District 53 Newsletter Jan. 30, from Rep. Dean Fisher

         This was the first full week of session, week 3.  Committee work on bills is in high gear. On Thursday we also passed several bills on the House floor, the first of the session.
        Two bills we passed were to improve the lives of our National Guard members for all they do to serve and protect.  House File 117 creates the National Guard Service Professional Qualification Scholarship Program. This scholarship would cover the cost of certain educational programs approved by the adjutant general and administered by a community college, Regent university or private institution.  This could include programs leading to certifications in cyber security, IT, emergency medical services or others relevant to their service in the National Guard. House File 118 makes improvements to the National Guard Service Scholarship Program by allowing the amount to be calculated on the actual tuition costs and the financial aid received. This will improve efficiency in the distribution of funds and potentially free up dollars for more recipients.
      We also passed House File 144 that implements a 5 year moratorium on any new casino’s in Iowa.  We had previously implemented a 2 year moratorium that expired a year ago, and the House passed a bill in the 2024 session to continue that moratorium, but the Senate did not take it up. The issue driving this moratorium is a proposed casino in Cedar Rapids. Studies show that the gambling market in Iowa is saturated, if that casino were to be built it would cannibalize business from the Meskwaki, Waterloo, and Riverside casino’s, causing a significant loss of jobs to those rural areas.  I am in full support of this moratorium, not only to protect the jobs provided by the Meskwaki Casino in Tama County, but also to ensure that these jobs stay in rural areas instead of being sucked up into the larger cities. The rural areas have lost too much of our retail and other employment to the cities, enough is enough.
     The Governor and the Iowa Senate have both stated publicly that they support a 2% increase in State Supplemental Aid (SSA) for our schools, which is the per-pupil state aid for K-12 schools, both public and private. I do not find that amount to be adequate, I would prefer a higher percentage based on inflation and other factors. The Iowa House Republican caucus is going to consider other options to increase school funding, particularly to help our rural schools, such as increased operational sharing and transportation equity.
      As always, I look forward to seeing you at the capitol, or in the district.

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