The 2024 legislative session began Monday, Jan. 8, 2024 at the Iowa Capitol. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

DES MOINES – As Iowa lawmakers returned this past Monday to the State Capitol, legislative leaders say they are planning to focus on higher education, tax cuts and nursing homes in the 2024 Iowa legislative session.

Iowa Republicans control a majority in the House and supermajority in the Senate, alongside holding all statewide offices except for the Auditor of State. Education was a major topic in the previous legislative session, with a private school scholarship program signed into law as well as a school standards law on “age-appropriate” books and materials that is currently challenged in court.

This year, Iowans can expect to see the focus on education return — this time, with lawmakers planning to look at higher education. House Speaker Pat Grassley said in a December interview that House Republicans plan to look at funding for Iowa’s colleges and universities and incentivizing training and degrees for in-demand fields. Grassley said while his caucus did not have specific legislation on higher education drafted, Republicans plan to consider shifting funding and potential changes to tuition grants.

“I think a lot of it’s going to be as looking at what the core mission of our higher educational institutions are, within the state to try to fit the demands,” Grassley said. “Because I think we can’t ignore the fact that the issue of the workforce continues to be an issue in the state.”

Higher education has seen a boost national attention in the past year through topics like free speech on campus and the role “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” programs play at universities. The Iowa Board of Regents approved recommendations in November to cut DEI efforts at Iowa’s three public universities that are not required for accreditation or compliance, following a law signed in June directing the board to conduct a study on the diversity programs.

Iowa K-12 schools

Lawmakers plan to look at Iowa’s nine Area Education Agencies, services that support children with disabilities and special learning needs. Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement to the N’west Iowa Review that Iowa lawmakers plan to conduct a review of Iowa’s AEA system, citing proficiency gaps between Iowa students with disabilities and children in other states.

“Iowa’s Area Education Agencies were created 50 years ago to address the needs of students with disabilities, but over the years, they’ve significantly expanded their scope of services beyond the core mission,” Reynolds said.

In a social media post, Reynolds said she has “no intention of closing AEAs,” but that the AEA audit will ensure students with disabilities and their teachers have the “best services and support possible.”

Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum said any cuts to the AEA system would have a “dramatic impact” on rural school districts, which often depend on the agencies to provide specialized education support and accommodations required by law.

AEAs employ trained staff in fields like occupational therapy and speech pathology that provide services for multiple school districts, meeting the requirements outlined in students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). If AEAs did not exist, schools would have to individually hire the staff needed to meet these additional education needs.

Jochum, whose late daughter had a disability, said AEAs are “invaluable” to helping parents meet their children’s needs.

“I would hope that the governor and the Republicans will move very cautiously on this issue, because this is one mother that’s going to stand up pretty strong on fighting back if they try to make anything dramatic,” she said.

Democratic lawmakers said their goal in the upcoming legislative session is to procure more funding for Iowa public schools, and to provide more support to marginalized students, including LGBTQ youth and students with disabilities. Jochum said in an interview with the Iowa Capital Dispatch that when adjusting for inflation, Iowa K-12 school funding has fallen more than $500 million dollars behind what it was in fiscal year 2017.

Jochum said Iowa’s educational outcomes will improve if schools receive more funding, calling for the Legislature to pull funding from the state’s budget surplus for school aid. The Democratic leader also said providing support for schools — and reversing course on anti-LGBTQ legislation will help Iowa fix its workforce shortage and population decline issues.

“Iowa had a reputation for having one of the best public education systems in the country that attracted a lot of young families and new families to Iowa, as well as teachers,” Jochum said. “And with the recent changes that have been made in education in the last year or so, that has changed dramatically. Where I have more and more families are saying, ‘Hm, does Iowa really believe in public education anymore?'”

More tax cuts proposed

Iowa Republicans also plan to return to the issue of individual income tax in the upcoming session. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver said in an interview with the Des Moines Register that there is an opportunity to “expedite” the income tax cut process that began in the 2022 legislative session moving Iowa to a 3.9% flat tax rate by 2026.

While Reynolds and Republican lawmakers have expressed interest in eliminating Iowa’s individual income tax, Whitver said “whether we present a bill this year that gets us to zero, I’m not sure yet.”

