From the ground up

     Change in leadership in the Iowa Senate took place last week. Senator Jack Whitver became the Senate Majority Leader and Senator Charles Schneider is the new President of the Senate.

     While these changes were prompted by an unfortunate sudden departure, the changes ushered in a more unified and determined caucus in the Senate. I witnessed and am part of a brother and sisterhood of leaders who are committed to serving the people of Iowa in our role as senators of Iowa.

     This was the second funnel week at the Iowa Capitol. What it means is all bills passed in one chamber must be through subcommittee and committee in the other chamber so we can act on these bills on the floor. We ran more than 12 House bills and 10 Senate bills last week as we continue to do the work for the people of Iowa.

     I ran three bills on the Senate floor last week. One of these was a bill allowing for customers to issue stop-payment orders through electronic means. A stop payment order on a check in Iowa is effective for six months, but lapses after 14 days if the original order is oral and is not confirmed in writing within the 14 days. This bill just says an e-mail is equivalent to a “writing.”

     Another was a bill reducing the redemption periods for property in foreclosure by roughly half. The bill is intended to shorten the periods under Iowa law to account for the 120-day waiting period created in the Dodd-Frank Act. This bill will result in houses coming back on the market in a more timely fashion.

     The last was a bill being requested by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to be consistent with federal regulations on persons who hold CDLs and texting while driving. It prohibits a person subject to the DOT motor carrier safety rules from operating a commercial motor vehicle while engaged in texting or while using a hand-held mobile telephone as prohibited by federal regulations, except in an emergency or as otherwise permitted under federal regulations.

     Did you know there are more than 28,000 cattle operations in Iowa? Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has many interesting facts about beef production in Iowa, which adds to the diversity of Iowa agriculture. For example, on Jan. 1, 2017 Iowa was home to 3.85 million cattle and calves, and in 2016, $3.86 billion in cash receipts for cattle and calves represented 15 percent of all Iowa ag cash receipts. Also, in 2016, Iowa’s beef industry generated an estimated $6.30 billion of economic activity in Iowa and supported an estimated 32,317 jobs in Iowa in 2016. In my home county, Delaware County, cattle production was rated number 5 in Iowa in 2016, relating to 850 jobs, $35,515,058 in labor income, $58,862,456 in value added, and $162,394,843 in output.