Around Des Moines

In just over two weeks the 100th day of the Iowa General Assembly’s 2008 sesssion will arrive. According to the session timetable, during the twelfth week, the Senate considered only House bills and unfinished business and the House considered only Senate bills and unfinished business. Other commitments kept me from being at the statehouse this week.

There seemed to be little talk of legislative issues on news programs this week. I think it was on WHO-TV’s The Insiders last Sunday that I heard some pieces of legislation, such as the smoking ban bill, had been sent to the Ways and Means committee. Even though there wasn’t money involved, by having the bill in that committee, the piece of legislation is exempted from the funnel-week rules. Somewhere else I heard that the legislature was going to be concentrating on the budget now.

Reviewing the daily journals I see that the Senate passed a resolution “congratulating Iowa State University of Science and Technology for 150 years of leadership and service…as Iowa’s land-grant university….” In addition, there was a welcome extended to judges visiting from Russia as part of an exchange program. The House passed House Joint Resolution 2006 to allow alcohol to be consumed on the Capitol grounds during the awards ceremony for the Hy-Vee BG World Cup Triathlon. Apparently a champaign toast is traditional at the event.

On Tuesday, April 1st, Gov. Chet Culver signed SF2347, allowing for optical scan voting machines in each county. In the next few days he signed five more pieces of legislation. The governor has three days to sign or to veto legislation during the legislative session or bills sent to his office become laws without his signature. After the session ends, the governor has thirty days to sign or to veto before legislation becomes law.

To see a list of which bills have passed the legislature, when the governor signed them, and when they took, or will take, effect go to the Iowa General Assembly’s website. Select the Publications tab on the left side of the screen. When that page opens, the first section is Session Publications. Look down the left side until you see Periodically During Session. The first option under that sub-category is enrolled bills. Click on the number 2008 for this year’s new laws.

If you go back to the Publications page on the General Assembly’s website and look at the right-side column under Other Publications, you should see Fiscal Update directly underneath the sub-category of Periodic Publications. Clicking on the update will bring up information on the status of appropriation bills. I have been kept busy trying to identify useful information from the Des Moines Public Schools, the Des Moines Regional Transit Authority (DART), and the Polk County courthouse referendum budgets that I’ve had no time to do more than occasionally think about scanning through the state budget.

Items on the Capitol Complex schedule for the week included building a Habitat for Humanity house.

M.R. Field edited Leading Voices: Iowa.