Government : Hello District 75 from the State Capitol!

Monday, January 10th, 2022 was the beginning of the 89th Iowa General Assembly and I could see a lot of enthusiasm and potential for another great year! Monday's session was predominantly filled with speeches by the leadership of both Republicans and Democrats.

Tuesday's highlight was Governor Reynold's Condition of the State Address. A few of her highlights were to return the money hard-working Iowans are paying in taxes. Gov. Reynolds proposed a 4% flat tax for all Iowans, which would eliminate the multi-tiered tax brackets we have now. Both state and federal tax rates take too much money and penalize hard work.

According to www.tax-rates.org, individual or household income of $32,760 to $49,139 has a 6.25% tax rate for year 2021. For example, if you earn $49,140 (up to $73,710. Iowa median household income is $59,094), your tax rate increases from 6.25 to 7.44%. How fair is it your tax rate goes up 12%? Answer: IT ISN'T!

The governor also would like to repeal the taxation of retirement income, and I agree! This would be on 401Ks, IRAs, or pensions. In my opinion, Iowa loses too many retirees due to these taxes.

The legislature needs to address and improve taxation to attract or keep people in Iowa to work and raise families. Iowa has many good qualities and taxes should not be the deciding factor for people to move elsewhere due to lower taxes or higher wages. The Biden Administration-induced inflation is already putting a big financial hardship on Americans, and Iowa Republicans intend to alleviate that financial burden.

Governor Reynolds also intends to help give parents more control of their children's education. Too many schools have very inappropriate books in their libraries, and parents need to have the ultimate say in what their children are taught.

Wednesday's highlight was Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen's Condition of the Judiciary Address. The Chief Justice touted a judicial program called "4 Questions, 7 Judges" program that helps welfare workers decide what's best for children in the juvenile justice system. You can go to https://www.iowacourts.gov/static/media/cms/2020_Annual_Report_Draft_011221_98A981BC903E8.pdf for more information on this.

On Thursday, Major General Benjamin Corell gave the Condition of the Guard Address. Corell gave several examples how well our Iowa Guard performed this past year and anticipates our soldiers will deploy to Poland and Eastern Europe later this year. Thank you so much to all past and present service members!

I hope you all are well despite the latest round of COVID. Please be careful of the cold & snow and be safe!