The legislative session ended on May 25, just shortly after midnight. As usual, the last few days of session were fast paced and impactful. Front and center, of course, were the final budget bills that had been agreed to by both chambers, but significant policy actions also were passed.

On the Education Policy front, we eliminated the March 1 deadline for public school families to Open Enroll into another public school. With this change, parents could apply to have their child leave their school and attend a different public school at any time during the year. This will provide greater school choice for parents and students who don’t feel like they’re having their voices heard by their school board and administrators.

Under current law, a parent must apply to open enroll their child before March 1 unless they are granted a specific exception. This means that if a school board adopts a policy against your wishes on March 2, your child would be trapped in that school for the following year. Eliminating this deadline allows parents to make the best decision for their child on where to send them to school. The receiving district would still need to have the capacity to accept the student, and all current laws regarding athletic eligibility remain in place.

One of the events that highlighted the need for eliminating this deadline was the fact that the Linn-Mar school district board had voted recently to adopt a “transgender” policy that allows boys who “self identify” as girls to use the girls bathroom and shower facilities as if they were actually a girl, and vice versa for girls that “self identify” as boys.

This ridiculous policy was adopted after the March 1 deadline, leaving Linn-Mar parents with no options for the coming school year without this policy change. Parents will now be able to “vote with their feet” when school boards fail to meet the needs of the families they are supposed to be serving.

Another significant policy bill in the final days involved the banning of a practice affecting our election processes known as “Zucker Bucks.” Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, an elitist billionaire Democrat, had donated millions of dollars to election offices to use for election promotion efforts in Democrat areas ahead of the 2020 election in an attempt to bias the voting process. Iowa House Republicans are committed to ensuring Iowa’s elections remain safe and secure so we took action to prevent this practice in Iowa.

Under this new law, private entities would be prohibited from donating money to election offices. Iowa has the gold-standard election system, in part, because Iowa House Republicans are always looking for ways to improve it and pass swift action to prevent any bad actions we see taking place in other states from happening here in Iowa.

Another policy change enacted is a sales tax exemption for feminine products and diapers. With inflation at an all-time high and costs rising on just about everything, Iowa House Republicans are continuing to look for ways to ease the tax burden on Iowans. This change eliminates the seven percent sales tax on feminine products and diapers. It is estimated to save Iowa taxpayers $11 million a year, and of course will benefit growing families.

This past session has been another historic session with many accomplishments. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve House District 72 over the past 10 years, serving all of Tama County, much of rural Marshall County and the La Porte City area in Black Hawk County. I am looking forward to the coming campaign for the new district, House District 53, which includes all of Poweshiek County and most of Tama County. As always, I look forward to hearing from you and visiting with you by phone, email, or in person.

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Dean Fisher, a Republican from Montour, represents District 72 in the Iowa House. After the 2022 election, he will move to a new district that no longer includes territory in Marshall County.