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Work continues at the Capitol

Work continues in all committees, and on the floor of the House. We have taken up several key pieces of legislation on the floor early, a departure from my experience in the past. On Wednesday the House passed HJR 5, the amendment to the Iowa Constitution that corrects the Iowa Supreme Courts error in declaring the Iowa Constitution guarantees a right to abortion. The vote was 55-44, the measure now goes to the Senate. Once passed by both chambers the measure will have to be passed again in the 2023 or 2024 session in order to be ready for a vote by the citizens of Iowa in the 2024 general election.

The House passed House Joint Resolution 5, known as The Freedom Amendment. This adds the right to keep and bear arms to the Iowa Constitution. This was the second passage of this amendment. Once passed by the Senate it will be ready for a vote by the citizens of Iowa. These constitutional amendments represent my highest priorities as a legislator – protection for the right to life of unborn children from heinous abortion mills, and protection for our sacred right to keep and bear arms.

House Republicans worked hard to pass House File 229, Parental Choice for In-Person Learning. This bill puts the decision making regarding children’s education back in the parents’ hands.

I have filed legislation to deal with abandoned and dilapidated school buildings, House File 216. There are countless dilapidated public school buildings in Iowa communities that are dangerous to children in the neighborhood who might be tempted to enter them. These buildings are not economical to repurpose, and they are very expensive to demolish.

My proposal is to divert 20 percent of the growth in the existing SAVE funds that already go to our schools for a grant program for demolition of these buildings. The SAVE fund, Secure an Advance Vision for Education, is the existing 1 percent sales tax is currently used for school infrastructure. A local government entity such as a school district, city, township or county that has possession of one of these buildings will be able to apply for a grant for demolition from this fund. The bill requires the grants to be awarded to the lowest population entities first to ensure that our smaller communities get the help they need. Once the building site is reverted to a condition suitable with its surroundings, such as for a future building, agriculture use, or park, the local government can then sell the property or keep it based on their needs. Any proceeds from the sale would be repaid to the fund. I have high hopes that we will be able to pass this legislation this year or next, and begin to resolve this long standing issue of blight in our smaller communities.

The Iowa Firefighters Association held their chili cookoff in the Capitol. Five fire departments, including Nick Riley from Traer, brought in their chili for us to taste test. All five entries were excellent, but Traer’s entry was the best with big tasty and tender chunks of brisket!

As always, I look forward to hearing from you during the session.

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Dean Fisher is the State Representative for District 72. Contact him at dean.fisher@legis.iowa.gov

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