Both the House and Senate held floor debate. On Wednesday, both chambers held a number of subcommittee and committee meetings on policy bills from the opposite chamber prior to the second funnel deadline next Friday. A strike-after amendment was filed Tuesday, and the Senate is expected to bring the bill up in the coming weeks after reviewing the amendment with stakeholders. The Major Economic Growth Attraction Program will be used to help provide additional incentives to land large development projects for certified sites.
The bill limits the program to two projects initially and requires the following criteria be met:. The legislation previously passed the Senate in with a vote. The appropriation must be used in counties with a population of less than 50, and to certify at least two sites in each congressional district. The Senate must conform to the amendment before it can be signed into law by the Governor.
Democrats on the committee opposed the proposal arguing it would negatively impact future legislators who may need to raise income taxes for unforeseen circumstances. The House moved a similar joint resolution as House Study Bill out of a Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday and is expected to be considered by the full committee next week.
Senate Republicans introduced a plan in January to further reduce income taxes to a flat 3. The legislation would reallocate funds from the Taxpayer Relief Fund to a newly formed trust managed by IPERS, with interest earned from the trust used to buy down future tax rates until the individual income tax is eliminated in Iowa. The proposed constitutional amendment must pass the legislature this year, and again next year, before it is placed on the ballot in November of Both the House and Senate considered legislation allowing the state to address immigration concerns, following the push in Congress to reach a deal on illegal border crossings that failed to pass last month.
Senate File creates a new Code chapter related to illegal reentry into the state by immigrants who commit a Class D felony or a Class C felony, who was previously removed after conviction. The bill passed the Senate on a party-line vote of and was messaged to the House where a companion file is on the debate calendar. House lawmakers considered House File on Thursday. The bill creates a new code section expanding the verification process for public assistance programs requiring any noncitizen to be both a resident of Iowa and legally in the state to be eligible for public assistance.
