DES MOINES (AP) — Fresh off their success in pushing through a conservative agenda in the session that ended Saturday, Iowa Republicans say they’re already looking ahead to next year.
Lawmakers adjourned the 2017 session Saturday morning after passing GOP-led legislation that reduced public unions’ power, added abortion restrictions and expanded gun rights. They said they’ll return to unfinished business next year that includes tax cuts, immigration enforcement and the use of public education money for private instruction.
“We’ve made tremendous strides this year,” said Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel. “That’s just the beginning.”
Throughout the last days of session, GOP lawmakers repeatedly said cutting taxes would be a priority when they return in January. Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who will succeed Gov. Terry Branstad if he’s confirmed as the next U.S. ambassador to China, said “comprehensive tax reform” is on her to-do list.
She emphasized the goal of making Iowa competitive by lowering corporate tax rates and possibly reducing individual income taxes, though she didn’t offer specifics.
“I want it to be significant but I want it to be sustainable,” she said.
Another issue that gained attention this year but failed to advance was immigration enforcement. Bills proposed banning so-called sanctuary cities, which are self-designated communities that focus on ensuring immigrants in the country without legal status understand their rights. There are no sanctuary cities in Iowa.
A bill that passed in the Senate but wasn’t taken up in the House would have added penalties to communities that didn’t comply with federal immigration enforcement. Advocacy groups said the measure could have faced legal challenges.
Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, said he’s hopeful they’ll tackle the issue again in 2018. He added, “We don’t want to see people taking advantage of their fellow Iowans by disobeying the law.”
Republicans may also push legislation that uses public education money for expenses like private tuition. House Education Committee Chairman Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, said he plans to further study education savings accounts, which would give individual students flexibility to spend education-designated dollars. Critics said such effort would hurt public schools by redirecting state funding.
“I still get a lot of emails and input about that issue,” he said. “It’s something that our caucus wants to pursue.”
A major win for Republicans this year was an all-encompassing gun bill, which Rep. Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, called the largest pro-gun step in Iowa. It included a stand-your-ground provision, which permits the use of deadly force anywhere if someone feels a risk to their life or safety, even if that assessment of danger is incorrect. The next priority, Windschitl said, is an addition to the Iowa Constitution to reaffirm gun rights.
“We absolutely need to make sure that our constitution has the protections in it that will protect Iowans’ Second Amendment rights now and for generations to come,” he said.
After a failed effort to advance the most restrictive abortion legislation in the country, Republicans passed a ban on most abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy. Next session, some hope to at least revisit a so-called heartbeat bill, which would ban abortion around six weeks of pregnancy, likely leading to legal challenges.
Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, said she anticipates legislation that further limits abortion, but is unsure which restrictions her caucus will unite on.
“I think a logical next step is to look at legislation that continues to restrict abortions after we know a baby is formed and it’s a viable human being,” she said. “There’s a certain point when that baby has a beating heart.”
Republicans likely will also return to water quality issues after proposals in the closing days of the session failed to pass.
Democrats, who continue to be in the minority, say they’re willing to work with Republicans on some issues like tax reform. They will push back on any legislation they consider extreme, said Senate Minority Leader Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids.
“If they continue this very destructive path, doing the work of out-of-state special interests, it’s going to make 2018 as bad a legislative session as it has been in 2017,” he said.
House Majority Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, praised her party for enacting polices in a “historic” session that she believes will encourage economic development.
“Time will tell if what we hope and what we think will happen genuinely does,” she said.