Tom Shipley
Iowa Senator District 9
Since the start of session there has been some days extremely busy and others not so much, depending on the committee work involved. I sit on agriculture, natural resources, transportation, local government and judiciary committees. Of these, judiciary is the busiest.
During funnel week, we did 25 bills in our committee meeting. Funnel week is called that because bills that have been introduced – and there are hundreds of them – have to pass through their respective committees by the end of the week. Bills are “funneled” down to those that will advance to the next level, which would mean they are brought up in their respective chambers to be acted on.
Even then a bill may not move because of concerns that were not known earlier. Often they are amended but sometimes just set back to work on with stakeholders and be brought up next year.
We have visitors on a regular basis. Sometimes it is on a particular issue. Sometimes it’s large entity to showcase their role in Iowans’ everyday life. This week Iowa State University had several displays and people to visit with. To my surprise I ran into some folks from Diagonal in Ringgold County. They had a couple of brothers that have started a business making several different flavors of a snack using pretzels, nuts, chips etc. I realized I had seen these products before at the Ringgold and Taylor County Cattlemen’s banquet; not just saw them but consumed them. These young men may be on to something because a major retail outlet in Iowa was interested and took samples.
We have been looking at the one hottest issue in the legislature this year. Area Education Agencies have received a lot of attention. The initial reaction to the first proposal was not very good. There has been considerable time spent with the education committees trying to come up with a suitable solution. My concern has been and will continue to be the services provided to rural kids continues to be at a high level. AEAs have been a part of the educational process in Iowa for decades and may need examined and reformed or adjusted. But it would take time for those things to be done and then the implementation of those changes be given time to work.
There will be a legislative forum at 8 a.m. March 2 in Red Oak at the YMCA; March 9 in Bedford at 9 a.m. and Mount Ayr at 11 a.m. Watch for location announcements.