House bills address property tax, cell phones

This week (April 4) was called the “second funnel.”

What is the Second Funnel?

The second funnel deadline is the date by which bills must have passed one chamber (House or Senate) and a committee in the opposite chamber to remain eligible for further debate and passage. Any bill that does not meet this requirement is considered dead for the session, except for appropriations bills (budget-related), Ways and Means bills (tax-related) and Government Oversight bills.

The second funnel is useful. It (i) narrows the focus of the legislature to bills that have a strong chance of passing, (ii) reduces legislative gridlock by eliminating bills that lack support and (iii) ensures efficient use of time in the remaining weeks of the session.

The first funnel required bills to pass out of committee in their originating chamber. The second funnel took this a step further by requiring them to clear a committee in the other chamber.

So lots of bills died this week. (But they also say that some bills are “only mostly dead.”)

Property taxes

By now, you’ve probably received your notices in the mail about how much your county and school district plan to raise your property taxes. Our family’s notice contained some very unpleasant surprises.

The county plans to raise our property taxes 16%. The school district plans to raise our property taxes 13%. (This is in addition to the school surtax you pay on your income.)

If you are on a fixed income, changes in your property taxes can be extremely painful.

Iowa House Republicans have introduced several bills to tackle the problem. These bills are a starting point for a broad conversation about property tax reform.

As I have mentioned before, my hope is that we will lower property taxes, simplify property taxes and make them more transparent for each of us as taxpayers.

Your feedback is important, because these bills are very much works in progress. I want to see us get this done right, rather than done fast. This may well be a two-year process.

The main property tax reform bill is House Study Bill 313. Currently, the bill would set a revenue restriction to ensure that every Iowan gets property tax relief, provide a $25,000 homestead benefit, bring additional property tax relief to Iowa veterans and seniors and lower the uniform levy as it phases out the rollback system for residential, commercial and industrial property over five years.

Altogether, the bill is estimated to save Iowans $426 million in property taxes.

Again, we need to change the system, but we don’t want to rush into it too hastily.

Other tweaks we’ve introduced on property taxes include the following:

• HSB 304 calculates property taxes on a per parcel basis with a 3% limitation. This solution would provide certainty for property taxpayers.

• HSB 303 uses the interest from the taxpayer relief fund to buy down property taxes.

• HF 600 puts a cap of 2% on the average levy rate per $1,000 but permits local government to go higher with a 60% vote of the people.

Hands-free

The Governor signed the “Distracted Driving” bill into law this week (April 4). Iowa joins 30 other states in banning handheld cellphone use while driving.

The data shows that traffic deaths drop a meaningful amount in states that pass these laws.

Iowa already prohibits texting and driving, but law enforcement has found the no-texting law to essentially be unenforceable and meaningless. And texting is only one of the bad reasons we stare at our phones while driving.

Senate File 22 converted Iowa’s texting-while-driving ban into a ban on using electronic devices while driving. Drivers are allowed to use their devices in hands-free mode.

There are a number of common-sense exemptions to the ban. For example, you can still use your phone to receive safety-related information or to report an emergency situation.

And public safety and health care professionals are exempt while performing official duties that require the use of their devices.

A violation will be considered a moving violation and will be subject to a fine of $100.

Law enforcement officers will issue warnings for violations of the law from July 1, 2025, until Jan. 1, 2026. Starting in 2026, they will issue tickets.

While the law is usually referred to as the “Distracted Driving” law, I think that is an overstatement. The law does not ban all distractions. You can still eat lunch, play with your golden retriever, fix your hair or do many other distracting activities while driving. Please don’t.

But the law does ban the biggest distraction on the road — using our phones.

I am going to have to figure out some additional hands-free features on my phone. Or, more accurately, my kids are once again going to have to show me how to use my phone.