Latest news with #ConditionoftheState
The Hill
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
A lesson from Iowa on government reform: It's not just the taxes — it's the spending
Former President Herbert Hoover argued that governments have the instincts of a vegetable — that is, 'they keep spreading and growing.' Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) echoed Hoover when she stated that 'like any large organization, government is marked by bureaucracy's natural tendency to grow. If that growth isn't constantly checked and rechanneled toward its core function, it quickly takes on a life of its own.' This is why Reynolds has made reform of government a priority during her time in office. Fiscal conservatism is not just pro-growth tax reform, but even more importantly it must include limiting spending and reducing the size of government. Fiscal policy has been a significant part of Reynolds's agenda: 'We reduced taxes—saving Iowans more than $24 billion over 10 years. No more tax on retirement income. No inheritance tax. And starting this month [January 2025], Iowans get to keep even more of the money they earn, with a 3.8 percent flat tax — a far cry from the 8.98 percent of six years ago,' said Reynolds. Iowa's corporate tax rate, once the highest in the nation at 12 percent, has been reduced to 7.1 percent and will continue to decrease until it reaches a flat 5.5 percent. Not only will Iowa have eliminated the progressive income tax, but it will also have reduced the top tax rate by almost 60 percent. These reforms are grounded in common-sense budgeting ideas, which have prioritized spending control and government efficiency. These efforts have not only ensured budget stability with surpluses, full reserve accounts, and a Taxpayer Relief Fund with a $3.6 billion balance, but they have also enabled responsible tax reductions. During her Condition of the State address, Reynolds launched Iowa's DOGE task force, modeled after her efforts to reform state government. 'I like to say that we were doing DOGE before DOGE was a thing…,' she said. Prior to forming the DOGE taskforce, Reynolds was able to get two major state government reform laws passed. 'When we started our alignment work in 2022, state operations hadn't been reviewed in forty years — and it showed,' she said. 'Layers of bureaucracy had accumulated over decades, expanding government beyond its core function, keeping us from working effectively as one team, and hampering our service to Iowans. We were too big, too fractured, and too inefficient.' Both government reform measures worked to limit government and make services more efficient. 'We've transformed the way our State interacts with citizens, businesses, and entrepreneurs,' Reynolds said. 'We consolidated agencies (from 37 to 16), eliminated 1,200 burdensome regulations, remade legacy systems, centralized programs, and leveraged technology.' These reforms have already saved taxpayers $217 million, exceeding original projections just within the first 18 months. Prior to the reform, Iowa had 256 boards and commissions. Eighty-three of them have now been eliminated and others consolidated. In starting this reform, Reynolds asked basic questions that all policymakers should be asking about government — local, state, and federal. ' What is the core mission of each agency? How is it funded? How is it staffed and what does it own? Are the agency's programs working? How did the structure of the agency compare to other states? Where is there duplication or misalignment? What can we cut?' These questions align with the principles of priority-based budgeting, as outlined in the ALEC State Budget Reform Toolkit. Finally, Reynolds understands that conservative budgeting is at the heart of tax reform. 'But it's not enough just to cut taxes,' she says. 'You have to make them sustainable, especially if you want to keep bringing them down. The growth they create helps, but you also have to keep spending in check.' This is a lesson that many states and the federal government have yet to learn. Going into the 2026 legislative session, Reynolds is making property tax reform a priority. Across the nation, reforming property taxes appears to be the most difficult tax reform endeavor. Nevertheless, she understands that local governments must apply the same fiscal conservatism as well as undertake government reform measures in order to provide property tax relief. With the laudable goal of tax relief, spending must be addressed through priority-based budgeting. Regardless of the tax, it is government spending that drives high taxation.
