The state legislatures in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa are about to get started. Lawmakers will dig into some public policy that could be changed in terms of fiscal policy, or that impact people’s lives through agencies that have services in education, health, law enforcement, or more culturally.
There will be the annual battles over how much to deliver to public education and teachers. South Dakota seems poised to have a discussion on giving public tax money to begin educational savings accounts to parents whose children attend private schools, much like Iowa did beginning in 2023.
The South Dakota Legislature begins the 2025 session on January 14, and the Nebraska Unicameral gavels in on January 8. We will have more from those two states in an upcoming What’s The Frequency.
For this episode, we focus on the Iowa Legislature, which begins on January 13. The guests are a newly elected legislator, with Republican State Representative Travis Sitzmann of Kingsley and House District 13, Democratic representative J.D. Scholten of Sioux City’s House District 1, and the longest tenured guest of the three today, with Republican Jacob Bossman of Sioux City, and House District 14.
Republicans hold substantial majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, so they can put in place their priorities if they get on the same page.
In assessing the functioning of the chambers, Scholten said, "The Senate just seems to be a rubber stamp for Governor (Kim) Reynolds."
Bossman said Iowans have supported many recent policy changes put in place by Republicans, such as move to a flat income tax rate of 3.8 percent that applies to all earners regardless of income level.
*Click on the audio link above to hear the entire show.
What's The Frequency, Episode 47
