher than they are and Governor Reynolds called for getting rid of it.

Vander Linden’s committee is scheduled to begin debating the plan at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. The head of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council said the lack of advance notice of the meeting to the public violates the spirit of Iowa’s open meetings law. A top House Democrat warned the House GOP tax plan “means more state budget cuts in the future.”

Governor Reynolds, without comment, approves sanctuary cities bill

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Governor Kim Reynolds. (file photo)

Governor Kim Reynolds signed the so-called “sanctuary cities” bill into law today. She did it without making any public statement about it.

In February, Reynolds sent a fundraising email praising legislators who crafted the bill. Reynolds said the effort sent a message to “far left liberals in Des Moines and Iowa City” who’ve been considering moves to delay or deter deportation for people in the country illegally.

It’s unclear what may happen now. Bill backers said during debate in the House and Senate there are “some” law enforcement agencies that aren’t fully cooperating with federal immigration agents. The bill calls for withholding state funds from any city or county that fails to detain undocumented immigrants when federal authorities ask. Critics say a warrant is required for that kind of a request.

The new requirement forbidding cities and counties ordinances that provide any sort of sanctuary for undocumented immigrants arrested for a crime goes into effect January 1, 2019.

Reynolds says federal help for farmers hit by trade dispute forthcoming (AUDIO)

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Governor Kim Reynolds with ag leaders.

Governor Kim Reynolds today said she’s been assured by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture that the Trump Administration soon will announce a plan to “mitigate” farm losses connected to the trade dispute with China.

“I would think it’s forthcoming. I don’t know whether it’s tomorrow or the next day,” Reynolds told reporters during a midday news conference in her statehouse office. “I can just tell you they’re working on it and that the secretary’s assurance to me is that it can be done through U.S.D.A.”

Reynolds talked by phone with Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue and the president’s budget director earlier this morning.

“They both assured me that the U.S.D.A. has the authority to mitigate some of the market disruptions for our farmers,” Reynolds said, “and they wanted me to pass on that they appreciate that the farmers understand that something needs to be done to hold China accountable.”

Craig Hill of Iowa Farm Bureau and Governor Kim Reynolds listen to Greg Hora of Iowa Pork Producers Association

As for what form that assistance might take, Reynolds told reporters administration officials are “working through the details” and weren’t “at liberty” to discuss whether it might be rival of a price support system or some other means of financial support for farmers.

“They’re working on an option for Iowa farmers,” Reynolds said. “They don’t want them to be a casualty in this trade dispute.”

AUDIO of news conference, 30:00

Reynolds had an array of leaders from Iowa commodity groups join her for her weekly news conference. Iowa Soybean Association president Bill Shipley of Nodaway said farmers recognize there are “some legitimate issues” about Chinese theft of intellectual property and they hope the dispute can be resolved without targeting food.

“China’s proposal to add tariffs to soybeans adds to uncertainty US farmers face right now as we head into this planting season,” Shipley said. “…If allowed to take hold, it could jeopardize the ability of US farmers to do business in China for generations. Trade wars involving food are lose-lose.”

Iowa Pork Producers Association president Greg Hora of Fort Dodge told reporters “it’s too early to speculate” about the long-term impact trade negotiations between China and the U.S.

Sukup Manufacturing CFO Steve Sukup.

“Iowa pig farmers look forward to helping tackle the challenges or changes that we can impact in these difficult times and decisions,” Hora said, “with outcomes that we, hopefully, will all be proud of.”

Steve Sukup of Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield said his company uses a million pounds of U.S.-made steel per week — and the price of that steel has gone up 40 percent. The prices for the company’s grain bins and other products have gone up about 20 percent. According to Sukup, about 83 percent of the steel used by U.S. manufacturers is made in the U.S.

“It was only like 17 percent of imported competition out there, so we didn’t really need to see steel be the ‘tip of the spear’ (in a trade war),” Sukup said.

Sukup, a former state legislator and Republican candidate for governor in 2002, told reporters there “hasn’t been a trade war the U.S. has won.”