RANDY FEENSTRA

Spring is here and the weather is warming up; this has created fear in the poultry industry on whether the warm weather will bring back the devastating Bird flu.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture understands how important this $2 billion dollar industry is to the State and has noted that it will not be inspecting egg operations at this point along with the United States FDA. Last year there was some speculation that inspectors going to different buildings could have led to the spread of the virus. This was not proven, but the spread of the virus seemed to be through people.

This year the Department of Agriculture and the FDA is taking an immense amount of precaution by stopping egg inspections at this point.

Currently, the United States FDA is responsible for inspecting laying facilities that are larger than 3,000 laying hens. This is about 99% of the operations in Iowa. Iowa’s Dept. of Agriculture inspects the rest of the facilities that are under 3,000.

There is no current outbreak in the in the State; but, there was an outbreak in Indiana in January. Birds are starting to migrate back to Iowa so it’s very important to be prudent in the next several months. The FDA and the Iowa Department of Agriculture has made a wise decision.

Iowa’s economy and the egg industry cannot afford another 2015!

I have been in the Iowa Senate for 8-year; all 8-years have been spent in the minority. Meaning, The Republican Party does not control the Iowa Senate. This is extremely significant! Every single bill that gets debated on the floor of the Senate requires approval from Majority Leader Mike Gronstal.

Senate Resolution #1 that passed on February 4, 2015, resolved that no bill could come up in front of the Senate unless Leader Gronstal approved it. This closed the loop hole that stated a bill could come up for an up or down vote, if there were 26 of the 50 Senators signed on to a discharge petition.

Also, the Majority controls the Presidents chair. This allows the President to decide, in a partisan way, which amendments to bills will be debated on which one’s will not.

The States entire political system is rigged in such a way that the minority party has NO control of what gets debated and what gets passed. So, many of my constituents have ask why can’t Iowa pass bills on the following.
• Eliminating abortions
• Income tax efficiencies in the code
• Reduce regulation burdens on business
• Gun laws that would allow a person to protect their home
• Local control in schools

The list goes on and on; Senate Majority Leader, Mike Gronstal, refuses to bring bills that affect these issues to the floor. This November, Iowa has a great chance of removing the Democrats from the stranglehold of power. It’s time we give Iowans what they are demanding in this State. Elections truly matter!

Earlier this year there was fear in the State that an economic slowdown was occurring and the storm clouds were building on the horizon based on low revenues coming in and low agricultural commodity prices.

Surprising news came out of the Revenue Estimating Committee today that noted the States Revenue projection remains unchanged compared to the December estimate; remaining at $7.04 billion. This estimate reflects an increase of 3.3% percent in revenue compared to actual FY 2015 revenues.

The new estimate for 2017 is $7.3 billion, an increase of $311.8 million (4.4%) compared to their newly revised FY 2016 estimate. This new 2017 estimate was a true surprise to everyone. The number reflects a nice growth in the State’s economy.

The legislature was waiting for these numbers before budgets could be passed. Having the new numbers will help quickly move the legislative process and hopefully we can see an adjournment of the session before April.

This is the great news the legislature has been waiting for!!

Over the last several months we have been arguing whether the State can afford to give specific tax reductions to small business and the farming community. The federal government passed multiple income tax reductions in December and Iowa typically allows these same deductions on the State income tax each year. However, this year the Democrats refused to pass these cuts until the pressure got to great and they had to act. Finally, today the Senate passed the bill that would allow these same federal deductions. A few of them include:

• Section 179 small business expensing
• Deduction of up to $250 for out of pocket teacher expenses
• Allow sales tax in lieu of State income tax as an itemized deduction

The total tax reduction to the State for these items in 2016 will be about $98 million. We (Senate Republicans) submitted an amendment to permanently include these deductions each year which would give assurance to ag and small business that these deductions would always be there in the future; however, the Democrats could not except this premise.

The Legislature also passed a sales tax exemption for manufactures. Currently, manufacturers are paying tax on items that go into the manufacturing process; these items would include; oils, tools, rags and dyes. Today, a bill passed the legislature that would exempt tax on these items. This will reduce the State revenue by $27 million.

