This Week at the Statehouse – Week 3
On Tuesday, Jan. 26, a House Education subcommittee was held on HF 49, prohibiting tenure at the Regents universities. The subcommittee voted the bill out on a 2-1 vote. It will be on the House Education Committee agenda next week. The Board of Regents is registered against this bill.
On Wednesday, Jan. 27, John Nash, Director of Facilities with the Iowa Board of Regents, presented the board’s $30 million deferred maintenance request to the members of the House Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations Subcommittee. A copy of his handout can be found here.
On Thursday, Jan. 28, by a vote of 28-19, the Senate passed SF 183, 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. The bill has been referred to the House State Government Committee. The Board of Regents is registered against this bill.
New bills are being filed daily for consideration. As of today, the Board of Regents are registered on 176 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).
One bill of interested filed this week is HSB 162/HF 204, An Act providing that public postsecondary institutions are prohibited from requiring students or employees to wear face masks or social distance off campus and only accredited private institutions that do not require students or employees to wear face masks or social distance off campus can qualify for the Iowa tuition grant program, and including effective date provisions (upon enactment).
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 tax, spending and government oversight bills.
If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.
Upcoming events in the legislature:
Feb. 2 – House Oversight Committee meeting to discuss free speech and the first amendment on Regent universities’ campuses with testimony from the three Board of Regents universities. Those present from UNI will be Leah Gutknecht, Assistant to President, Compliance & Equity Management; Allyson Rafanello, Dean of Students; and Steffoni Schmidt, Associate Director Student Life, Student Advisor to Northern Iowa Student Government.
Feb. 3 – 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.
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.