This Week at the Statehouse – Week 2

The Legislature was not in session on Monday in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The remainder of the week was spent in legislative committee and subcommittee meetings. The House had their first floor debate on Thursday afternoon approving House rules.

New bills are being filed daily for consideration. As of today, the Board of Regents are registered on 105 bills for this legislative session.  This link will provide a complete list of bills we are tracking: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/lobbyist/reports/declarations (in the box marked as lobbyist, type in Mary Braun).

On Wednesday, a Senate subcommittee was held on SSB 1018, which allows governmental entities to use construction manager-at-risk on their construction projects and prohibits the Regents institutions from using the design-build alternative delivery method on construction projects. The Board of Regents is registered against this bill.

On Thursday, a House subcommittee was held on HSB 66, which prohibits all Board of Regents institutions from spending any nonstate moneys, including federal funds, public or private gifts or donations, nonstate grants or receipts, and any other moneys from any nonstate public or private sources, unless the expenditure is approved by an Act of the general assembly. The Board of Regents is registered against this bill.

The Legislature’s first funnel date, when Senate policy bills need to come out of a Senate committee and House policy bills need to come out of a House committee to remain eligible for debate this legislative session, is March 5th. This date does not apply to spending and tax bills.

Upcoming events in the legislature:

Jan. 26 – subcommittee on HF 49, prohibiting tenure at the Regents universities

Jan. 26 – Randy Pilkington, Executive Director of BCS, and Jerry Thiel, Director of the Metal Casting Center and Additive Manufacturing Center, will present UNI’s budget requests to the House Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee

Jan. 27 – John Nash with the Iowa Board of Regents office will present information on the Regents FY 22 deferred maintenance request of $30 million

Jan. 27 – House Oversight Committee meeting discusses free speech on Regent universities’ campuses

Feb. 3 – President Mark Nook will present UNI’s budget requests to the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee; joined by the president’s at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University presenting their budget requests

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.