Our second legislative deadline has passed, meaning we had another busy week as we worked on moving House bills through the Iowa Senate. This process keeps us focused on important priorities, bills with enough support to remain viable at this point during session, and hopefully helps us end session on time this year. It usually also means as we work on legislation, we are finding additional issues that may prevent it from moving forward.
Two issues that come up consistently when talking with Iowans are public safety and mental health. The Judiciary Committee discussed a few bills this week aimed at helping Iowans, supporting Second Amendment rights, and dealing with the fentanyl disaster that continues to consume our country and our state.
House File 2576 creates a 1st degree murder charge for delivery of fentanyl to another person if that delivery results in the death of the other person and is one more step we can take to try and curb the devastation and help Iowans avoid the loss of a loved one.
Another bill, House File 2421, is aimed at protecting Iowans from harming themselves or others. It provides liability protection to federal firearms license holders when they are trying to prevent suicides.
We continue seeing the benefits of the tax policies we have passed. Just last week, Iowa was rated as the best state for retirees. In 2022, we passed a massive income tax relief bill for Iowans. While it implemented several large reforms, like putting into place a 3.9 percent flat tax for all Iowans and providing farmers a first-time pension exemption. It also completely eliminated the tax on retirement income, making Iowa one of the most tax-friendly states for retirees.
Congratulations to Clay County Public Health! They were selected by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and its Business Leadership Network as one of the five winners of its annual Community Grant Program funded by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. Their “Every Day Healthy Eating” project will provide education and cooking tools to individuals who frequent local food pantries. The purpose of the Business Leadership Network Community Grant is to foster collaboration in Iowa communities in addressing areas of identified community health or public health need.
It is an honor to serve Senate District 3 at our state Capitol in Des Moines. Reach out anytime at lynn.evans@legis.iowa.gov.