Senator Annette Sweeney's newsletter for week 4

        A sadness came over the Iowa Legislature this week with the passing of Representative Martin Graber (72). He was elected to the Iowa House in 2020 and was serving his third term from Southeast Iowa. He served 32 years in the Iowa National Guard and retired as a brigadier general. He will be remembered for his service to Iowa, and our thoughts are with his family. 
      At the statehouse, Representatives introduced HF209, the Rural Attorney Program, with the intent of helping meet the growing need for attorneys in rural areas and providing appropriations. The program is designed for counties or municipalities with populations less than 26,000 and located more than 20 miles from a city with a population of 50,000 or more. As part of the program, counties or cities are required to pay 35 percent of the costs. The bill passed out of Judiciary in the House unanimously. I have filled a companion bill, in the Senate, to further strengthen this initiative.
      SSB 1022, focuses on providing public school districts with supplemental weighting to secure additional funding. This funding is intended to expand student opportunities and redirect more resources toward student programming, helping districts better serve their students.
      SSB 1069, addressing the licensing and regulations of gaming facilities, came before the Senate Local Government Committee this week after HF 144 passed in the House 68-31 with bipartisan support last week. The bill would have placed a moratorium on the issue of new gaming licenses in Iowa. The bill died in committee. There currently are 19 licenses in Iowa. 
      In committee, Senator Ken Rozenboom of Oskaloosa, who serves as the chair of the State Government Committee, clarified his position on the bill. He stated, “I am no fan of gambling and my decision not to advance this legislation should not be considered in support of casino expansion. According to my conversations, this bill did not have enough support from Senate Republicans to advance all the way through the Senate process. In the interest of moving this session forward to other issues of critical importance to Iowans, I have no plans to reconsider the legislation for the remainder of this session.”
     For several years, interested persons in Cedar Rapids have proposed a new casino and entertainment venue in their community but have faced opposition. The proposed moratorium would have halted the gaming commission's vote on awarding a gaming license to Linn County casino-backers. However, on Feb. 6, the Racing and Gaming Commission met and voted 4-1 to issue a new gaming license to Cedar Rapids.
      I am interested in hearing from you about bills or issues that impact your lives.  Please feel free to share your thoughts with me via email at [email protected].

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