Axios
7 days ago
- General
- Axios
Calls grow for unity to solve Iowa's nitrate crisis
Persistent wet weather has increased nitrate leaching from farm fields into rivers and is the main cause of the metro's prolonged water crisis this summer, Matt Helmers, director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, tells Axios. Why it matters: The consequences are apparent this year, but the problem has been getting worse for decades. Understanding it can help unify the state to achieve lower nitrate levels more quickly, urban, farm and public utility advocates tell Axios. Catch up quick: Nitrate levels at key water intake points surpassed the federal drinking water limit of 10 mg/L for about 40 more days this year compared with 2024 — a near-record period, according to data from Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW). The DSM metro is also the fastest growing in the Midwest, creating a situation in which water utilities are struggling to remove enough nitrates to meet demand. Flashback: In 2015, DSM Water Works — a member of Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) — sued three northwest Iowa counties and multiple drainage districts in federal court, alleging they violated the Clean Water Act by not better controlling nitrates. The legal battle caused political division before a judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2017, concluding that the widespread problems are for the Iowa Legislature to address. State of play: Metro water utilities have been working on nitrate removal expansions for years, with new projects expected to come online in 2026, CIWW executive director Tami Madsen tells Axios. Farmers are deploying dozens of types of projects like precision nitrogen management through the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative, an on-farm trail program at Iowa State University. The use of cover crops in Iowa has grown from 50,000 acres in 2010 to over 4 million acres this year. Friction point: The work needs to be greatly expanded, environmental advocates such as Polk County Conservation director Rich Leopold tell Axios. The intrigue: Nearly two-thirds of Iowans voted in 2010 to amend the constitution and establish the Natural Resources and Outdoors Recreation Trust Fund — a permanent funding source for clean water, outdoor recreation, and habitat projects. Yes, but: There's still no money because the Legislature has not increased the state sales tax by three-eighths of a cent to fund it. Gov. Kim Reynolds identified funding the Trust Fund as a top priority in early 2020, which would generate an estimated $220 million annually for outdoor improvements. The effort stalled just a few weeks later amid the economic uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, and questions about its future have largely been postponed to future Condition of the State addresses. Inside the room: Polk County Supervisors Chairperson Matt McCoy, a Democrat and former state senator, called on the Legislature to act on the trust fund during a July 1 meeting when the county publicly released its 200-plus-page river report.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs 25 bills, including fireworks and school funding measures
Gov. Kim Reynolds, shown here delivering the Condition of the State message on Jan. 14, 2025, signed bills including school funding, fireworks rules and lawsuit protections in First Amendment cases. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Gov. Kim Reynolds signed 25 bills into law Monday, including measures related to fireworks, school funding and First Amendment rights. The slate of bills signed is the first action on legislation Reynolds has taken since the 2025 legislative session adjourned Thursday. However, these are not the first bills she has signed this year — the governor has already signed into law several measures, including high-profile laws like the ban on using cellphones while driving outside of handsfree or voice-activated modes, and the removal of gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. There are still many other measures awaiting Reynolds' signature that passed this session. The governor has until June 14 — 30 days from the end of session — to sign bills passed this year into law. Measures she does not sign during this period are considered a 'pocket veto' and do not become law. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Here are some of the bills Reynolds signed Monday: Iowa lawmakers sent Reynolds Senate File 167, the State Supplemental Aid (SSA) rate for the 2025-2026 school year, in April. The legislation came to the governor much later than in many previous years — the Legislature has a self-imposed deadline to pass the SSA rate for the upcoming school year within 30 days of the governor's budget being released in January, though there is no penalty for failing to meet this target. This year, House and Senate Republicans reached an agreement setting the SSA rate for the upcoming school year at 2%, an increase of $157 per K-12 student for the per-pupil funding mechanism for Iowa schools. The bill also included some funding components for Iowa schools that Republicans said will help address inequities with rural school district funding, including a $5 bump to the State Cost Per Pupil (SCPP) and a 5% increase to the rate of funding per pupil to the transportation equity fund. Democrats said the 2% rate will not provide enough funding for schools, saying that 159 Iowa school districts will be on the budget guarantee for the upcoming school year — a process that increases local property taxes when school districts' funding needs are not met by state aid. The governor also signed House File 472 into law, a measure targeting 'strategic lawsuits against public participation,' also known as