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Fairfield legislative forum covers biofuels, taxes
Andy Hallman
Feb. 20, 2022 2:37 pm
FAIRFIELD – Biofuels, flat taxes and the governor’s “school choice” bill were among the topics of discussion during the legislative forum Saturday morning at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.
Three of the county’s four state legislators attended the event, which is put on by the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce. In attendance were Iowa House of Representative members Jeff Shipley and Joe Mitchell, and Iowa Sen. Adrian Dickey. Iowa Sen. Jeff Reichman was absent.
Biofuels
The three legislators, all Republicans, were largely in agreement from issue to issue except on the proposed biofuels bill that the Iowa House passed 81-10 in early February.
The bill would require existing gas stations to sell fuel with a higher blend of ethanol, unless they obtained an exemption because of inadequate equipment. Gas stations with compatible equipment would be required to sell E15 ethanol (a blend of 85 percent gasoline and 15 percent ethanol) from at least one pump by 2026. Furthermore, any gas station updating its equipment must add a pump to offer E85 (85 percent ethanol) and diesel equipment to handle B20, a higher grade of biodiesel made from soybeans.
The discussion of the biofuels bill was prompted by a question from resident Joe Ledger. Shipley and Mitchell said they voted for the bill.
“Anyway that we can incentivize gas vehicles to use ethanol is a good thing,” Mitchell said.
Though the Senate has not taken up the bill, Dickey said it would need to be revised before it got his vote.
“I love our farmers and want to support them, but this is not the way to do it,” he said.
Dickey said the requirements on updating pumps to sell a higher blend of ethanol would put a lot of small gas stations out of business. He added that the timeframe in the bill was unrealistic, that it would take closer to 16 years and not four years for all convenience stores to make the necessary upgrades.
In addition to his role as an Iowa Senator, Dickey is the president of Dickey Transport in Packwood.
“As a gas station owner, I can tell you we don’t make much money at the pump,” he said, adding that the profit comes from selling food and drink in the store.
Dickey said making gas station owners update their equipment to help the ethanol industry was akin to making farmers buy all new John Deere tractors just to support an Iowa-based company, even though it would do nothing to improve their yields.
“I’d never pass legislation that would put 25 percent of farmers out of business, but that’s kind of what this is doing,” he said.
Flat tax
During his opening remarks, Mitchell touted the House’s recent passage of a bill to gradually adopt a flat income tax of 4 percent in the next four years. This would eliminate the state’s current tax brackets, of which there are nine ranging from less than 1 percent to 8.53 percent. The bill would also eliminate taxes on retirement income, give tax breaks to retired farmers and people who retire from employee-owned companies.
Mitchell said he feels good about being able to “give money back to Iowans” instead of finding new ways to spend the state’s $1 billion surplus.
“It’s not for us to go on a spending spree,” he said.
Keosauqua resident Tom O’Donnell asked the legislators why they favored a flat tax.
Shipley said one of the purposes of taxation is to discourage certain behavior, like how cigarette taxes are intended to discourage smoking.
“We don’t want to discourage people from earning income,” Shipley said.
Shipley said Iowa is competing for residents with other states that don’t have an income tax at all, such as South Dakota, Texas and Florida.
“To get more people, we need a competitive tax environment,” Shipley said.
Mitchell echoed Shipley’s comments, saying the state should not “penalize people for being successful.” He also brought up how Iowa’s taxes compare to neighboring states.
“Illinois has lower taxes than us. That’s crazy,” Mitchell said.
Dickey said one thing he found bizarre about Iowa’s current tax brackets is that even a pair of first-year teachers in the Fairfield Community School District would be placed in the top bracket. This appears to be true given that the top bracket in 2022 is $78,435 (Dickey said it was $75,000). Later in the Q&A, Fairfield School Board member Christi Welsh said starting teachers make just over $39,000. Dickey had earlier said the starting salary for teachers in the district was $50,000, but discovered the sheet he was looking at referred to the average salaries of teachers in the district and not their starting salary. Nevertheless, Dickey said his point still stood that two first-year teachers would be subject to the state’s top income tax bracket.
