DES MOINES, Iowa — The second funnel week of the Iowa 2024 legislative session is coming to an end. With just four weeks left on the legislative calendar, many bills are falling short of the deadline.
Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum said this is one of the more bizarre funnel weeks she has been through, attributing that to the number of canceled subcommittee and committee meetings on the Senate side.
The House has passed a number of bills consistently, but the Senate has killed a large number.
The Senate has also passed fewer bills, something Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver credited to the senators' longer experience and Iowa's stability.
"We don't need to pass 200 bills, 300 bills to keep Iowa strong," Whitver said. "And so we've only passed 40-some, that's fine with me."
House Republicans said they have been able to pass the majority of their priorities out of the House, and they will continue to have conversations with the Senate.
"If there is issues that we feel are extremely important that were part of our priorities, bills find their way back. That's not a Republican or Democrat thing, that's the way the legislative process has always worked," Speaker of the House Pat Grassley said.
House Democrats are happy about bills being passed that relate to affordable housing, workforce housing tax credits and "baby steps" for child care improvements.
However, they argue that politics are still ruling the day.
"I would like to remind everyone that the Republicans have the trifecta. They should be able to have this worked out smoothly," said Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Polk County. "They have both chambers' majorities, and they have the governor's office, so why are they unable to agree on so many pieces of legislation?"
Both chambers addressed where reforms to Area Education Agencies (AEA) stand, saying that conversations are ongoing.
"You know, we're still working on it," Whitver said. "I hope to get something done there, it's a top priority of the governor. It's something that I want to get done, and so don't know the resolution yet, but I'm hopeful it gets done."
These conversations come just weeks after House Republicans tabled Reynolds' original AEA proposal and introduced legislation of their own.
"The good news is, it looks like there is a willingness to want to do those things," Grassley said. "It's just obviously what are the details and the final products gonna look like, but right now we're having some productive conversations with the other two."
Which notable bills survived funnel week?
Education continues to be at the forefront of this year's legislative session, and there are still a handful of notable bills alive.
- Area Education Agencies reform
- Legislation surrounding school safety, including a bill that would make it easier to arm teachers.
- A bill requiring high school classrooms to show what is known as the 'Baby Olivia Video,' which depicts fetal development
Which bills died in Iowa's 2nd funnel week?
- Legislation making changes to the K-12 social studies curriculum in Iowa
- Governor Reynolds' gender identity bill, which defines terms such as "man" and "woman" and would require who medically transition genders to include their biological sex on official documents
- A bill that would have a criminalize death of 'unborn person', potentially impacting IVF access
- Legislation requiring parents to approve minors' social media access
While a lot has happened over the past few weeks, lawmakers say Iowans can expect to see more legislation surrounding tax reforms in the upcoming weeks.
There is also an "unfinished business" list with around 100 bills, allowing legislators to revisit bills at any time during the remainder of the legislative session.