Joe Mitchell and Rich Taylor return to Mt. Pleasant for legislative update

MT. PLEASANT - State representative Joe Mitchell and state senator Rich Taylor returned to Iowa Wesleyan University's J. Raymond Chadwick Library Saturday morning to give an update about the current legislative session to local constituents.

Moderated by Mt. Pleasant Community School District's school board president, Jennifer Crull, Mitchell and Taylor addressed concerns and questions about mental health funding, Iowa's Water and Land Legacy sales tax (IWILL) as well as the state supplemental aid (SSA) to school districts.

To begin the discussion, Taylor and Mitchell spoke on bills they felt would be important to southeast Iowans. Taylor highlighted a broadband bill he authored but unfortunately died. However, the governor had also introduced a bill to provide funding for broadband, through which he hoped he could add amendments that would make getting grant funding easier for smaller broadband companies and providers. Taylor also highlighted the negotiations of the SSA rate, which passed the house at 2.5% and the senate at 2.1%.

'I'm really hoping it ends up higher than the two-and-a-half percent. Schools used to know their funding a year and a half or even two years ahead. Now it's just one,” Taylor said.

Mitchell added that even though the percentage of funding may not be at the rate schools want, the figures will give schools a good head start in determining their budgets for the following school year. The state representative added that there is currently discussion for the rate to be negotiated to 2.3%, a middle ground for the house and the senate.

'The 2.5% would add 100 million new dollars for K-12 schools,” Mitchell said.

The state representative also noted that he was continuing to push his workforce recruitment bill which would help local businesses bring new families to Iowa from Puerto Rico.

When asked about mental health funding, the legislators explained a new spending formula of the IWILL tax would allocate ⅝ of a cent from the tax to mental health funding. Taylor said he had reservations about changing mental health services after counties across the state regionalized just several years ago.

'I just worry that returning the funding to the state would mean it would also tell regions what they can and can't do,” Taylor said. Taylor explained he felt the money would be better spent creating regional crisis centers to help provide care to those with more severe mental health issues.

Taylor and Mitchell also discussed a potential property tax relief bill which would lower income tax from 9% to 5.5% but would raise sales tax.

'Most senior citizens and people who make less than $50,000 already don't pay income tax. It would ultimately be a tax on the poor and elderly while taxes for the Top 10% would decrease,” Taylor said.

In response, Mitchell explained Iowa has one of the highest taxes in the Midwest, which may make it less competitive in attracting people and businesses to the state. He added that items like groceries and pharmaceuticals are already exempt from sales tax, which is where those of a lower income bracket 'are spending most of their money.”

'People across the board will get a tax cut. It helps small businesses that are providing and creating jobs,” Mitchell said.