SLAPP lawsuits. SLAPP cases are civil lawsuits filed by businesses, individuals or organizations against news organizations and activists that are typically a means to try to silence these entities from publishing stories or making public statements about a specific topic. The lawsuits are not filed necessarily with the intention to win in court, but as a means to draw down time and money from the people being sued to prevent them from continuing to report or talk about a subject. The law is a way to provide protections for defendants in these cases by giving courts the ability to grant expedited relief in cases involving First Amendment rights, like the freedoms of speech and press. This is a bill that has come up in multiple previous legislative sessions, but did not receive Senate approval until this year. Discussions in Iowa started on SLAPP lawsuits after a 2018 case in which a Carroll police officer sued the Carroll Times Herald when the newspaper reported he had sexual relationships with teenagers — information the officer confirmed was true. The judge had dismissed the lawsuit, but the Carroll Times Herald accrued more than $100,000 in legal fees, nearly putting the paper out of business. Senate File 303 prevents Iowa cities and counties from prohibiting or limiting the use of fireworks on July 3, 4 and Dec. 31. Iowans must still follow state laws regulating the use of fireworks, like a ban on fireworks sales to minors or the use of 'display' fireworks without local permission, during these three days. However, other further restrictions could not be set by local jurisdictions. Several cities in Iowa, like Des Moines, Ames and Iowa City, have more restrictions or total bans on the use of fireworks that would no longer be enforceable on these three days. Local rules could still be enforced during other periods when fireworks are permitted for legal use by the state — from June 1 through July 8 and Dec. 10 through Jan. 3 of each year. During floor debate on the bill, Republican lawmakers supporting the measure said this change was necessary to allow Iowans to fully participate in the the country's 250th anniversary, referring to President Donald Trump's idea to begin celebrations at the Iowa State Fair for the 'Great American State Fair' from Memorial Day 2025 to July 4, 2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs natural disaster assistance bill into law
Gov. Kim Reynolds spoke about the state's flood emergency response and recovery efforts during a news conference at the State Emergency Operations Center in Johnston June 23, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 619 into law Tuesday, the bill providing funds for the state's recovery efforts for 2024 floods and tornadoes as well as making changes to Iowa's response system for future disasters. The bill provides $13.6 million from the Iowa Economic Emergency Fund retroactively for fiscal year 2025 for response efforts to severe flooding and tornadoes. Reynolds said in a statement the bill will help Iowans and communities recovering from the major disasters in the past year that impacted more than 5,000 homes across the state. 'The tenacity of Iowans has been tested over the past year,' Reynolds said in a statement. 'Our state faced devastating natural disasters in the spring of 2024—strong tornadoes and widespread flooding affected tens of thousands of Iowa families. To put it in perspective, our state was granted three Presidential disaster declarations in just two months. During this time of recovery, our relief programs have proven vital for Iowa families and communities to regain their footing and restart their lives.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The legislation, introduced by the governor, was highlighted as one of her top priorities for the 2025 legislative session during her Condition of the State address in January. A majority of funding from the bill, $11.6 million, goes to the Disaster Recovery Housing Assistance Program launched by the state in July. The other $2 million goes to the Nuisance Property and Abandoned Building Fund, which helps tear down buildings that damaged beyond repair by natural disasters. The law also will extend tax exclusions for developers building new housing in areas impacted by recent natural disasters. The measure includes other components that Reynolds and lawmakers have said will help Iowa better respond to future natural disasters, including allowing the Iowa Department of Management to access 10% of the state's Economic Emergency Fund each fiscal year for disaster recovery efforts when the governor issues a disaster proclamation. The legislation also establishes the Natural Hazard Mitigation Financing program, a new loan program through the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Iowa Finance Authority, to provide funding for 'ongoing risk mitigation' projects that can help Iowa communities reduce damage in future severe weather events. There was some pushback in subcommittee meetings on a component of the bill requiring appraisers, independent adjusters and umpires to be licensed to assess property damages. Advocates representing parties involved in the industry said most states do not have licensure in this field and could lead to fewer independent adjusters and umpires — the professionals who serve as a neutral party assessing damages and property value during insurance claim processes — practicing in Iowa. The measure was not changed by lawmakers. The law is effective immediately. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Iowa Environmental Council launches project on relationship between cancer and environment
