The Capitol Report by Rep. Curt Hanson

Session report for week 10.

The weekend of March 10-11 was filled with constituent contacts and county conventions. I was able to attend the Davis County, Jefferson County and Van Buren County Conventions where I met many friends and supporters.

March 12, the Capitol was visited by FFA chapters of many Iowa schools. The rotunda was a sea of blue FFA jackets. I was pleased to meet Fairfield, Harmony, Pekin and Van Buren FFA members and their sponsors. That afternoon and evening, the House passed a number of non-controversial bills, and both parties caucused to prepare for the debate on the educational reform bill scheduled for March 13. Over 45 amendments to the education bill were filed, so we expected a long and detailed debate.

March 13, after both parties again caucused to further discuss amendments, debate on the future of Iowa education in the Iowa House finally got under way. I offered an amendment to study a number of issues important to rural Iowa school districts ? one of them being transportation costs. Transportation costs in some rural districts are nearly $1,000 per student, while nearby urban districts may spend only $2 or $3 per student for transportation. I made the point on the House Floor that students in rural districts are not being treated equal and education reform must address this grievance. My amendment failed along party lines. Amendments dealing with tobacco use on school property and safety review officers were ruled not germane to education reform. I supported an amendment that would make it easier for rural school districts to open career academies; however, this amendment failed along party lines as well. We recessed at 11:51 p.m. and agreed to continue debate the next day.

On Wednesday morning, the House passed the education reform bill on a 53-46-1 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate where it is likely to be amended. I expect final action will be delayed until near the end of the legislative session. Areas of agreement in the education reform bill include: personalized learning for students at their own pace, expanded preschool, recruiting and keeping great teachers, engaging more parents, and more advanced placement (AP) online classes. Kindergarten assessments are very important, as are programs that put each child on a track to continue their education and learn a skill-specific vocation to land a good job. I will continue to work toward smaller class sizes, fully support early literacy and improved teacher teamwork.

In other action on Wednesday, we passed an enhanced school bus safety law. This bill is sometimes called ?Kadyn?s Law.? This bill is the result of a little girl who was killed when she was run down by a driver who passed a stopped school bus with its lights on and its stop arm extended.

Wednesday afternoon we anticipated debate on city use of traffic control devices; however, the bill was suddenly pulled from debate when leadership discovered not enough votes existed for its passage. An unusual group of representatives on both sides of the aisle did not favor the bill for a variety of very different reasons. Only if leadership chooses to find a unique method of reintroducing the bill will we see this bill again. Wednesday evening the entire Legislature was invited to ?Dubuque Night? at the state fairgrounds. This was the first time anyone attending could recall being able to enjoy conversation outside on the patio. I understand temperatures reached record highs all over the state.

Thursday morning we passed a non-controversial bill dealing with death certificates before attending committee meetings. In the education committee, we passed a bill that would fund education reform by moving money from the Iowa Early Intervention Block Grant Program, a program that helps keep early elementary class size small to fund similar education reform literacy programs. Using the same money for the same thing, and then calling it reform, is not reform. We also discussed a bill that would cap local school property taxes used for dropout prevention programs. We will wish to amend this bill when it reaches the House floor to make certain some rural districts are not disadvantaged.

A Senate committee has approved a bill (HF 561) to expand nuclear power in Iowa. Should the changes made to that bill pass the Senate, it will be sent back to the House. I urge you to contact me and other legislators regarding your feelings about the bill.

I was pleased to learn that Iowa?s unemployment rate dropped again this month down to 5.4 percent, which is the sixth lowest in the country. Iowa?s economy added 3,500 jobs in January. These are positive signs that we are continuing to move out of the recession.

I will again be at the Village Cup and Cakes in Keosauqua on Saturday at 8 a.m. I hope many of you will join me for coffee and discussion.

(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.)