The Driscoll Dispatch

Following the second major legislative deadline for bills last week, week thirteen saw us working with the House on compromises and where we can find agreement on legislation. On Monday, we were happy to host FIRST at the Capitol. FIRST inspires young people to be innovators and leaders in robotics and technology. Members of FIRST from grades K-12 came to the Capitol and displayed their accomplishments for us in the rotunda. Technology and robotics are a growing industry and we want to support young Iowans in their pursuit of being leaders in this field. This is one reason why we passed Senate File 398 which would make robotics teams a state-sponsored activity, meaning it would receive support from the Department of Education.

Wednesday was the Association of Iowa Fairs Annual Legislator and Staff Social. The Association of Iowa Fairs seeks to preserve and strengthen the fair industry and helps support and organize the county, district, and state fairs we all enjoy. Legislators, staff, and the governor’s office joined the association for a social to discuss the promotion of the fair industry of Iowa. Fairs are an important part of our state’s economy and culture. Fairs are also very important to me and my family and we are thankful for the work this association does supporting them.

This week Gov. Reynolds signed SF 514, the state government alignment and reorganization bill. This bill was the first major reorganization of Iowa state government in 40 years. Although this bill was long and had many moving parts, the governor’s concept was pretty simple. If the federal government can operate on with 13 cabinet level directors, certainly the State of Iowa can operate on 16 cabinet-level directors. The bill seeks to increase efficiencies and the cost savings over the next four years estimated by the governor’s office to be over $200 million.

Another important thing I wanted to address is disaster assistance. After the series of storms starting March 31, Gov. Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for a number of counties, including District 46, that experienced severe weather. These counties include Appanoose, Cedar, Clinton, Davis, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Grundy, Iowa, Jackson, Johnson, Keokuk, Linn, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, Wapello, Warren and Washington. The signing of the disaster proclamation means qualifying residents can apply for the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and the Disaster Case Management Program. These grants can help with home or car repairs, replacing clothing or food, temporary housing expenses, and disaster-related hardships and injuries. More information on these programs is available at https://dhs.iowa.gov/disaster-assistance-programs and www.iowacommunityaction.org.

Gov. Reynolds also signed a disaster emergency proclamation, easing restrictions on the transportation of materials related to disaster response and repairs. This will be in effect until May 1, 2023. We’re thinking about all those affected by the storms. Please reach out if you have any questions or are looking for assistance.

Day in the District:

My Friday last week was spent touring places in Iowa County. First, I visited with teachers and students in the English Valleys Community School District.

I also met with some students about the greenhouse at English Valley. The greenhouse management and plant science classes keep pretty busy in the spring at EV. They have a school greenhouse that allows students to gain some authentic learning experiences by growing, marketing, and selling flowers and vegetables to the community. The students in greenhouse management learn about starting plants from seed, along with purchasing plugs that are already started, they make their own combinations for the hanging baskets, and are responsible for growing them until they are ready to sell. They learn about money management decisions, cost analysis to set their prices for the year, and gain great customer service experience by helping customers after they open.

The EV Greenhouse is the main fundraiser for their FFA chapter. The chapter received the FFA Growing Together Grant from the Department of Agriculture and started a school garden to supply produce to our school and community. Students can apply and get paid $10 an hour to work in the garden. This is a great way for students to be engaged in a school-based SAE (Supervised Agricultural Experience) and gain valuable work-based learning experience along with learning about the different careers in the plant science career field.

Lastly, I had lunch with the Iowa County Assessors. They spoke to me about people’s concerns with assessment increases and sent me an FAQ to share in response to everyone’s concerns. Below are some examples of the FAQs:

What happens if the market goes down?

The assessor must value according to the sales from the prior year. We are not predicting the future, only responding to the prices that buyers paid to sellers. So if the market decreases, we will follow the market when we revalue property.

The market is just up because of inflation.

We are required to follow the market, regardless of what caused the changes in the market. We follow the market transactions that buyer/sellers are making. The buyer and sellers determination of what a fair price was, dictates the market. If it becomes a deflated market we would follow that as well.

Why did my property go up when I didn’t sell or buy it?

Sales from the jurisdiction are used to determine the total value that is required for an entire classification. In order to reach to the total value, most properties will see valuation changes based off of the median sales number.

Why did my property go up when I didn’t do anything to it?

While making changes to a property can increase the value of that individual property, the sales information from a jurisdiction indicate what trends occurred in the market as a whole. Since the assessor is required to be at market value on a property, if the market indicates that housing prices have increased, it is likely that most properties would have to increase.