DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa lawmakers met at the State Capitol this week to discuss each party's legislative priorities for the upcoming session, which begins Monday, Jan. 13.
At the top of the list for Democrats and Republicans is addressing the economy, and the impact inflation has had at a state level.
House Republicans also want to improve the state's education system. Speaker of the House Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, recently created the House Higher Education Committee to determine if the state is getting the value it wants from schools, in the content it teaches and "to fill workforce needs."
"I think with the workforce challenges that we are facing, some of the 'woke' policies we're seeing on campuses, I think we need to have more of a focus on what that looks like from the workforce standpoint," he said.
House Democrats instead want to cut back on the education savings account program -- which provides money for families to attend private schools.
"We're going to make sure that we are putting them first, and we're going to be pushing hard to ensure that public money goes to public schools," House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Polk County said. "Fighting back against efforts to continue to fund, in an unsustainable way, private schools with your tax dollars."
Konfrst added Democrats want to raise wages for Iowans and legalize marijuana.
However, Grassley said Republicans have no interest in legalizing marijuana this session, despite it being fully legal in three of Iowa's neighboring states.
Republicans are also focused on reforming the state's property tax system through multiple pieces of legislation.
Grassley told Local 5 News: "I think where we're kind of on the path to is you'll see the House introduce a few bills, because I think what we actually have to have happen is, we have to have everyone come to the table. In the past whenever we've talked about property taxes, it feels like the local governments and the state are being pitted against one another."
Republicans are coming into this session with a two-thirds majority, however, Konfrst said Democrats aren't going to "sit back and watch," and are instead, "ready to fight."