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DES MOINES – The Iowa Executive Council has authorized nearly $1.49 million in payments to outside legal counsel to defend Gov. Terry Branstad and state agencies against litigation and to help recoup money owed to Iowans or state government this fiscal year. The cost of legal representation provided by private attorneys with special expertise so [...]

DES MOINES – Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney unleashed a scathing attack on President Obama’s economic policies Tuesday, blaming Obama for creating a “financial crisis of debt and spending” that threatens the future for many Americans. “A prairie fire of debt is sweeping across Iowa and our nation and every day we fail to [...]

A roundup of news items of interest from the Capitol and state government agencies for Monday, May 14: LEGISLATURE WORK PRODUCT: Iowa lawmakers ended up producing more bills during this year’s session that adjourned last week than the previous year. The 84th General Assembly concluded its 2012 work by approving 142 enrolled bills and resolutions, [...]

DES MOINES – Officials at MidAmerican Energy Co. are studying potential options now that the Iowa Legislature adjourned without taking action on a bill the utility sought to lay the groundwork for a state regulatory structure as a step toward its planned construction of a nuclear power plant in Iowa. “We are evaluating future options, [...]

DES MOINES – Gov. Terry Branstad told reporters Monday he will “never give up” on efforts to cut commercial property taxes and to limit the growth of taxes for residential and agricultural property owners. The governor also said he believed belt-tightening efforts that he and Legislature undertook the past two sessions will make it possible [...]

JOHNSTON – Two top lawmakers expressed a willingness Friday to keep working on a property tax relief compromise that could be adopted in special session, but they conceded “a gap” remains between what majority Republicans in the House and majority Democrats in the Senate would accept to lower business tax rates while avoiding a shift [...]

DES MOINES – Gov. Terry Branstad fired a shot at his executive-branch agencies while issuing an order Friday rescinding a ban on lead ammunition by dove hunters, saying he would not let them trump actions of elected officials by using “administrative fiat” to set rules that go beyond a law’s intended effect. “We need to [...]

Here are some of the new laws slated to take effect July 1 that could impact Iowans: Driver’s license renewals: Eligible Iowans aged 18 to 65 who have a driver’s license in good standing will be able to renew their licenses online every other time. That means most eligible Iowans would have to appear in [...]

Here are brief summaries of how the top issues of the 2012 legislative session fared: PROPERTY TAX RELIEF: House and Senate members worked all session on various ways to provide commercial and industrial property tax reform. The House sought to phase down the business rollback by cutting the percentage of the assessed value that is [...]

DES MOINES – Gov. Terry Branstad said Thursday he would consider calling a special legislative session to pass a comprehensive property tax relief package if a satisfactory compromise could be worked out with assurances the votes would be there to pass it once lawmakers returned to the Capitol. Branstad, Republicans who control the House and [...]

DES MOINES – State lawmakers have adjourned without nullifying a ban on the use of lead ammunition when hunting doves in Iowa, but Gov. Terry Branstad is telling hunters to keep their powder dry for the time being because he may find a way to intercede before the next season starts Sept. 1. “Stay tuned. [...]

DES MOINES – Lawmakers finalized a $6.244 billion state budget and a major mental health system redesign Wednesday, but adjourned without passing a comprehensive property tax relief package – a top priority they promised to continue working on during the interim and to fight about as they hit the 2012 campaign trail. The 84th General [...]

Here is a scorecard of how some issues fared in the 2012 legislative session DID Reform education system Reform/redesign county mental health system Provide flood mitigation state cost share money Beef up enforcement of open meetings/records law Reform tax increment financing (TIF) provisions Give whistleblower protection for child sex abuse reports Toughen penalties for illegally [...]

DES MOINES – The split-control Legislature on Tuesday faced the prospects of ending its second straight session without resolving a commercial property tax relief issue that has dogged lawmakers since the beginning of the 84th General Assembly in January 2011. Hope for a compromise plan to reduce by up to 40 percent of the property [...]

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Tuesday, May 8, 2012: SMALL CLAIMS COURT: State court officials say Iowans who choose to represent themselves in small claims court will find it easier to do so with the help of new, easy-to-use forms. The Iowa Supreme Court approved a large number of [...]

DES MOINES – Lawmakers approved and sent Gov. Terry Branstad an agreement Tuesday on an education reform package that seeks to bolster student reading skills in early grades and allows high school students who demonstrate competency to advance, but takes a go-slow approach to online academies while the concept gets further study. The 10-member conference [...]

DES MOINES – Lawmakers keep progressing towards adjournment today with agreements coming together on most of the session’s top priority issues. “We’re making lots of progress on lots of bills,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs. “We’re finding common ground between the two sides, between the House and the Senate. We’re making good [...]

DES MOINES – The Iowa House voted 96-0 Monday to place new reporting and transparency requirements on cities and counties that use tax increment financing (TIF). Proponents said the changes heading to Gov. Terry Branstad’s desk for his consideration are designed to curb some TIF abuses without limiting an important economic development tool used by [...]

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Monday, May 7, 2012: DRUG MARKETING SETTLEMENT: Iowa’s share of a multi-state consumer protection prescription drug settlement will be more than $1.4 million. That according to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who joined 44 other states and the District of Columbia on Monday in [...]

DES MOINES – Lawmakers began to break their fiscal 2013 budget logjam Monday. The 2012 session’s 20th day of overtime saw compromises spring up in House-Senate conference committees as the split-control General Assembly began to assemble major pieces of next year’s spending plan and worked toward compromise on major property tax and education reform initiatives. [...]