State Sen. Eric Giddens (D-Cedar Falls)

Greetings friends and neighbors! We are moving toward the finish line for this year’s legislative session. The first year of each General Assembly is 110 calendar days long and the second year is 100 days long. This is the second year of the 90th General Assembly, and Tuesday, April 16, is the 100th day of the session.

While the 100th day of the session isn’t a hard deadline, and our work will continue until unfinished business has been addressed, the practical implications of reaching the 100th day of the session are that our per diem living allowance stops and our clerks complete their work with us.

One strong signal that the end is near is that all but one budget bill has been passed out of the Senate Appropriations committee and we have begun voting on budget bills in the full Senate.

This week, I had the honor of introducing a resolution to recognize and congratulate University of Northern Iowa wrestler Parker Keckeisen. Parker recently won the NCAA men’s wrestling competition at 184 pounds. He and UNI head wrestling coach Doug Schwab visited the Capitol on Tuesday when the resolution was passed and met legislators and staff afterward. The resolution was co-sponsored by fellow Black Hawk County Sens. Sweeney, Dotzler, and Zumbach.

Justice for Iowa Survivors

The Iowa Senate this week passed a bill opening the door for Iowa survivors who suffered abuse as Boy Scouts to receive their full award from the Boy Scout Settlement Bankruptcy Trust. The national settlement agreement had lowered the award eligibility for Iowans because of Iowa’s laws limiting legal options for abused minors, but it will allow the full award if there’s a change in Iowa law before the deadline. The bill makes that needed change – but it still must be passed in the House and signed by the governor before April 19.

Public voices silenced

The Senate passed Senate File 2385 this week, which implements Governor Reynolds’ plan to eliminate or consolidate dozens of Iowa’s state boards and commissions. Many professional organizations, health professionals, and skilled labor leaders have voiced concern that slashing boards and commissions will reduce oversight and enforcement in key areas of health and safety and cut Iowans out of their own government.

Beware of the Grandparent Scam

The Attorney General released an alert regarding an uptick in Grandparent Scam calls, in which the scammer targets an older Iowan by pretending to be a grandchild in crisis. This is particularly dangerous now that AI technology can clone the voice of a loved one. If you believe you or someone you know has been targeted by a grandparent scam, report it to the Attorney General’s Office at 888-777-4590, or file a complaint online: https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-consumers/general-consumer-information/phone-scams/grandparent-scam

Failure to act on worker shortage

Business leaders tell us that the No. 1 problem facing our economy is a shortage of skilled workers – but my friends across the aisle have not done anything meaningful to address the issue. Last year, 19,312 Iowans applied for Skilled Workforce and/or Iowa Vocational-Technical Tuition grants – but only 26% of qualified applicants actually received one. Expanding those programs to meet demand could help address our shortage, but education budget bills advanced by the majority party in the Senate this week provided no new funding for these programs.

Iowa Legislature starves public universities

As state support goes down, tuition goes up, shifting the financial burden to Iowa students and families – and Iowa’s defunding of higher education rates among the worst in the nation, according to a new “State Higher Education Finance” report. The funding included in the majority party’s proposed budget for the coming year is $72 million below what it was almost 15 years ago.

Iowa needs more mental health

The Iowa Mental Health Practitioner Loan Repaymentprogram is an important effort to get more mental health practitioners working in Iowa, which ranks near the bottom nationally in the availability of care. The program provides loan repayment benefits for up to five years of full-time service, with a maximum award of $40,000. This year, the state received 121 qualified applicants – but provided funding for just 13 awards.

State Senator Eric Giddens represents Iowa Senate District 38 including Cedar Falls, Hudson, Traer, Dysart, Evansdale, Elk Run Heights, Gilbertville, Washburn, LaPorte City and Mount Auburn. Contact Sen. Giddens at 319-230-0578 or eric.giddens@legis.iowa.gov.