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Representative Ro Foege
Report from the Iowa Legislature
February 29, 2004
Gambling Wins, Education Loses
It has been an interesting week for me, beginning with a press conference
with Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, where I was pleased to join her in
supporting legislation that could prevent bullying and harassing in schools.
At the end of the week I enjoyed a visit from the international students
from Cornell College.
There was also the day-long debate on gambling in Iowa. Last week I wrote
that the gambling debate was a complex and non-partisan issue. I also
suggested that the outcome of the vote was uncertain, since no gambling bill
in the Iowa Legislature had ever passed with more than the bare minimum of
votes. As it turned out, the Iowa House voted to expand gambling in the
state last Thursday by a vote that was not even close, with 73 of the 100
votes in favor of the bill. I voted not to expand gambling in Iowa.
The key vote was on an amendment devised late Wednesday night after most
legislators had gone home for the day. It allowed the state’s three
racetrack casinos to expand table games such as blackjack, poker, craps and
roulette, all of which are currently prohibited at those venues. It was
interesting that many legislators who have opposed gambling on moral grounds
were willing to compromise and in the end support an amendment that
significantly expands gambling in Iowa.
The bill does not actually authorize any new gambling licenses, but the
authority for granting new licenses was shifted from the state’s Racing and
Gaming Commission to the Legislature. So, in the future, it will take
legislative action to enable more gambling facilities to open. The bill also
establishes new tax rates for riverboats and racetracks to replace the tax
structure that was recently ruled unconstitutional by the Iowa Supreme. In
return for the revised tax structure, the racetracks gave legislative
leaders written assurances that they would forgive $112 million owed to them
by the state as a result of the recent court ruling.
This bill now heads for the Iowa Senate for consideration, and it is
anticipated that the Senate will expand on the opportunities to gamble in
Iowa. I am sure there will be another opportunity for House members to vote
on a gambling bill when it returns to the House from the Senate.
Two weeks ago, it took only 33 hours for the majority party to propose a
school funding bill and rush it through both the Iowa House and Senate.
Governor Vilsack has vowed to veto the two-percent Allowable Growth bill,
however, that has not happened yet because the leaders of the legislature
have not sent him the bill. Normally, it takes only a day or two for a bill
to be formally prepared and delivered to the Governor. When asked where the
bill was in the legislative process, one leader indicated that the bill was
“lost.” I have no idea if it is actually lost or if this is some kind of
hide and seek game.
We are nearing the halfway point of the Legislative session, which means
that next week bills must come out of committee if they are to stay alive
for the session. So far, no work has been done on important measures such as
extending the successful class size reduction program or helping seniors
with their health care needs. We have not yet debated the utility tax bill.
If the legislature fails to act, the tax on utility bills will go up this
summer from 2% to 5%.
And we have not discussed finding a reliable and sufficient source of
funding for our economic growth initiative, the Iowa Values Program. It is
critical that we consistently fund economic growth and the creation of new
jobs that pay a living wage. The Iowa Values and Economic Development Boards
recently generated the largest group of awards to businesses at on one time
in Iowa history. The awards totaled $20 million for 28 new projects and will
create or retain 1,740 Iowa jobs. The total capital investment was over $426
million. It was especially good news to learn that a Mt. Vernon business, B4
Ventures was one of those recipients. It is gratifying to have successfully
advocated for B4 Ventures with the Dept. of Economic Development.
I look forward to hearing from constituents about the work of the Iowa Legislature.
You can write me at the State Capitol, Des
Moines, IA 50319; call 515/281-7328 or e-mail me at
ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.
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