The 2023 Iowa Legislative Session ended last week, and District 11 Representative Brian Best says Republicans were able to pass a significant number of their priorities. The GOP held substantial majorities in the House and Senate, as well as the governorship, and Best says both chambers moved rapidly from the start of the session.
The first major bill signed into law from this session was the Students First Act, which created Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for families wanting to send their children to an accredited private school. Best did not support the legislation due to concerns over how it could impact smaller rural districts. Opponents of the bill argued ESAs would take funds away from public schools, but Best says the legislature also approved a three-percent increase in State Supplemental Aid (SSA), which is the largest he can remember in recent years.
According to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA), the last time SSA was higher was in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 at four percent, which would have been set during the 2014 Legislative Session. Best says one bill that surprised him with the controversy it generated was updating the state’s youth labor laws. It expands the number of hours minors are allowed to work and loosens restrictions on what kinds of tasks younger employees can complete.
Another considerable change from the 2023 session was the government realignment bill, which will cut the number of cabinet positions from 37 to 16. During her Condition of the State Address, Gov. Kim Reynolds identified this as a priority, suggesting Iowa’s government had grown too large. The legislature agreed with her assessment.
Best notes they were also able to pass additional Medicaid support for Iowa nursing homes, approved tort reform for medical malpractice cases in the state, and a significant property tax adjustment that will cap residential tax bill growth to three percent annually. He says he’d give the 2023 session a B+, as the GOP accomplished many of their goals, but some things were still left unresolved by the time they adjourned. Best joined Carroll Broadcasting on Tuesday morning to discuss the session. That full interview is included with this story on our website.