Between these two key tax reductions, the Senate has passed over $125 million in deductions for business, teachers and agriculture. This is key for our rural Iowa main streets and the economic development of our communities.

Medical Mal-practice Bill
Currently, Iowa has a sunset of 6-years on lawsuits that occur because a docter or hospital may have made a mistake. There is a bill that opens the 6-year sunset to include the patients that have had instruments left in them, a patient seeking medical care over the 6-years and finds out the cause of the problem was from medical negligence or when fraud can be proven as a cover-up by the medical organization in question.

Medical Mal-practice is the number 1 cause of increased health care costs. The courts are filled with lawsuits against the medical field. However, in these few instances, I believe the 6-year sunset can be extended for these unique issues.

Law Enforcement Profiling
Iowa currently does not allow law enforcement to profile. However, a bill was introduced this week that would require collection, compilation, and reporting of every officer stop. It would also create a community advisor board, set up officer training and establish penalties if profiling is evident.

I don’t support profiling; I also do not support having our officers doing hours’ worth of paper work for every stop. I want officers to protect and promote safety in our communities, not sit behind a desk. I fully support our law enforcement. This bill is way overboard by the Senate Democrats!

Allowing Lottery Ticket Vending Machines
A bill passed the House and is ready for floor debate in the Senate that would allow lottery tickets to be sold in vending machines. This would allow children to buy tickets if a store clerk is not paying attention. This is not a good bill!

School board and City Elections on Same Date
Finally, the State got smart and passed a bill that would put city council elections and school board elections on the same date. Now we will have better turn out for both elections, great policy!

Today I saw a blatant abuse of power!!! Complete political protection of being in the Democrat majority.

The Republicans had an amendment that would classify abortion as a hate crime. This was to amend a bill by the Democrats that extends hate crimes to multiple different groups.

The bill never got a vote as the Senate Democrats did a rule, which was approved by the Democrat President of the Senate, to not let the amendment come up for a vote!

This was politics at its highest level! I am truly amazed at the lengths the Democrats will go to not vote on the right to have children live. Truly amazing!!!

This is what I do know; I am now more passionate than ever to get in the majority next year to finally get a vote on the right to have life for children! Gronstal and all his minions should be ashamed. What comes around goes around, This political move will not be forgotten!

Below are some of the things being worked on at the Capital this week.

No Fishing License Required
The Iowa House passed a bill last week that would allow private land owners to fish on their own land without a license. This would only include man made ponds. I am in support of this bill but Democrat leadership will not bring it up.

Medicaid Oversight
Iowa Senate passed a bill that would provide government oversight on the new privatized Medicaid system. The bill creates parameters on service and funding of the new system. This was a great step in making sure the private companies do what’s best for Iowans. (This was a 42 page bill)

Sexual Crimes
The Senate passed a bill that would extend the statute of limitations on sexual crimes involving minors, from the current 10 years to 25 years. The Courts have seen a lot of cases dropped over the years because of the short statute of 10 years. Going to 25 years is needed.

Allowing 17 year olds to Participate in Election Primaries
Although the voting age is 18 in general elections, school civic teachers have advocated that 17 year olds should be able to participate in Iowa caucuses, or primaries, as long as they turn 18 before the general election. The policy passed the Senate on a 49-0 vote. It’s good to get high school students involved if they want to vote when they are 18.

Speed Camera Discussion
Last week I came down a steep hill in Des Moines and there at the bottom of the hill was a speed camera. Now, I didn’t get a ticket but on this one day there had to be hundreds of tickets given out. This was a true speed trap and had absolutely nothing to do with safety.

Speed and traffic cameras are all about generating more revenue for Cities. They have NOTHING to do with safety, which the cities argue. This being the case, a new idea and policy is gaining ground in the legislature. The policy would require that all the revenue that is received through the camera fine process in communities must be put in a State fund that would be used for traffic safety measures around the State. This would put an end to these cameras.

