Rep. Derek Wulf (R-Hudson),

Last week, Iowa House Republicans held a subcommittee on the Governor’s AEA proposal. In the end, the subcommittee decided not to advance the bill to the full committee, citing the need for more conversations on the matter. After hearing from constituents, superintendents, teachers, school board members, private schools, families who have received services through AEA’s, and in working with my colleagues, I can inform you that the Governor’s AEA proposal, HSB 542, will not move forward in the House Education Committee or any further in the House of Representatives. I feel it’s essential to work on this issue because this is about our kids, and we must get it right if we are to make changes. I believe we absolutely have room to improve, and we need to continue to have those discussions. I think it’s important to have all the stakeholders come together, work through this, get consensus, and move forward. I look forward to continuing to discuss ways that we can improve special education in Iowa.

Historically, our caucus has shown that we are strongly pro-life. We have passed strong laws to protect unborn children from abortion. We must also pass policies to ensure all children, especially those born into difficult situations, have the support they need. HF 2103 requires child support to apply while the child is still in the womb. This would mean a father’s obligation to pay child support would begin as soon as the mother is pregnant, not when the child is born. This bill passed through subcommittee last week and will move on to committee discussions.

This session, the House also introduced two pieces of legislation to ensure the State of Iowa does not have policies that incentivize, or reward illegal immigration. House File 2128 requires proof that you are in the country legally before you can receive in-state tuition at Iowa’s regent institutions. House File 2112 ensures that no one who is in the country illegally qualifies for public assistance programs. We cannot allow our state’s policies to essentially incentivize people to come to our country illegally. That would be unsustainable and unfair to those who do follow the proper process to immigrate legally.

As previously promised, as session goes on, I want to highlight one committee I serve on each week to keep you aware of what is happening as priorities in each. This week, I will focus on the State Government Committee. State Government is an interesting committee because so many different issues flow into the discussions there. This year, I have already been assigned on everything from landowner deer tags considerations, changing requirements for hours required to get a barbering licenses, background check requirements for home-based service providers, and who can be legally exempt from collecting and refunding for cans and bottles in Iowa. As you can see, the State Government Committee often becomes the landing place for bills that just don’t fit into other committees or maybe even overlap several committees with no clear distinction of which one is the best fit. Being a “catch-all” type of committee makes everyday a little different and definitely interesting in what we may be focusing on.

In addition to working on several subcommittee meetings, I had the privilege of meeting with several important visitors to the Capitol, including members of LaPorte City-Dysart FFA, as well as members of the Physician’s Assistant Association. It’s always a pleasure getting to speak with fellow Iowans working to keep our state moving forward.

Check out next week’s “Wulf’s Weekly Roundup” as we highlight more subcommittee and committee work and as always, feel free to reach out to share concerns or discussion this session. Also, if you find yourself making a trip to our great State Capitol this session, please make sure to stop in and say hello.

Rep. Wulf’s district, Iowa House District 76, includes the communities of Traer, Dysart, and Buckingham in Tama County. He can be reached via email: DEREK.WULF@LEGIS.IOWA.GOV