Wednesday, March 23

Let me repeat what I said yesterday:

The dove hunting bill, which took 5 minutes in the Senate, will come up for debate as an amendment to a raccoon hunting bill.  If there is a question of germainess (whether or not it actually pertains to the bill) and the dove hunting amendment is found not germaine, then the Republicans will suspend the rules and vote on it anyway.

It came up for debate today, and boy do I have the sense for politics! Darn.  The amendment was found not germaine, but the rules were suspended.  So, once it goes to the governor and he signs it into law, it will be legal to hunt mourning doves in Iowa.  As I was working at the switchboard, several calls came in one after the next with people strongly for and strongly against dove hunting.

Other bills passed include SF 464, HF 454, SF 429,  HF 473, SF 233, SF 299, SF 361, HF 597, and HF 643.

Tuesday, March 22

The House debated SF 259, SF 244, SF 149, HF 516, SF 327, HF 534, SF 474, SF 470, HF 523, SF 291, SF 400, SF 7 and HF 603 were all passed.

HF 603 is a bill relating to eminent domain.  Eminent domain gives the state the authority to seize private property.  As far as I can tell, this bill limits when and how eminent domain is used.  It was not debated for a very long time, and the final vote was 87-6.

SF 427 was floor managed and passed by Iverson. It allows qualified organizations to lease certain electronic bingo equipment in order to assist disabled participants.

The dove hunting bill, which took 5 minutes in the Senate, will come up for debate as an amendment to a raccoon hunting bill.  If there is a question of germainess (whether or not it actually pertains to the bill) and the dove hunting amendment is found not germaine, then the Republicans will suspend the rules and vote on it anyway.

Monday, March 21

Today's Lunch 'n Learn was with Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds.  A high point of the meeting was when she said she was going to finish college at Simpson, and I told her that I have heard the Lt. Governor speak at graduations at Iowa State and would she be interested in graduating and speaking at the same time...

Beginning at 4:45, the House debated and passed HF 467, SF 402, SF 475, HF 557, SF 325, SF 483, HF 609, HF 390, SF 321, HF 548, and HF 614.  They finished by 6:00.

The second funnel is April 1.  From what I understand, to be eligible for debate, all bills must be filed with the Chief Clerk's office, so once again, committees are hard at work.  This makes for more long days.  Also, before each stretch of debate, both parties go into caucus, so no one is on the floor.

Thursday, March 17

Today, a HF 589 came up for debate.  It is controversial because part of it reads:


The bill prohibits a person from interfering with an animal facility of crop operation.  This includes producing an audio or visual record which reproduces an image or sound occurring on or in the location, or possessing or distributing the record.  It also prohibits a person from exercising control over the location or property, with intent to deprive the owner of the property, rentering onto the location, if the person has notice that the location is not open to the public.  The severity of the offense is based on whether there has been a previous conviction.  For the first conviction, the person is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor, and for a second or subsequent conviction, the person is guilty of a class "D" felony.


It is designed this way to prevent contamination of animal production sites.  A farmer rep went through all the hardships of maintaining a small farm and how important sanitation is, especially for raising young animals.

Wednesday, March 16

Once again, today was full of caucus and debate.  HF 582, HF 583, HF 584, HF 585, HF 588, HF 569, HF 593, and HF 392 were all debated and passed.

Many people don't know that a live audio feed of whatever is going on in the chamber is available online: http://media.legis.state.ia.us/house_internal

Thanks to HF 584, a home schooled child can be taught drivers' ed by his/her parents.  HF 593 changes one word in the Iowa Code; massage therapists must now receive 600 hours of education instead of 500 hours.

I have always wondered, "How the heck can there be so many new laws for the House to enact? What can they all possibly cover?"  I have realized that most, nearly all, of the legislation passed simply amends the existing code to conform to current practices and changing times.  So it's not necessarily all "new regulations" for us to follow.

Tuesday, March 15

Today was a... slow day.  There were committee meetings until 3:00.  Then, HF 345, HF 462, HF 537, HF 563, HF 592, HF 562, HF 540, and HF 617 were all debated and passed.

I have noticed that after a bill leaves its committee (and sometimes before), there is a... lack of bipartisanship.  Pretty much every amendment proposed by a Democrat fails.  Now, this could be for any number of reasons, but what does reason is that some minor amendment may move the bill forward in the Senate when it would otherwise die.

Monday, March 14

Here is the link to Rep. Murphy's speech (see last post): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX3lSw1KLaA&feature=channel_video_title

This week's Lunch 'n Learn was with a well-known, 30-year, multi-client lobbyist.  He explained what he does and why he is so effective at what he does.  Many people have the perception that lobbyists go around trying to corrupt legislators into voting the way they want them to for no good reason.  It's not like that at all; I have noticed that reps (for the most part) respect lobbyists and are open to their views.  As I've said before, reps usually have their mind made up on a bill.

When we gaveled in at 1:00, one clerk asked another clerk if she would marry him.  She said yes and they took off the rest of the day.

In the afternoon, HF 461, HF 484, HF 490, HF 493, HF 499, HF 512, HF 532, HF 536, HF 565, and HF 401 were all debated and passed.  The most exciting thing of the day was the engagement.