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

Hello, Iowa House District 84 from the State Capitol!

Heather Arnold of Atkins visits the Iowa State Capitol to advocate for the American Cancer Society on Feb. 11.

Hope you're having a good week and weathering the cold temps outside! The legislature continued holding committees and subcommittees on bills to help their constituents and Iowans across the state.

Last Tuesday, the Senate passed, Senate File 167, their version of the SSA funding for public schools for the next fiscal year by increasing the budget 2%. On Thursday, the House passed a revised version of this bill that I voted for, with these additions:

1. increasing funding by 2.25%. Including the second phase of the teacher salary increase that was signed into law last year, the new funding amounts to $114.5 million.

2. Including a one-time increase of 0.6% SSA payment which amounts to $22.6 million more for schools.

3. A $10 increase for per pupil equity, which amounts to $5.8 million.

4. An increase in Operational Sharing Budget from 21 to 25, which will provide an additional $1 million.

5. Increasing School Transportation to cap the cost of transportation for each school district at the statewide average of $430, resulting in $5.8 million in additional funds.

Thus, the actual total amount proposed by the House would be a 3.93% increase. In other words, this would be $8,039 per pupil, including the $27 per student for the 0.6% increase. House Republicans are working to respond to concerns we hear from our schools. We hope the negotiations with our additions will be accepted by the Senate.

To correct any misleading information, such as ESA funding going up by 44% compared to the House proposal of 2.25% for SSA. The ESA funding is in year three of its 3-year implementation. I'm including a graph that compares the ESA vs SSA funding. Public school funding amounts to 43.62% of the entire state budget, while ESAs account for 2.01% of the state budget. (See chart in the photos)

There are bills making their way through the Health & Human Services Committee that address the shortage of doctors and healthcare staff. HF 12 requires the UIHC to offer interviews to medical residency applicants with an Iowa connection, such as Iowa residents or those that attended undergraduate school in Iowa. HF 137 would require at least 80% of students accepted in the U of Iowa's College of Medicine, Nursing, and Dentistry to be from Iowa or were enrolled in a university or community college in Iowa.

Visiting the Capitol from House District 84 was Heather Arnold of Atkins, advocating for the American Cancer Society. Also, for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Pastors Day on the Hill last Tuesday, Pastors Doug Woltemath of Atkins, Jeff Schanbacher of Blairstown, Stephen Preus of Vinton, Josiah Schultz of Keystone, and Nick Palmer of Newhall were among about 50 or more ministers from across Iowa advocating for bills being considered in committees.

I hope you have a safe and healthy week and support our local businesses. Stay warm!