The Des Moines River in Johnston on April 7, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Iowa is an outlier for the wrong reasons, according to several environmental advocates who spoke at the Harkin Institute's annual wellness symposium, which this year focused on the future of clean water. Speakers at the symposium noted Iowa's cancer rates, which are the second-highest in the nation, the state's overwhelming amounts of animal manure and its problems with polluted water. This was the setup to launch an initiative between the Iowa Environmental Council and the Harkin Institute to explore the relationship between environmental risk factors and cancer rates in Iowa. 'At its heart, this entire initiative is about each out you, and about Iowans,' Sarah Green, IEC's executive director said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The initiative will combine both community outreach and a 'rigorous' review of academic research on the subject. The review will result in a public report and journal article with visual data mapping to show environmental risks and cancer rates. The two organizations aim to share these reports widely across the state and hold 15 listening tours to hear and amplify Iowan's lived experiences with cancer. 'Our goal is to give voice to Iowans — whether they're urban or rural — give them a voice, give them the opportunity to share and document their story,' Green said. Green said it's now 'well established' that certain factors, like tobacco use, tanning beds and alcohol consumption contribute to cancer rates, but she questioned 'what else might be at play.' Cancer research was a priority outlined in Gov. Kim Reynold's Condition of the State address earlier this year, when she called on the Legislature to fund a $1 million partnership between the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and the University of Iowa to research factors contributing to Iowa cancer cases. Adam Shriver, the director of wellness and nutrition policy at the Harkin Institute, said the partnership between Harkin and IEC would 'address the gaps' in the conversations about cancer in the state. 'Part of what's motivating our project is that even though there are lots of groups talking about studying the high cancer rates, there are some groups that want to limit what we're looking at when we're having these conversations' Shriver said. The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, based at Drake University aims to facilitate public policy research and citizen engagement. Previous iterations of the Harkin On Wellness symposium have centered on topics like well-being in schools and healthy food. Sue Mattison, Drake University's provost, said the 2025 topic, the future of clean water, touches 'every community, every discipline and every life.' Mattison, who is also an epidemiologist, said she has seen 'firsthand' the impact environmental factors, like water quality, can have on health outcomes. 'We know that climate change, population growth, pollution and the burden of inequitable environmental infrastructure are putting immense pressure on our water systems, and it's clear that no single sector can change these challenges alone,' Mattison said in her opening comments at the symposium. 'The problems we face require collaboration across every sector.' The event featured speakers across disciplines who discussed the need for cleaner water through the lenses of cancer research, environmental ligation, public policy, community action and even art, with a satirical video listing the ingredients in Iowa's 'pure' drinking water. Speakers identified industrial agriculture practices, like the over-application of nutrients to cropland, and runoff from confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, as key polluters to Iowa's water. The most mentioned pollutant, nitrate, enters streams from manure, fertilizer, septic and sewage runoff. On its own, nitrate is not a carcinogen, but when ingested, it interacts with other compounds that can be carcinogenic, according to the National Cancer Institute. Excessive consumption of nitrate can also cause health issues like blue baby syndrome, thyroid problems and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Citizen scientists take to Iowa's waters to monitor nitrate levels Lu Liu, an assistant professor at Iowa State University, said only 4% of public water systems in Iowa treat drinking water for nitrates, according to a recent study. The study 'Disparities in potential exposures to elevated nitrate in Iowa's Public Water Systems' was published in February and found that more than 7% of Iowa's average population are exposed to drinking water with nitrate levels in excess of 5 milligrams per liter. This metric is half of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit on nitrate in drinking water, but Liu said existing research of exposure at the 5 mg/L level has demonstrated negative health outcomes. Jim Larew, an attorney with the northeastern Iowa environmental group Driftless Water Defenders, said he has seen the reputation of Iowa change over the years from a state with high education rates and healthy citizens, to the state with some of the highest rates of cancer in the country. Larew, who has litigated against issues like the renewal of a water use permit for a CAFO at the head waters of a trout stream, said it would be a 'misstatement' to blame all of the cancer in the state on industrial agriculture. 'But surely, when you look at the maps and incidences of cancer and where we're doing the most intensive farming, there's at least an association,' Larew said. He said environmental work, to him, is also a social movement that is on the 'cusp of a civil rights movement' in Iowa. 'This is not something that just involves lawyers and judges — if we're going to move things in the right direction — it requires people,' Larew said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
