Politics: Local lawmakers weigh in on governor's plan to restructure government

“State government exists to serve Iowans, but an increasingly growing bureaucracy is making it too complicated,” Reynolds said in a statement after the committee’s action. “This bill gets to the heart of the problem, making government efficient, effective and small. While shrinking government from 37 cabinet departments to just 16, we will also save Iowa taxpayers an estimated $215 million over four years.”

That means the Senate bill has met the requirement that at least one committee pass it before the end of Friday, March 3, for it to advance beyond the funnel. A companion bill in the Iowa House of Representatives is expected to be taken up in its required committee this week.

The Legislature’s joint-chamber appropriations subcommittees spent the week being pitched the governor’s proposal by staff from the departments whose budgets they control, explaining how staff say the “realignment” will work for them.

Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, witnessed one of those presentations as a member of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee. She said Thursday that the sheer size of the bill was impressive.

“I’ve heard from people who have been here for decades who have never seen anything like it,” she said, of other legislators.

Lundgren said she watched how advisory commissions like the Child Advocacy Board would be considered in relation to the alignment of departments they serve as a check on.

“But, under the bill, they will be separate from any department, working directly under the governor,” she said.

Iowa Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, however, said Friday that she was concerned that the bill was contrary to the separation of powers.

“It’s a complete reorganization of our system,” she said. “It’s clear to me that the purpose of this is to centralize power in the governor’s office.”

Hinson plans telehealth study

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, co-led a bipartisan bill to study the benefits of telehealth from the COVID-19 pandemic last week.

The Knowing the Efficiency and Efficacy of Permanent (KEEP) Telehealth Options Act would require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a survey about the expansion of telehealth during the pandemic, its results and ways to enhance the service.

Trump reverses course on mail-in ballots

Former President Donald Trump recently called on followers to “harvest” ballots to benefit Republicans during the 2024 presidential election.

“Ballot harvesting” is the term that believers of widespread claims, without widespread evidence or examples, of the 2020 presidential election being “stolen” use for one person delivering a mail-in ballot on behalf of others.

Ballot collection on behalf of others — usually family and loved ones, or those with limited ballot access due to mobility issues — is legal and common in most states. Evidence of widespread fraudulent use of the process was never found by numerous legal proceedings, investigations by Trump’s own attorney general, many nonpartisan reviews and fact-checking campaigns.

Trump blamed it for his loss in 2020, and many of his followers believed it.

Several states banned or more tightly restricted the practice in that election’s wake. Still, Trump sent out an email to supporters asking them to use the process he condemned in the states where he said it was allowed.

Republican presidential candidate roundup

News around the 2024 Republican primary continued to increase recently, with a few more candidates making their bids official and candidates already in the race making waves.

As former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley toured Iowa in support of her primary bid, the Iowa Democratic Party took swings at the candidate.

“Nikki Haley is going to have to look Iowans in the eyes and explain why she has no problem leaving our seniors out to dry by cutting Social Security and Medicare, why she wants to take away our right to make our own health care decisions and why she thinks that billionaires and corporations should pay less in taxes than our teachers and firefighters,” said new Chair Rita Hart in a statement.

Reynolds introduced Haley at an event in Urbandale, saying it would be a “big mistake” to underestimate her.

Calendar

9:30 a.m. Saturday, March 4, Diamond Jo Casino, 301 Bell St. — The second legislative crackerbarrel of the 2023 legislative session will be held. All state lawmakers representing Dubuque County have been invited.