The following is a legislative update from Republican State Rep. Shannon Latham, representing portions of Franklin, Hamilton, Story and Wright counties in Iowa House District 55:
Iowa Legislature Reconvenes
The second session of the 90th Iowa General Assembly reconvened January 8, 2024. Governor Kim Reynolds’ annual Condition of the State address was broadcast live on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen delivered the State of the Judiciary. The Adjutant General of Iowa National Guard Major General Stephen Osborn delivered the Condition of the Guard on Thursday morning.
During her Condition of the State, Gov. Reynolds outlined her agenda for 2024, which includes the following priorities:
1. Area Education Agency (AEA) Reform
- Despite Iowa spending $5,300 per pupil more than the national average on special education funding, we’ve ranked 30th or worse in nine of the 12 national assessments for special education performance.
- AEAs were created in the 1970s to provide special education support to school districts.
- Under this proposal, AEAs will focus solely on students with disabilities.
I appreciate the emails I have received from parents concerned about cuts to AEA services. I also plan to visit in more detail with administrators at community schools in my legislative district. I want to learn more about the services they receive from AEA in addition to special education. For example, I know the AEA serves as curriculum director for one of my schools. My focus will be on helping our schools get the services they need while also improving education outcomes for students.
2. Raising Teacher Salaries
- The Governor’s proposal would increase starting pay for teachers by 50% to $50,000.
- It would also set a minimum salary of $62,000 for teachers with at least 12 years of experience.
- This change would require a $96 million investment from the Iowa Legislature.
- In addition, Gov. Reynolds announced a $10 million merit-based grant program that would allow districts to reward teachers who have gone above and beyond. In the first year, this would be a pilot program funded from American Rescue Plan (ARP) dollars.
3. Boards and Commissions
- Her proposal would eliminate 111 redundant or obsolete boards.
4. Tax Cuts
- Iowa is currently on a path to phase Iowa’s income tax rate to a flat rate of 3.9% by 2026. This tax cut was passed by the Legislature in 2022.
- The Governor’s proposal reduces the income tax rate for all Iowans to a flat 3.65% in 2024, meaning it would be retroactive to January 1, 2024. In 2025, the rate would fall to 3.5%.
Check out the full Budget Report for FY2025: https://dom.iowa.gov/sites/
Increasing teacher salaries and speeding up the tax cuts were two priorities already announced by Iowa House Republicans, so I was glad to hear our governor include these in her priorities.
Committee Assignments
This session I serve on the following committees:
- Local Government, Chair
- Appropriations
- Economic Growth & Technology
- Natural Resources
- Transportation
In addition, I serve on the budget subcommittee for Ag and Natural Resources. Now that the governor has released her target budget, our budget subcommittees can get to work. Subcommittees also will begin meeting in earnest next week for bills that have been either introduced this session or re-referred to committee from last year.
Sponsored Bills
This week we began the second session of the 90th General Assembly. As a reminder, below is a list of bills that I sponsored in 2023 or 2024, which are eligible for consideration this session:
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HF 152: A bill for an act relating to school resource officers by establishing a rural school security grant program and making appropriations.
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HF 389: A bill for an act establishing an agriculture education grant program within the department of education and making appropriations.
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HF 2022: A bill for an act relating to the Double Up Food Bucks program and making an appropriation.
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HF 2023: A bill for an act establishing the United States Army Reserve service scholarship program within the College Student Aid Commission.
Stay in Touch
Each week during the legislative session I will provide updates on committee work and floor action. I invite you to follow me on Facebook (Representative Shannon Latham), Instagram and Twitter (@ShannonLathamIA). I also post a weekly video by Tuesday called, “Looking Ahead with Latham,” to give a preview for that week. I will recap the week’s activity in my newsletter, “The People’s Post.” This newsletter will be distributed to media throughout Iowa House District 55, as well as posted to my social media channels.
(PHOTOS via Rep. Latham office.)
Oh, yes, get rid of citizen input, so she can do anything she wants, no matter what. Just another rich beeyotch screwing over the working poor to make herself richer. Does she not get that AEAs help private schools, too? All those tax dollars they’re already getting, and she wants to shift even more to her own bulging pockets.
Another Republican who says she will ask for input from the people who know what is going on with AEAs, but will disregard that input if it differs from what the person on Terrace Hill wants.