The governor’s office hosted a budget hearing Wednesday, where advocate groups spoke in support of the GOP leaders’ tax plan. Tyler Raygor, Iowa director for Americans with Prosperity, said the organization supports plans to continue cutting individual income taxes.

“We would support you, Gov. Reynolds, and the legislative leadership in crafting a strategic path toward the complete elimination of the income tax,” he said. “This bold move would make Iowa an attractive destination for businesses and individuals seeking a state committed to fostering economic freedom.”

As Republicans look at tax cuts, House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst said House Democrats plan to introduce legislation that will help with rising child care and housing costs. At an Iowa Capitol Press Association forum Thursday, Konfrst said the majority party’s focus on tax cuts will not provide substantial economic relief for Iowans struggling with rising costs of living. The people who benefit the most from Iowa’s recent tax cuts are the wealthy and special interests, she said.

“You know, 500,000 Iowans see no benefit from the tax cuts that Republicans have passed,” she said. “That’s not going to change if we speed up the implementation of the earlier Republican tax cuts. So we’re … going to be looking real closely to make sure that if there are tax cuts, let’s make sure that people will benefit from them and that the burden won’t be disproportionately put on the Iowans most vulnerable.”

Iowa’s boards and commissions under review

The process of consolidating Iowa’s system of state agencies was approved during the 2023 legislative session and implemented in July. The law also designated a review of Iowa’s state boards and commissions — a process that was conducted this summer. The review committee announced recommendations in September to eliminate or merge 111 of Iowa’s existing 256 boards and commissions.

Jochum said the proposed changes to boards and commissions has the potential to put the health and safety of Iowans at risk with the potential elimination of boards in charge of job certifications and safety regulations.

“They’re making dramatic changes to those boards, and there’s really a question on whether or not it’s jeopardizing the safety of Iowans by doing that,” she said. “The second thing I would say is that this whole thing is upsetting or changing the checks and balances in government, where you are now consolidating more and more power into the executive branch.”

The committee also recommended eliminating Iowa’s gender-balance law that requires equal numbers of men and women to serve on state and local government boards. Whitver has said he would be “comfortable” with eliminating the gender-balance requirements, saying that it would not necessarily mean there will be more men on state boards and commissions.

Kraig Paulsen, director of the Iowa Department of Management and the review committee chairman, said one of the reasons the committee recommended eliminating the gender-balance requirement is because some state boards, like the Electrical Examining Board, have difficulty finding women to serve as members.

Nursing homes

Iowa faces numerous reports of violations in nursing home facilities, and a November federal report found Iowa has one of the worst ratios of nursing home inspectors to care facilities. The report also found the state’s use of outside contractors to help tackle the backlog of inspections is also potentially more expensive and risky.

Grassley said Republican lawmakers are looking to address the problems at Iowa nursing homes with a focus on other contractors. One of the top issues that lawmakers hear about is staffing shortages at nursing facilities, he said. House Republicans hope to tackle that this year by limiting what staffing agencies can charge for their services.

“Right now, when you can charge three, four and five times more to send somebody there on a part-time basis, it’s very hard for our nursing homes to not only compete with those wages, but provide good care and keep good people on staff to provide good care,” he said.

Iowa taxpayers have a “significant level of investment” in the funds that go to these agencies because roughly half of the state’s Medicaid recipients are in nursing homes, Grassley said, which means there needs to be a higher level of accountability.

“At some point we have to have accountability not only for quality of care, but accountability for the taxpayer,” Grassley said.

Senate Democrats called for the Senate Oversight Committee to launch a bipartisan investigation into Iowa’s nursing homes. Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, who serves as ranking member on the oversight committee, submitted a Dec. 14 letter to committee chair, Senate President Amy Sinclair.

“It is painfully clear that the State of Iowa is not taking its responsibility to care for vulnerable Iowans seriously,” Celsi wrote. “Consequently, some residents of Iowa’s nursing facilities are in grave danger of neglect, abuse and death.”

Political action committees representing Iowa’s nursing home industry made major campaign contributions to Iowa Republicans including Reynolds and Whitver in recent election cycles.

The Legislature’s 100-day session convenes at 10 a.m. Monday at the State Capitol. Iowans can watch a livestream of proceedings in the House and Senate chamber on the Legislature’s website.