The second session of the 83rd Iowa General Assembly convened on January 11, 2010 (the Iowa Constitution requires the legislature to convene on the second Monday of January of each year). The legislature adjourned sine die in time for a late lunch on Tuesday, March 30, 2010, for a total of just 79 days. This was the shortest legislative session in decades....

The Iowa Legislature has winnowed the number of bills left it will consider the rest of the year and leaders in both Houses have laid out a schedule for a possible March 26 adjournment. The legislature is passing two or three Appropriations Bills...

The Iowa Legislature is winnowing the number of bills it will consider the rest of the year, and talk around the capitol this week has been pretty strong for a possible March 26 adjournment, which is just two weeks away. The last big hurdle was passed Thursday, March 11, when the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference...

The Iowa Grocery Industry Association would like to take a minute and thank the over 200 members who attended Grocers Care Day this past Tuesday. For those who were not able to attend, IGIA members were briefed on the present legislative climate, the upcoming 2010 election and key issues facing the industry this year in the Iowa Legislature. Attendees were also addressed during lunch at Hy-Vee Hall in downtown Des Moines ...

Then don’t plan on complaining if the following become laws this year, because $30 and one day out of the store is going to save you thousands of dollars! All of these bills have passed out of committee and are still eligible in the legislative process. You can make a difference February 23! The registration deadline has been extended through this Friday, February 19!...

Things are really picking up at the Iowa State Capitol, and some issues that have seen in the past, some that are new and some with a new “spin” are the major focus of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association this week. The first funnel date (when most bills have to pass one committee in either the House or Senate, except Appropriations, Ways and Means or Leadership bills) is this Friday, February 12....

Despite claims that the 2010 Iowa Legislative Session would be all about the budget and not much else, the reality is shaping up to be just the opposite. Over 650 bills were filed in the first three weeks and Governor Chet Culver just released his budget Wednesday....

With the plethora of health mandate bills that have been introduced so far this session, this is a question both the Iowa Legislature and the Iowa Grocery Industry Association will need to grapple with this year. Before the session began, many observers thought we would see a major health care bill pass out of Congress soon...

Now, those that know Scott know him as a carefully spoken attorney, with a wry sense of humor, might not expect him to utter such a phrase. However, during this morning’s Legislative Update Conference Call (by the way, if you want to get on the calls, see the instructions below for getting on the call), I burst out laughing, knowing the cynicism in his voice....

It won’t be long before Governor Chet Culver addresses the people of Iowa with the annual Condition of the State speech in the middle of January, which will officially launch the 2010 Legislative Session in to motion....

The first session of the 83rd Iowa General Assembly convened on January 12, 2009 (the Iowa Constitution requires the legislature to convene on the second Monday of January of each year). The legislature adjourned sine die just before 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, April 26, 2009 (105 days). In 2009, we monitored the following legislative activity for the Iowa Grocery Industry Association (IGIA):...

Remember our message the whole legislative session: In these tough times, the last thing the Iowa legislature needs to do is raise the costs for Iowa businesses. That cost will ultimately be passed on to the customers. No taxes, no additional fees and no unfunded mandates....

Remember our message the whole legislative session: In these tough times, the last thing the Iowa legislature needs to do is raise the costs for Iowa businesses. That cost will ultimately be passed on to the customers. No taxes, no additional fees and no unfunded mandates. ...

The Iowa Department of Human Services’ budget is slated to come out this weekend and be debated on in the DHS Appropriations Subcommittee possibly as soon as Monday. The IGIA believes that the draft will contain language asking for the removal of the EBT seven-cent reimbursement fee for retailers that use their own POS equipment....

Yesterday, the Iowa Department of Human Services Appropriation Subcommittee met and approved the worksheet for the budget that will now be put in bill draft form. The worksheet did not include an appropriation for the EBT seven-cent reimbursement fee. So, the bill will be drafted with the reimbursement fee missing....

Even though the “official” second funnel date is April 10 on the legislative calendar, democratic legislative leaders have been signaling for the past couple of weeks that March 27 would be the “unofficial” second funnel date. The second funnel is a process the legislature uses to winnow the number of bills for consideration to complete the session....

Next Friday, March 13, is the first funnel for the Iowa Legislature, which is when a bill must pass out of a committee to stay in consideration for the 2009 session. Exceptions to this rule are any appropriations, ways and means or leadership bills, which can be introduced at any time. ...

Democratic leadership in both houses are laying the ground work for an early departure for the 2009 Legislative Session. They have made it known that they would like to end the session 10 days early, meaning the session would end around April 15 instead of the May 1 scheduled end....

This is the headline “ripped” from the Des Moines Register on Saturday morning, as the first of four “labor” bills was debated in the Iowa House. Normally, the leadership of the majority party in control (now the Democrats) does not bring up a bill for a vote unless they know it will pass, as it is viewed as counter productive politically to bring up bills for votes you know will lose....

Normally, the budget is released by the Governor very shortly after his State of the State address the second day of the session. However, this year, Governor Chet Culver chose to hold off releasing it until this past Wednesday. The Governor unveiled a total of $580 million in budget cuts that are being called for in the 2010 budget fiscal year recommendations....

The Iowa Legislature gaveled into session on January 12, opening the 2009 Legislative Session. The IGIA will supply weekly Legislative Updates every week, beginning this week. And, although the legislature has been in session for two weeks, it is definitely a “different feel” for IGIA members (and others) in comparison to last year....

Elections have consequences in the following legislative session. Fortunately for the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, it got off to a good start when a vast majority of the candidates it supported in the 2008 Iowa Election won their races back in November....

The second session of the 82nd Iowa General Assembly convened on January 14, 2008 (the Iowa Constitution requires the legislature to convene on the second Monday of January of each year, thus, this session began the latest date possible). The legislature adjourned sine die just after 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, 2008, 104 days....