School funding and ‘school choice’
O’Donnell said the Legislature’s decision to approve a 2.5 percent increase in funding for schools was not very much given that it’s well below inflation, which he said was 5 percent. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, actually rose 7 percent in 2021.
Mitchell said he wondered whether the people complaining about the 2.5 percent increase in funding were also going to give their employees 7 percent pay raises.
“We can’t print money like the federal government” he said.
Dickey said that the inflation argument cuts both ways, because school districts have received annual increases for years even when inflation barely rose. He added that, under the flat tax plan, the average person in Iowa will receive $1,600, and they can donate that money to any “groups you think are underfunded.”
Mark Porter, also a member of the Fairfield School Board, asked the legislators for their thoughts on “school choice,” referring to proposals that give parents money to send their children to private schools. Porter said he supports the idea as a parent, but in his role as a newly elected school board member beginning last November, he’s worried that “school choice” is unsustainable.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ school choice bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee last week, and would allow qualifying students to use 70 percent of their per-pupil funding to attend a private school. The remaining 30 percent of a student’s per-pupil funding would go to small school districts.
Shipley told Porter that this bill would help school districts that are losing students to open enrollment, because the school district would still get $1,458 for each student who enrolls out instead of zero dollars like it does now.
“The main beneficiaries of this will be low-income kids in big cities who are not getting a good education,” Shipley said.
Mitchell said he foresees the vast majority of kids in Iowa will continue to attend public schools, most of which are doing a “great job.”
“There are certain districts that are not doing their job, and this will keep them accountable,” Mitchell said of the bill.
Mitchell said he thought of the bill as a similar program to how Iowa provides tuition grants to students who attend in-state private colleges.
Dickey agreed with Mitchell and Shipley that the bill was about bringing greater accountability to schools. He said parents in the state, especially in urban areas, are upset by what their children are being exposed to in school, including critical race theory and “pornographic books.”
“Parents are fed up, but some school boards are not listening,” he said. “School choice gives these parents other options.”
Welsh asked the legislators if private schools that receive these funds would be under the same requirements as public schools. Mitchell said he was aware of that criticism, of how public schools have to accept all students, unlike private schools. He said he hopes those issues can be worked out before the bill is passed. Shipley said the private schools would be under the same regulations that schools such as Maharishi School in Fairfield have to follow.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
The three legislators who participated in Saturday morning’s forum were, from left, Adrian Dickey, Joe Mitchell and Jeff Shipley. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Iowa Rep. Jeff Shipley speaks during Saturday morning’s forum. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Iowa Rep. Joe Mitchell shares his thoughts on recent legislation during the February legislative forum. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Iowa Sen. Adrian Dickey speaks about a proposed biofuels bill, which he said would need to be changed before he would be willing to vote for it. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Christi Welsh, a member of the Fairfield School Board, asked a question about the “school choice” bill during Saturday’s forum. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Tracy Diehl said she was concerned about the Iowa DNR competing with farmers for farmland, bidding up the price. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Tom O’Donnell said he fears the state’s services are being “starved” through a lack of funding. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Ryan Metz told the legislators that his boys have gotten tickets for shooting raccoons even though they’re eating his crops, eliminating as much as 30-40 percent in some fields. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Mark Porter, a member of the Fairfield School Board, told the legislators he has mixed feelings about “school choice,” because he likes the idea but worries it’s not sustainable. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Karen Crossland thanked the legislators for their “pro-life” positions. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
Joe Ledger asks a question about the biofuels bill. (Andy Hallman/The Union)
James Lee Elliott said he’s glad to see a “school choice” bill come before the Legislature, but wishes it were open to more students. He said the state’s ban on critical race theory in schools is not being enforced. (Andy Hallman/The Union)