Watching the sausage made
It’s been a few days. Perhaps, the yawns have subsided for Iowa lawmakers. Some chose the fatigue. Others had to just suffer through it.
Several years ago the Iowa House of Representatives made a new rule: no more debate after midnight. But much like the law that requires legislators to approve school funding for the coming year 30 days after a governor submits her budget to the legislature, they can just choose to not follow it.
They didn’t pass school funding on time. They also didn’t follow their own rules about no debate after midnight…on back-to-back nights.
This is how the sausage was made this year.
House legislators worked until 1:50 a.m. Friday, started back up at 9 am and then worked until 4:23 a.m. The senate ended only slightly earlier at 3:27 a.m.
Why?
(This seems like the right time to mention the numerous Statehouse staff, security, lobbyists and others who were also forced to work into the overnight hours.)
Legislators faced no weekend deadline to finish their work for the year. The Republican super majority that controls both legislative chambers had already failed to finish by the 100th scheduled day of the session. That was this past Tuesday. After that day, legislators no longer get their daily allowance for lodging and meals.
That’s an extra incentive to wrap up the session. And undoubtedly some legislators had upcoming plans outside the Golden Dome.
But why work well into the night when legislators would obviously not be as alert and rested as they debated how and where to commit billions of tax dollars to various government functions that impact education, health care, transportation, security, recreation, taxes and more?
Is this really the best process for the citizens they represent? Or is this just how the sausage gets made?
Chief Concerns — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law changes that make it a crime to be in the state for someone who has already been deported/denied entry into the country.
Marshalltown Police Chief Michael Tupper told me that the law puts his department and many others in a bind. Watch what he said her about why this could be both difficult to carry out and damaging to the community.
Is raw milk safe from bird flu? — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig told me that he has concerns about the safety of raw milk as avian flu has spread to states across the country (No reports in Iowa so far.)
Watch here as he explains why raw milk could be more vulnerable.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for watching. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for not reminding me how disappointing my Cardinals are again this season so far.
I write this column as part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative, a group of nearly 50 independent columnists who focus on a wide range of topics. Please consider checking out others from the group and support them if you are able.
When Republicans used to really be fiscal conservatives and held power, do yiu think they would have wanted to pay overtime to all those staff people under the Golden Dome? If you make rules and violate them there is no penalty for doing so, and, consequently, they continue to violate their rules! If they charged to legislature for every hour they took after the session was supposed to end and made it come out of their pay, we might win back some of that $10,000 pay raise they gave themselves! Our budgets might get done on time so the rest of state government can function well enough to get their paperwork done and everybody just might be a tiny bit more satisfied!