Government : Hello, Iowa House District 84 from the State Capitol!

The Iowa Legislature began the 91st General Assembly on Monday, January 13th with 16 new members in the House (13 Republicans and three Democrats) and the Senate with seven new members (four Republicans and three Democrats).

Monday, the 13th, we took our oath of office and picked our desks in the House chamber for the next two years. Tuesday evening, Governor Kim Reynolds gave a very good Condition of the State address that you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzeYk_b6cyA or read here: https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/2025-01-14/gov-reynolds-delivers-2025-condition-state. She touched on many areas that she would like to be considered in the legislature, and I look forward to working together to make great things happen.

Some of the top priorities of the governor are property tax reform, improving students' math scores, literacy, and prohibiting cell phone use in classrooms. Reynolds would like to see Iowa pass the hands-free driving bill to save lives, and higher wages for childcare workers. She would also like to invest in incentivizing more doctors to practice in rural Iowa and develop a research team to investigate why new cancer rates in Iowa are high.

Wednesday, the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, Susan Christensen, gave her Condition of the Judiciary address, and on Thursday, Adjutant General Maj. General Stephen Osborn of the Iowa National Guard gave his annual Condition of the Guard address.

I plan to work on submitting several bills this year from ideas given to me from constituents. The people of Iowa are the reason why the state is doing so well as mentioned in Reynolds' speech, and with your help, we can make it even better!

On Thursday, I was able to show off our wonderful Capitol building to Shane & Carrie Ewing and their sons Grant, Clark, and Anthony, all from rural Vinton. The House was adjourned for the day, so they were able to come on the House floor, see the impressive Law Library, have a small tour of Secretary of State Paul Pate's office, and a climb up to the "Whispering Gallery" about halfway up the golden dome!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please either email me at Thomas.Gerhold@legis.iowa.gov or call and leave a message at the Capitol switchboard at 515-281-3221. I hope you have a safe, warm, and healthy week!