The Dickey Dispatch

(April 11, 2025) Happy Friday District 44,

This week was another busy week with debate. In the Ways and Means Committee this week we introduced a bill that would be GREAT for Iowans for generations to come. Senate Study Bill 1221 proposes a new amendment to the Iowa Constitution requiring a minimum of a 2/3rds vote in both chambers to pass legislation that will increase tax rates on income or create a new tax on income. This would create steady tax rates for years to come and require Democrats and Republicans to largely agree that taxes need to be raised before they could be raised. Over the past 5 years, Republicans have gone to GREAT lengths to lower your income taxes (now a flat 3.8%) and this amendment would provide protection to keep lower income tax rates for generations to come.

This week, the House and Senate both passed Senate File 167, setting K-12 education funding for the next year. Senate File 167 allocates an ADDITIONAL $240 million for K-12 education in Iowa. With this new money, K-12 schools in Iowa will be receiving over $4.2 BILLION in general fund aid. It brings our state’s total spending to $7,988 per student, however when property taxes and other funding sources are included, each school in Iowa receives on average of over $18,000 EACH year for EACH student! For a classroom of 22 students, this equates to $396,000! This new spending combined with the historic teacher pay increase that we passed last year clearly demonstrates a commitment to education in Iowa! The passage of this bill not only continues responsible increases to education funding in our state, it also continues a trend in sustainable spending and puts Iowa teachers in the top ten best paid teachers in the country.

This week Senate Republicans announced a budget target for Fiscal Year 2026. Our target is $9.411 billion. That is a 5.2 percent increase over the previous year. The FY 2026 budget is the first full year of our 3.8% flat tax. As our state continues to adjust to this it is important we continue budgeting conservatively and responsibly as the Republicans have since they took control in 2017.

Another unique bill that the Senate passed this week was SF35 which dealt with doxxing. Doxxing was not an issue when many of us where younger but in an online world, the security of our personal information has become even more important. Sometimes personal information is posted online with the intent to harass, intimidate, or bully someone. In response to this growing issue, SF35 was drafted to address this. This bill creates the crime of harassment by dissemination, publication, distribution, or posting of personal information. A violation of this law can qualify as an aggravated misdemeanor.

The weather for this weekend looks to be beautiful and I'm certain that will bring many farmers to their fields. Please drive with added caution as you approach these large implements and have a GREAT weekend!