The Capitol Report by Rep. Curt Hanson

Report for week 15.

The weekend started as most do with constituent meetings, and suddenly our routine was changed by a phone call.

We were informed that my wife?s youngest brother in Sioux City had suffered a stroke.

Saturday we made the trip to his bedside and met with members of his family. I was certainly glad we traveled across storm-swept Iowa on Saturday, as Monday he passed away. I once thought of 59 as old, but I now think of 59 as the new middle age.

Monday at the Capitol I attended an education committee meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to pass a House strike after amendment to the Senate-passed education bill. This is a policy bill and does not appropriate money. It does, however, require about $15 million dollars be repurposed from other student learning programs to annual comprehensive teacher evaluations.

Many school administrators feel annual comprehensive evaluations will consume much of their time and will not allow them to be effective school leaders. Currently, most school districts do annual evaluations of teachers, but not in the comprehensive manner this bill directs them to perform. The bill passed out of committee as the amended Senate version and will be debated by the House.

I expect this bill, as amended, to be sent back to the Senate and rejected, and then it will be assigned to a conference committee for compromise. If all of this sounds confusing, that?s because it is confusing.

Democracy at work was once said to be like watching sausage being made ? not a pretty sight but the end product is good. I think the parliamentarian steps this bill is going through are necessary, but they do seem cumbersome.

After listening to House members? retirement speeches, we began work with several non-controversial bills on Tuesday. The educational policy bill I spoke about was passed largely on partisan lines 52-45-3 as expected. It now moves to the Senate, and then likely to a conference committee.

HF 675, dealing with Mechanics Liens, passed. I did not favor this bill as I think it hurts Main Street abstracting businesses and the maintenance of local county records.

We did pass SF 430, which creates an Iowa Public Information Board. This bill should be a step forward in making government more transparent. It was supported by the newspaper association and others involved in media.

Wednesday we passed several non-controversial bills and agreed to send the education budget to a House and Senate conference committee.

We next addressed the Health and Human Services budget. This is a very large Iowa budget that impacts many citizens of all ages, hospitals and communities.

An amendment to ban the sale of plastic containers made from bisphenol A, a material already banned in a number of states, was not adopted. There were many amendments to this bill, some very divisive, and debate lasted late into the evening. We passed the bill as amended, and it was sent to the Senate. This bill is one of several budget bills that I expect to be sent to a conference committee where necessary compromises will be recommended.

Much of Thursday was taken up with discussion of mental health redesign and the policies that should be redesigned. This is a massive bill, and it has long-term ramifications on state and county budgets, even though this is a policy bill and not a budget bill. The bill is changing almost by the minute, and it?s hard to keep our county supervisors and county central point coordinators appraised of the updates.

My hope is that any bill the House passes will have the daylight of time pass before the Senate takes the bill up ? thereby allowing citizens and county officials to thoroughly read the bill and offer input.

Over the last decade, Iowa has made a commitment to foster the renewable energy industry by encouraging both the production and use of biofuels, wind energy and other renewable energies. Our efforts are continuing to help Iowa?s economy and create jobs, as Iowa ranks first in ethanol, second in wind energy and fourth in biodiesel production.

The House, Senate and Governor have largely agreed to a $6.2 billion budget next year, which will leave the state with a balanced budget, another large surplus and full savings accounts. While we?re close to a budget agreement, there are still some big issues we have to reach consensus on before adjournment, including education reform, a redesign of our mental health system and commercial property tax relief for Iowa businesses.

As we continue to work toward the end of this session it is important we listen to constituents and not be pressured into making hasty decisions. I expect this legislative session to end the last week of April.

(Curt Hanson represents House District 90. He writes a weekly column during the legislative session. He can be contacted on his cell phone at 919-2314. His email address is curt.hanson@legis.state.ia.us.)