Week 15 of the session is complete, we have passed the 100 day mark. That means our pages and clerks are dismissed and the legislators are no longer receiving a per diem expense reimbursement for our travel and living expenses. And even more pressing, it’s getting into planting season, so the legislators that farm are anxious to get out of the Capitol and into the fields.

We began the week with a subcommittee and public hearing on the Senate’s proposal for property tax reform, Senate File 2472. This was a chance to take feedback from the public on what parts of the bill they liked and disliked. On Wednesday, we amended the Senate File to include our latest House compromise proposal. By integrating key elements from both chambers and the Governor’s original plan, we are demonstrating our commitment to property tax reform and our resolve to deliver meaningful relief this session. Our updated proposal maintains House Republicans’ original intention of providing certainty for the taxpayer.

To deliver certainty for the taxpayer and real tax relief, this proposal contains provisions to cap revenue growth at 2 percent, slowing the growth of government spending. This 2 percent cap excludes new construction, ensuring that cities and counties are still incentivized to grow, and includes exceptions for schools and the debt levy. The 2 percent cap is on actual dollars taken in by counties and cities, not the levy rates and assessments, providing certainty to the taxpayer. The amendment also converts the homestead credit to an exemption and triples the exemption to $15,000. Funds from the general fund used to pay the previous homestead credit would be used to buy down the $5.40 levy, providing more relief for taxpayers. It also eliminates the backfill of the business property tax exemption and transfers that roughly $125 million to the Taxpayer Relief Fund to deliver additional tax relief.

Also, our amendment gradually increases the share of SAVE sales tax money devoted to property tax relief from the current 7 percent to 25 percent by 2031. The SAVE money is the one percent tax on sales that was created years ago to help schools with infrastructure costs, as well as provide for property tax relief. The property tax relief portion has been held at 7 percent for far too long.

The amendment also limits Tax Increment Financing districts to 20 years, ensuring this economic tool is used for its intended purpose–temporary development–rather than becoming permanent drains on the tax base. It also creates a FirstHome Iowa program modeled after Iowa’s 529 accounts, helping Iowans save for their first home.

This plan isn’t about maintaining the status quo for taxing entities–and we recognize that change can be uncomfortable. However, for too long, the current system has been causing pain for the people we represent. And it’s the taxpayers’ frustration with rising property taxes that we are addressing in this proposal. This proposal focuses on real, tangible relief for all Iowans. We don’t pick winners and losers. We don’t shift one person’s tax burden to another. We deliver real relief for Iowans that will provide $435 million dollars in savings just next year and $4 billion in relief over the next six years.

One of my bills, House File 2337, which makes it a crime to falsely claim academic credentials or licensure for purposes of obtaining employment, has been signed into law by the governor and goes into effect on July 1. This bill was a response to the Ian Roberts debacle that unfolded this past year in the Des Moines Public School System. Roberts had made numerous claims of degrees that he did not possess. It will be interesting to see how many cases arise from this new law.

As always, I look forward to seeing you at the Capitol or in the district.

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Contact Dean Fisher at dean.fisher@legis.iowa.gov