The 90th general assembly of the Iowa Legislature begins Jan. 8, and the elected officials who serve the area in the State House recently spoke to the T-R about the top three things they want to accomplish.

Fisher: Continue work on tax reform, crime, education

The economy and taxes will be front and center for Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour), who represents most of Tama County and all of Poweshiek County since the latest round of redistricting. He hopes to accelerate the income tax drop to 3.9 percent, which is currently scheduled to go into effect in 2026.

“I want to try to move that up,” Fisher said. “I know the governor and some legislators want to eliminate the personal income tax, and I don’t know if we are 100 percent there, yet.”

However, from a marketing standpoint, he said the elimination would be valuable for Iowa, meaning more people and businesses would move here. Fisher added he would rather see a sales tax than a personal income tax.

He would also like to focus on the safety and security of Iowans.

“We need to look at clamping down on repeat offenders,” Fisher said. “Look at Minnesota — they’ve taken a soft approach to crime, and look at their results.”

Specifically, he wants the state to adopt a stronger stance on robberies. Fisher has seen videos of swarms of people descending on stores across the country and running out with merchandise. While he has not seen anything like that happen in Iowa, he does not want to give it a chance.

The third item that Fisher will work on is education, and filling the many empty employee positions in certain industries which are struggling to find people, such as plumbing, electricity and nursing.

“We are looking at how we can get these jobs filled and get these people trained,” he said.

Some businesses are utilizing contract workers, but Fisher wants to see people stay in the positions for longer periods of time. He said seeing the contractors work and then leave the area so soon is distressing.

“Contracting is just spot filling,” Fisher said. “I’m not sure that is fixing anything.”

Recent news of atrocities occurring in nursing homes throughout the state can be attributed to several things, he said. The facilities are extremely compacted partly due to high increases in insurance deductibles, and to over-regulation. Fisher said it can cost a nursing home around $45 per day to keep up with the regulations.

“Those are the problems I hear, and I think of the time spent doing paperwork,” he said. “It becomes harder to provide the care that is needed. The regulations are strangling the life of the nursing homes. We can throw money at it, but I’m not sure that will get to the root of the problem.”

The child care desert which exists in Marshall County is another issue which Fisher said has been addressed to a certain extent by the legislature. He added spending additional money may not solve the problem.

“It’s a tough problem, and I don’t know if there is a solution other than more money,” he said.

Edler: Focus on growth, mental health

Sen. Jeff Edler (R-State Center) hopes to continue to improve the environment in Iowa to encourage growth. He wants to do that through comprehensive tax reform.

“It’s so people can prosper,” Edler said. “Economic development is a huge thing, and the tax climate is a huge piece of the puzzle.”

Mental health has been a long-term focus for Edler, something he said the legislators are constantly working on together. During the last 15 to 20 years, he said they have evaluated the rates tied to mental health.

“What do we need it to be to incentivize providers to provide their services where there is a gap?” Edler asked. “We are working hard to get the numbers and then huge improvements on those rates.”

While the work the legislature has done thus far on mental health rates has helped, Edler said they are looking to take a methodical approach to the issue.

The third group of items he would like to tackle during the session is old business, such as healthcare reform, incentives for farmers and changing the window tint law. In Iowa, the law requires windshields and front side windows must have 70 percent of the light to pass through. Edler has tried to change that since he was elected to the Senate in 2016.

Many Iowa residents have spoken to Edler about the window tint, and some out-of-state visitors have been issued tickets for the tint on their windows. He has submitted a bill to change the law every year, but has problems getting it to the House.

“I want the law changed to match the states to the south,” he said. “They allow 35 percent of the light to pass through.”

Outside of the top three items Edler hopes to accomplish, he said it is unfortunate the bad nursing homes stories are the primary news people receive.

“They don’t hear about the good things that happen,” Edler said. “We have taken measures to address this issue. There are bad actors in places, and we need a sound system in place to identify and discipline.”

He said they have shifted inspectors in the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing to primarily work on nursing homes in response to the issue.

As far as the child care desert, Edler wants to focus on establishing partnerships with private businesses to eliminate the deserts.

“There are a number of things going on,” he said. “It’s very complex, and the change is not going to happen overnight.”

The child care crisis is one problem that could partly be addressed through Edler’s focus on growth. Bringing people to Iowa for jobs will help fill the employment vacancies found in child care centers and thus improve the situation.

“Happy New Year, everyone, and let’s make this one prosperous,” Edler said.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.