First ‘funnel’ deadline brings flurry of activity

Good morning SD44! (2-20-26) The sixth week of the legislative session officially kicked off the rush toward the first major legislative deadline. The first "funnel" deadline is this week. This deadline brought a flurry of activity these last two weeks as have we worked through the large number of proposals being considered. This is where over 1,000 bills that have been drafted, get narrowed down to 400-500 to be further considered.

A busy week with subcommittee and committee meetings means we saw a lot of important proposals moving through the Senate. An important bill I brought forward out of my Workforce committee was Senate Study Bill 3169, which addresses the verification of United States citizenship and immigration status of newly hired public employees as well as for individuals seeking a professional license. This bill would also apply to counties, cities and schools for newly hired employees. This last fall, it was nationwide news when the Des Moines Public Schools superintendent was arrested by ICE for illegally being in the country. After news broke and the weeks went on, we continually found out the lies he told the Des Moines community about his resume and his experience and the lack of diligence on the Des Moines school district’s part. This is a common sense solution to help ensure Iowa does not face an issue like this in the future and help protect Iowans from experiencing this sort of fraud when their tax dollars are paying those salaries.

Last week the Dickey Dispatch was entirely focused on education spending and because of that, providing an update on a few other important events were paused until this week.

Every year the Iowa Supreme Court has “night court” to hear oral arguments on a case that deals with legislation that became law the prior year. They do this so that legislators can listen to the arguments how the law applies in the courtroom. This year the Iowa Supreme Court selected legislation dealing with the Brady-Giglio list and a case as to how that law applied in a dispute between the Jefferson County Attorney and how he placed (properly or improperly) the Jefferson County Sheriff on this list.

I won't go into the specifics of the case because it has been well documented in local media (probably being one of the most discussed stories in SE Iowa in 2025). However I am mentioning it because of how significant the issue has become in the state. Another county that I represent, Henry, has had a similar case in the past year as well. It is very unique that there are not only 1, but 2 cases dealing with this issue at the same time and they both happen to be in SD 44. Needless to say, there was a very large presence of people from Jefferson and Henry County in attendance.

At the completion of these hearings, the Supreme Court will discuss (behind chamber doors) the arguments made by both parties and will typically issue a ruling in 2-4 months. Until then, everyone waits.

Last Thursday was the Iowa Motor Truck Association annual trucking day at the Capitol! In Iowa, the trucking industry is the 2nd LARGEST employer, with 1 out of every 11 Iowans working in the trucking industry, so it only makes sense for them to be present while we are in session to talk about their issues. Legislators were able to visit with these professionals to learn more about the trucking industry and the legislators even had a chance to drive a trucking simulator so they could see first hand what it is like to be behind the wheel. In addition the IMTA leadership class was in town as well. It’s always my pleasure to be able to speak to this new group of Iowa leaders! This day is always one of the highlights of the legislative session for me.

It was a busy week of getting legislation through the “funnel,” and as we move into the next part of this session, I am looking forward to addressing issues that continue to be important to Iowans.

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