Around Des Moines

Leave the state for a week and it is hard to get re-focussed on the General Assembly upon the return to Iowa, particularly as the session is nearing its end. In an attempt to catch up on events that happened while I was gone, I flipped through the newscasts of local television stations and made a lethargic attempt to look online at old articles in the state’s newspapers. Just as tulips grew a bit taller but did not bud while I was gone, there seems to have been little movement in the state’s government. Eventually I settled on the tried and true resource of the General Assembly’s website to find out what happened in the past week.

On Wednesday, April 9, 2008, the legislature sent 33 bills to the governor. These future laws aim to make changes in funding for natural resources, protection for certain actions of good will, rules for governmental financing, information provided to victims of sexual assault, and policies for local school districts.

On Tuesday, April 8th, Gov. Chet Culver signed 16 bills. These new laws include such exciting rules as the per diem compensation for directors of the Iowa soybean association board, a requirement for the Department of Transportation to study the acceptance of electronic payments at its customer service sites, and issuance of non-resident turkey and deer hunting licenses to people who have severe physical disabilities or a terminal disease. Some of the bills signed on Tuesday were among the 16 bills sent to the governor on Monday, April 7th.

Looking at the April 10th Senate Journal, I discovered that several appointments made by the governor were confirmed. These included members of the Commission on the Status of African-Amerians, the State Board of Education, the Interior Design Examining Board, the Real Estate Commission, and the Renewal Fuels and Coproducts Advisory Committee. If anyone wants to read the conference committee’s compromise on the Smokefree Air Act, it can be found in the April 8th House Journal. The vote to accept the conference committee report was 52-48. The vote to pass the compromise bill was 54-45.

Much happened at the statehouse during Week 13 of the session. How lives will be changed because of those many actions remains to be seen.

M.R. Field writes for AroundDesMoines.com.