Gun Suppressors
A gun suppressor bill moved through the House and is now moving through the Senate process. The bill would require anyone purchasing a suppressor to meet Federal standards that include a background check, fingerprints, and an application to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Iowa is only one of nine states where the use of gun suppressors is not permitted.

Congrats to all the basketball teams that made it to State. It’s been really fun seeing all the fans and teams come to the Capitol!!! Northwest Iowa was well represented!!!

I am always amazed at how hypocritical liberal Politian’s can be. They love to throw around phrases like “we need to protect our children” or “we need funding for the children”

Protecting children is paramount when the legislature decides on policy; Iowans have seen it in previous bills that would ban children under age 18 from tanning booths, requiring a parent to sign approval before a child can get a tattoo or a new bill that would ban children under 18 from buying fireworks. However, if the liberals have it their way, there will be no age limit on girls buying contraception over the counter.

Senate File 2222 was passed on the Senate floor yesterday with all 26 liberal Democrats voting in support of this bill. The bill would allow a pharmacist to give over the counter contraceptives to anyone who asks. A question was raised by Senator Robby Smith, in sub-committee, on whether a 12-year old girl could request contraceptives over the counter. The answer from Democrat Senator Janet Petersen, from Des Moines was appalling; she stated that there is no age limit on boys buying condoms. The same question was asked in floor debate by Senator Garrett and again, Senator Peterson had no problem exclaiming on behalf of the democrats we support no age or no parent consent for little girls to get contraception.

On a contraceptive box, it notes that if you take excess pills you must immediately contact poison control. Contraception does not protect against sexual transmitted diseases. Contraception does not work 100% of the time. How can a person think no age limit is a good idea; or, not having parent approval. You are either so liberal you don’t care about parenting, or simply don’t care about the safety of children! Truly appalling!

It begs the question, do Democrats really care about children or is it all about pushing the liberal agenda. Iowan’s this is what we deal with at the Capital, It’s truly a sad commentary on society!!!!

Water Quality
This past week I have been involved in a lot of discussion concerning how the State of Iowa could help create better water quality. This issue really hit the forefront when the Des Moines utility, Waterworks, filed a law suit against 3 Iowa counties.

The Des Moines utility is suing Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties, claiming drainage districts move nitrates from farm fields into the Raccoon River which is the source of drinking water for Des Moines residents. The utility seeks damages for the cost of taking out these nitrates from the water.

Rural Iowa and the farming community is always seen as the villain in water quality. However, I applaud agriculture for all the work that has been done over the last 10-years by dramatically improving water quality in this State. This includes lowering the amount of phosphorus in the water, using no till planting, putting buffer strips along water ways and limiting the amount of nitrogen put on the soil by doing soil sampling.

The State needs to continue to work collaboratively with the agricultural community in creating even lower nitrates in the State rivers, lakes and streams. Iowa is an agricultural state; we need to be partners in the effort, not villains!

Monday and Tuesday saw 39 bills being debated and passed in the Senate. These bills are now headed to the Iowa House for approval. Nearly all of the bills were non-controversial and dealt with basic clean-up of the current code of Iowa. Below are several of the bills that had policy that will affect Iowans.

• A bill passed to require meningitis immunizations for all school students
• An act establishing an office to oversee human trafficking
• A bill requiring schools to instruct age appropriate children on dating violence and prevention
• A bill allowing speech therapy to be paid by Medicaid
• A bill that would expunge certain criminal offenses after 2-years (OWI – public intoxication)
• A bill that would give a terminally ill person the right to try experimental drugs
• A bill allowing schools to have on-line learning if a teacher for a specific course cannot be found
• A act establishing that an athlete needs to sit out 90-days or 540 hours if schools are changed
• A bill allowing EMTS to administer certain drugs on overdose victims
• A bill allowing disaster aid to be paid within days instead of weeks
• A bill allowing pharmacists to offer 90 day supplies on certain regular medications

These bills all passed with bipartisan support with nearly all 50 Senators supporting each bill.