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A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012: NOBEL RECOGNITION: Iowa State University Professor Dan Shechtman of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology was honored by lawmakers with House Resolution 116 and Senate Resolution 109 for his receipt of the 2011 Nobel Prize in chemistry [...]

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Monday, Feb. 20, 2012: $376 MILLION CLIFF: Iowa could face a $376 million loss in revenue if the Bush era tax cuts are allowed to expire, Sens. Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, and Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, warned. Iowa is one of a handful of states to allow a [...]

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012: ‘SUPERMAN’ PENNINGTON: A resolution honoring “Superman, Art Pennington, a baseball player from Cedar Rapids, and encouraging his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame has been introduced in the Iowa Senate. In SR 106, Pennington was described a “one of America’s finest” baseball [...]

DES MOINES – After 32 years in law enforcement, Sheriff Brian Gardner is dealing with the grandchildren of offenders he saw with as a young jailer. He was at the Statehouse Feb. 15 asking lawmakers to help break that multi-generational cycle of crime. He wasn’t asking for more money, deputies, patrol cars or bullet-proof vests. “We’re [...]

Tonight’s state dinner at the Capitol Chinese Vice President with Xi Jinping presents an opportunity for Iowa to enhance an already healthy relationship with the Asian nation, according to Gov. Terry Branstad. “It’s a great opportunity for the state of Iowa to have this old friends reunion … and an opportunity to make new friends and [...]

DES MOINES – A constitutional amendment protecting Iowans right to bear arms was approved by a House committee, but it wasn’t the one supporters hoped for. Sponsor Rep. Matt Windschitl. R-Missouri Valley, offered House Joint Resolution 2005 — a constitutional amendment that must be approved by two session of the Legislature and Iowa voters – that [...]

DES MOINES – The Iowa House approved what supporters said called a $1.2 billion property tax relief plan that its detractors warned would cost income tax payer more than $1 billion over time. On a 59-40 party line vote, representative sent House File 2274 to the Senate where it joins three other House-passed property tax relief [...]

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Monday, Feb. 13, 2012: EAT YOUR VEGGIES: The Iowa Department on Aging is encouraging grandparents to help their grandchildren adopt healthy eating habits that can stay with them throughout their lives. Agency Director Donna Harvey says the connection between a grandparent and a grandchild is [...]

DES MOINES – The finish line remains unknown, but House Republicans and Senate Democrats may have reached an agreement on a starting point for reforming Iowa’s commercial property taxes. Senate Democrats are willing to commit $250 million toward property tax relief over a period of years, Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said over the [...]

DES MOINES — A poll conducted earlier this month found that a majority of Iowans oppose increasing the state gas tax, but there was little evidence of that at the Statehouse Feb. 13 as plans to raise the motor fuel tax advanced. A Legacy Foundation statewide poll of 600 Iowans found 62 percent oppose raising the [...]

DES MOINES – A retooled version of a property tax bill melding elements of earlier proposals from Republicans and Gov. Terry Branstad in an effort to move closer to a Senate Democratic plan likely will be debated by the House next week. On a party line vote Feb. 8, the House Ways and Means Committee approved [...]

DES MOINES – Cities are the engines driving Iowa’s economy and leaders of the state’s 10 largest cities say they need more tools to maintain their peak performance. The economic success of Iowa’s largest cities seems to have been overlooked in the focus on the success of the farm economy, Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett said [...]

DES MOINES – In the war against Eurasian milfoil, zebra mussels and silver carp, Kim Bogenschutz is fighting for time. Bogenschutz, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Nuisance Species coordinator, concedes her firepower is limited at this point in the battle against invasive species. Despite the efforts of her mostly seasonal, part-time army, zebra [...]

DES MOINES – Lawmakers sent state agency chiefs a clear signal they don’t want any interference in the purchase of $14 million in radios to achieve narrowband compliance with federal regulations for communications interoperability. The legislators expressed concern over what Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations Subcommittee Matt McCoy called “shenanigans” in an earlier attempt to buy [...]

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Monday, Feb. 6, 2012: CHICAGO-TO-OMAHA: The Federal Railroad Administration and Iowa Department of Transportation will kick off the Chicago-to-Omaha Regional Passenger Rail System Planning Study with an online, self-directed, open house meeting beginning Feb. 13 at http://www.iowadot.gov/chicagotoomaha. The online open house will be the first opportunity for [...]

DES MOINES – The state Natural Resources Commission ban on lead shot was torpedoed by the Iowa House Feb. 2 when it voted to nullify the rule 73-27. The proposed change was sought by the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee, which concluded the commission over-stepped its authority and went beyond legislative intent by adopting a lead-shot [...]

DES MOINES — At least three members of the Iowa Senate are expected to tender their resignations Feb. 1 to save colleagues the challenge of standing for election this fall. It’s a quirk in the Iowa election law that comes into play following decennial redistricting. In cases where two senators have been thrown into the same [...]

DES MOINES — Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn has announced he will step down as the state’s top Iowa GOP party official Feb. 10. Strawn has served as chairman of the Iowa GOP since January 2009. The Republican Party of Iowa State Central Committee will be charged with setting the date to elect [...]

Republican Ben Lange is reporting he’s raised $120,000 for a rematch with Democratic 1 st District Rep. Bruce Braley. Lange, who gained national attention in 2010 when he nearly knocked off Braley and held the incumbent to less than 50 percent of the vote, will announce his candidacy in February. Lange, an Independence attorney, formed an exploratory committee [...]

The House approved SF 2007, a $1.3 million supplemental appropriation for the National Guard Education Assistance program, 96-0 and sent it to the governor who has indicated he will sign it. The appropriation, which was approved earlier 49-0 by the Senate, will allow the Guard to cover about 90 percent of returning Guard members’ tuition [...]