Last week I wrote that the House would be experiencing a long week-end. That long week-end turned out to be the entire week. The time off permitted me to take care of some home maintenance that is neglected during my time in Des Moines. Also, as a member of the Iowa Community Empowerment Board, I was able to attend the state board meeting in Keokuk and Fort Madison and participate in some site visits in Keosauqua. It is exciting to be able to observe the various early childhood care, health and education activities that were created through the enactment of the Community Empowerment legislation, which I worked on during my first years as your representative.

We return to the Iowa House this week to, hopefully, finish our work for this legislative session. Major bills from the House were sent to the Senate some time ago. It appears that the Senate Republicans and Democrats were willing to put aside politics and partisanship to find common ground. Each side gave a little and neither side got everything it wanted. Now, the bills come back to the House.

If the House does not agree to the Senate’s version of the bill, it goes to a conference committee. The conference committee is selected by the Legislative leaders. Whatever is agreed to by the conference committee then goes before both the House and Senate for a straight up-or-down vote, with no amendments allowed. It is preferable for the House and Senate to find common ground and pass legislation rather than sending a bill to a conference committee. Iowans usually lose, and the special interests win, when bills go to a conference committee. The public is excluded along with 90% of the legislators they elected to represent them when legislation is determined by a conference committee.

Due to the priority of other legislative news, I have not yet written about the increasing deer population in Iowa. I have heard from many of my constituents about this issue, and I can assure you that it is a concern to me and my family every time we travel the Linn and Johnson county area, especially after dark. We know of a person who was killed last week in a deer/motorcycle accident. The insurance industry informed us that in 2004 the 18,000 deer/vehicle collision accidents have cost insurance companies an estimated $60 million.

The House and Senate adopted the final version of a bill designed to reduce the state’s deer herd by an additional 25% over the next two years. The bill is expected to be signed by the Governor if he has not already done so. The bill requires the 6,000 nonresidents that buy an antlered or any sex deer license to also buy an antlerless-only tag for an additional $100. Controlling deer herd numbers is done by reducing the female deer population.

The DNR is required to establish a deer harvest reporting system that collects information from deer hunters concerning the deer population in Iowa. The DNR is projecting this past year's deer harvest (2004-2005) at 200,000 deer killed. This is an increase from the 185,000 harvested last year. The bill also expands the Help Us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program statewide. This program pays lockers to process deer that have been donated by hunters, and the Food Bank of Iowa distributes the deer meat to the needy.

Hunters from across the country are lured to Iowa, because they want to bag a buck with world-class antlers. Iowa is known as having some of the biggest white-tailed deer in the world, and Iowa farmers know why. It is because Iowa deer are corn fed!

Next week, I hope to report to you a successful conclusion to this year’s legislative session. It’s all about finding common ground and listening to the voices of our constituents.

You can write me at the State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319; call 515/281-3221 or e-mail me at ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.

Ro

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