March 28, 2024

Lawmakers discuss gun control, backfill program

In the wake of another school shooting, local legislators are urging both sides of the gun control debate to sit down at the table to find a solution the increasing gun violence in the United States. On Saturday, Rep. Wes Breckenridge, D-Newton, and Sen. Chaz Allen, D-Newton, met with local constituents to answer questions about the ongoing legislative session.

The second in a series of legislative coffees, sponsored by the Jasper County League of Women Voters, the events are a chance for residents to voice their concerns and find out firsthand what’s happening at the Statehouse. With a school shooting fresh in their minds, many residents asked about gun control efforts, and whether or not teachers should be armed to prevent violence at schools. Breckenridge said he’s convinced there won’t be any change until people can put aside their differences to find a common ground solution.

“Those in the middle that want to find solutions, we are criticized by both sides, we can’t win,” Breckenridge said. “Until we get the players together and find that solution people are going to dig in their heels and nothing gets done.”

Allen said he agrees with Breckenridge, and suggested both sides of the gun control debate “need to stop talking, and start listening.” After checking social media Saturday morning before the legislative coffee, Allen said he’s content to only post about “football, family and race cars” but what he saw online amounted to a “grenade” thrown into a room.

“You go out there and you’ve got both sides,” Allen said. “For my friends on the right, it’s a mental health issue, for my friends on the left it’s a gun issue. Wes [Breckenridge] is exactly right, people need to start listening and stop talking.”

When asked about Senate File 2106, the proposal, known as “constitutional carry” would remove a general prohibition on carrying a dangerous weapon without a permit, Breckenridge and Allen offered differing opinions on the now shelved proposal. If passed. Iowans would have no duty to carry a permit, instead only being required to comply with federal law for the acquisition of weapons. Last week Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, said while the proposal had enough votes to clear the Senate lawmakers decided to table the proposal when it looked unlikely to clear the House. When asked if he was in favor of the bill, Allen said he knew it wouldn’t pass, so he never read it.

“I never looked at it, I don’t want to say to be honest with you,” Allen said.

Breckenridge said he had some concerns with the bill. Citing his background in law enforcement, the 20-year veteran of the Newton Police Department said he wants to make sure gun owners receive some training before they are allowed to carry a weapon.

“I have some issues with Constitutional Carry because it eliminates any training component whatsoever,” Breckenridge said. “For someone with my background in law enforcement, if somebody’s out in the public with a weapon I want to ensure the safety and rights of others, I want to ensure that individual at least has some minimal training with that weapon.”

Lawmakers also answered questions on a number of other issues Saturday, including the future of the state’s “backfill” payment system, the future of which is in doubt as legislators struggled to balance the state’s books in the midst of a $34 million shortfall. The payments, one of the state’s largest single expenses is backfill payments sent to Iowa cities, school districts and county governments. These payments began in 2015 to help local governments make up for loss in revenue after former Gov. Terry Branstad’s 2013 commercial property tax cuts went into effect. Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott asked if the state had determined the future of the backfill program, and cautioned legislators that ended the program could create a substantial deficit in the county’s budget.

“We’re looking at a property tax increase unless we cut services drastically and we don’t want to do that,” Parrott said. “We have a pretty good record of keeping property taxes low, and we want to keep that.”

Parrott estimated that over the next three years the county could find itself more than $2 million in the hole, property tax payments haven’t had a chance to catch up, Parrott said. While both Allen and Breckenridge said they don’t expect to the see the program end this year, they said they don’t see it continuing much longer.

“Everyone is wondering when this is going to end, they know it’s going to end,” Allen said. “I’m going to catch hell for this, but we can’t continue to do this (backfill) because that’s $150 million. It’s not going to go away this year, but it is going to go away.”