Under the golden dome

In the Senate

     After the legislative deadline last week, we saw more debate on the Senate floor this week. It was a BOLD and monumental week for Iowa—and I was honored to be a part of it. Let me open my newsletter with something that benefits every Iowan.

Transformational Tax Relief for Hard-working Iowans

     We just delivered the largest tax cut in Iowa’s history. One of the main focuses of the legislative session this year was passing comprehensive tax relief for Iowans. In the months leading up to January, Republicans in the House and Senate, as well as the governor, were all talking about passing additional tax relief this year. I am proud to say this week the Senate has passed historic tax relief that will have a generational impact for Iowans and their families.

     This bill implements a 3.9 percent flat tax for all Iowans. On average, Iowa taxpayers would receive $1,326 in tax relief, or about a 36 percent reduction in their tax liability. A flat tax of 3.9 percent moves Iowa from having one of the highest income tax rates in the country to having the fourth lowest. Additionally, it provides tax relief for retired Iowa farmers by providing a first-time pension exemption and eliminates all taxes on retirement income. These policies are incredibly important as we try to make Iowa more competitive so people not only want to stay here, but others will want to come and make Iowa their home.

     In 2018, the Senate passed tax relief for Iowans and their families, implementing the biggest income tax cut in Iowa’s history to that time. This bill is the next step in our plan to keep reducing the income tax. It is a vision for a future that makes Iowa more competitive and provides real, permanent tax relief for Iowa families. This bill delivers on the promise that Iowans will keep more of what they earned. It also makes Iowa more competitive with other states, in a fiercely competitive market for jobs and people. It takes a huge step to simplify Iowa’s complicated tax code.

     While Iowans are trying to manage their family budgets amid inflation and increasing costs on everything from groceries to the gas pump, we are going to ensure families keep more of the money they worked hard to earn, help small businesses put more money towards hiring new workers, and take another step towards making Iowa the best state in the country.

Addressing Child Care Needs

     Last year the Iowa Legislature passed a number of bills to address the need for access to affordable child care. One of those bills established a task force to study the issue. The task force recommended making changes to the number of children an adult can watch in a child care facility.

     On Monday the Senate passed Senate File 2268 to address the accessibility and availability of child care and implement some changes recommended by the task force. It eases the regulations on child care centers and allows them more flexibility on how many children they can accept per adult. The rules are different depending on the ages of the children being watched. One example of the change is, one adult can now watch seven children two years of age instead of six. Surrounding states and the federal government all have less strict regulations than Iowa’s current standards. Those policies have proven reasonable in Illinois, Minnesota, and across the country. In fact, the standards passed this week in the Iowa Senate remain slightly stricter than those states.

     Many times the right approach to a problem is to evaluate how the government is creating the problem or making it worse. The best way government can tackle the problem is as simple as addressing the part of the problem government is making worse. SF 2268 is a common-sense approach to addressing both the workforce shortage and the lack of accessible and affordable childcare. It does not create another government program, it does not create a complicated tax credit scheme, and it doesn’t increase the burden on child care providers. It addresses these problems with a traditional conservative approach to reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses. I was happy to support this bill and look forward to other ways to ease unnecessary regulations on small businesses.