The Iowa Legislature reconvened Monday at the state Capitol in Des Moines, marking a somewhat subdued start to the 2024 session given last year's flurry of legislation and a one-week countdown to the Republican presidential caucuses.
Before capitulating, the Iowa Republican Party has made several demands, including control of the House, Senate and governor's mansion, and the creation of publicly funded education savings accounts to help families pay for tuition at 12 private K schools. We celebrated the policies passed last year. Remove books containing “sexual acts” from school libraries and discourage discussion of gender identity in classrooms. and reduced property taxes.
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“The influence of Republican leadership is undeniable,” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said at the Iowa Republican Party breakfast. “With the Iowa caucuses just a week away, the nation's attention will once again be on Iowa. And, you know, I'm very proud of what they're going to see.”
October 9, 2019 at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa. (Joe Radle/Getty Images)
The chamber was last filled in July for a special session that Reynolds convened to pass a bill banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, which is currently on hold pending review by the state Supreme Court.
Republican leaders in the House and Senate have both listed income tax cuts and addressing the labor shortage as priorities for the new year.
Leaders on both sides of the aisle also acknowledged last week's mass shooting at Perry High School. In the shooting, a 17-year-old opened fire on the first day of school after winter break, injuring seven students and staff and killing an 11-year-old. boy.
In the House, there was agreement from Republican and Democratic leaders that action is needed this Congress to address the safety of Iowa students in schools.
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In her opening remarks, House Minority Leader Jennifer Confirst listed reproductive rights, recreational marijuana and public education as priorities for her caucus, along with school safety, saying that just because Democrats introduced them, Republicans won't. He said the idea should not be discounted in the chambers he controls. .
