The following is a legislative update from Republican Representative Henry Stone of Forest City, representing portions of Emmet, Kossuth and Winnebago counties in Iowa House District 9:
Reforming Education
This week, we passed a number of bills through the Iowa House to refocus our institutions of education on providing quality education, lowering costs for students, and replacing identity politics with intellectual diversity.
One such bill was HF 856, which I was in charge of running on the House floor during debate. HF 856 roots out DEI from community colleges and private institutions accepting taxpayer funding through the Iowa Tuition Grant. It prohibits state entities, community colleges, and private institutions who are accepting the Iowa Tuition Grant from using any funds to establish or support DEI offices.
DEI is defined to include various efforts to manipulate employee or student body composition based on race, sex or ethnicity, promoting differential treatment, or implementing policies or trainings related to these concepts. The bill specifically states this prohibition does not apply to certain exceptions including research, activities of registered student organizations, guest speakers, mental or physical health services, or any DEI required by federal contracts.
Democrats will continue to misrepresent our bills tackling DEI to say they will hurt certain groups of Iowans like veterans or disabled Iowans, or that it will prevent Iowans from getting the care they need based on their race or gender. A simple reading of the definitions and exceptions in this bill makes it clear that is not the case.
While “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” might sound nice, the real implications of these DEI offices are not inclusive or diverse at all. Far too often, their efforts are incredibly divisive and are aimed at silencing conservative voices and imposing ideological conformity. Iowans have made it clear they are sick of identity politics and do not want taxpayer dollars spent on efforts to divide us further. Let’s move past DEI and replace it with MEI (Merit, Excellence and Intelligence)!
Let The Kids Play Sports!
HF 189 is another bill I was excited to see hit the debate floor this week. It is a bill I have been working on for a few years. This bill allows students who attend non public schools to participate in athletic contests or competitions provided by a public school in the district they live in or in a contiguous district. The student is only eligible to do so if the sport is not already offered by their non public school.
There have been multiple instances of long standing athletic agreements being severed in recent years, and the ones who ultimately lose are the kids. Too many high schoolers have had to forgo their junior or senior year of a sport they have dedicated years of training to and have potentially missed out on scholarship opportunities due to these severed agreements; or from agreements not existing to begin with.
I am proud to say HF 189 passed out of the House on Wednesday and has been sent to the Senate.
New Legislation Targets Gift Card Fraud in Iowa
The House Judiciary Committee brought HF 842/SF 226 forward to combat theft and fraud involving gift cards. Under the proposed bill, individuals who acquire or keep a gift card without the owner’s consent, or who tamper with a gift card, could face serious legal consequences.
The bill classifies these actions as theft or forgery, both of which are considered aggravated misdemeanors. Additionally, if someone uses deceitful tactics to obtain a gift card or its redemption information, they could be charged with a fraudulent practice. The severity of the charges will depend on the value involved, with penalties ranging from serious misdemeanors to class “C” felonies for larger amounts.
This bill protects consumers and ensures that those who engage in fraudulent activities face appropriate penalties. As criminals get craftier, the law has to evolve. HF 842 passed the House this week making it safer for law abiding Iowans to buy and use gift cards.
State’s Economic Forecasting Panel: Iowa’s Economy is Resilient and Strong
On Thursday, the three-member Revenue Estimating Conference met for its spring meeting to go over Iowa’s economic activity and to forecast state revenue. The panel is required to adjust its forecasts for FY 2025 (the current budget year) and FY 2026 (the next budget, which will be developed in the upcoming weeks). The panel is also required to put forward an initial forecast for Fiscal Year 2027. The panel also revises the gaming tax and interest forecasts for FY 2025 & FY 2026.
As is its custom, the REC began the meeting with a discussion of current economic conditions. The national economy was judged to be stronger than expected, and Iowa’s economy was described as resilient and strong by Conference members. Iowa’s employment figures (unemployment rate of 3.2% and a work participation rate of 66.4%) continue to outperform the national figures even with the declines in the ag manufacturing sector. There are headwinds slowing down the state’s economic growth with continued inflationary pressures, a slow decline in interest rates, and potential and actual tariffs being implemented. Overall, the panel concluded that Iowa is in a relatively good position.
After its review of the economic conditions, the REC moved to the current year revenue forecast. Unlike some past meetings, there was little daylight between the forecasts of the Legislative Services Agency and the Department of Management. There was agreement that General Fund revenue for FY 2025 is expected to be $9.1346 billion. This is a slight reduction of $19 million from the panel’s December forecast.
The panel then turned to FY 2026. Again, the difference between LSA and DOM was very small. They settled on a revised forecast of $8.5079 billion for the next budget year. This is a reduction of $217.8 million from the December projection. Overall, revenue would be down 6.9 percent from FY 2025. This was fully expected due to the full implementation of income tax cuts passed recently.
As required by Iowa Code, the Revenue Estimating Conference also puts out an initial forecast for FY 2027. Here, there was a little larger difference between LSA and DOM, but that is to be expected since they are projecting revenue 28 months out. In the end, the panel agreed on a number that is in the middle of these two forecasts with FY 2027 revenue projected to be $8.9624 billion. This would be revenue growth of 5.2% over their forecast for Fiscal Year 2026.
The final portion of the meeting was a look at gaming tax revenue and the interest earned on the state’s reserve funds. The panel maintained their FY 25 and FY 26 projections for gaming tax while slightly lowering the FY 25 interest forecast. In the end, revenue available in the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund to be budgeted will be $4.5 million lower than was projected in December. This reduction is offset by the first two payments for license on the new casino in Cedar Rapids.
(TOP PHOTO: “Rep. Wills and I welcomed members of the Winnebago and Kossuth County Farm Bureau.”)
“The national economy was judged to be stronger than expected, ” Thank you President Biden!
Stone talks about letting non-public school kids play sports for the public school in their area. Guess he isn’t worried about indoctrination. He should know that the majority of coaches in high school sports are those same people he accuses of indoctrinating kids. That doesn’t count apparently once the kid is in after school activities. And it sucks too that the public school is punished twice by this new law. First, the non-public school child is not required to pay a fee for participating unless other athletes pay the same fee. Essentially the non public school player has no responsibility for paying the coaches. That is another example of public schools having to pay for a private school education. Secondly, the school affected by the non-public school competitor may move the school’s classification to a bigger class because the school has to use both school’s total attendance in determining its classification. Mason City High School may move back up to Class 5A competitions. None of that is fair.
Inflation is going down, Thank you President Trump
Coaches paid thru our taxes, aren’t they?
Yea, inflation is finally moving down to where it was in Biden’s last few months. High school coaches are paid by the school which uses taxes to fund its programs, so, yes, our taxes pay coaches. Your point?
First, the non-public school child is not required to pay a fee for participating unless other athletes pay the same fee. Essentially the non public school player has no responsibility for paying the coaches. That is another example of public schools having to pay for a private school education.
I agree.