The Iowa General Assembly adjourned its 84th legislative session after passing significant revisions to education, the mental health system, and the state budget in spite of the legislature's close partisan split and numerous disagreements. The Assembly failed to pass legislation on business tax reductions and nuclear energy.

The Iowa General Assembly consists of 50 Senators and 100 Representatives. The 2012 legislative session convened on January 9 and adjourned on May 9. Currently, the Senate consists of 26 Democrats and 24 Republicans, while the House has 40 Democrats and 59 Republicans.

A self-proclaimed top priority for Senate Democrat Joe Bolkcom is the reduction of property and commercial taxes for businesses presented in HF 2274. The bill would gradually reduce the percentage of the actual value of property that would have taxes assessed on it from 100 percent to 60 percent between 2013 to 2020. Supporters assert that the legislation is necessary to create a competitive business environment while detractors maintain that the loss in revenue would cause an increase on taxes for homeowners. Republican Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal blamed partisan politics for HF 2274's failure, and House Speaker Kraig Paulsen has promised to continue debate on the issue in the next legislative session, which begins January 14, 2013.

Governor Terry Branstad put forth a comprehensive restructuring of the education system, which was amended by the House and Senate in SF 2284. Legislators debated proposals on early reading skills, teacher evaluations, and online learning. Under the new law, parents of third graders who do not attain proficiency on the statewide reading assessment must choose between sending their children to a summer reading program or retaining their children in the third grade. Similar legislation was first passed in Florida and later introduced or passed by Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. While proponents cite studies that link third grade reading rates with high school graduation, Senator Herman Quirmbach expressed concerns that “the scientific result on third-grade retention is very mixed,” and other opponents believe that the legislation does not provide adequate funding.

The General Assembly also voted to restructure mental health services in favor of a statewide system in SF 2315, with services delivered locally but administered at the state level. The bill distributes more of the mental health system's costs to the state. Proponents argue that the bill amends an unsustainable county system while guaranteeing care for all Iowans, and opponents claim that the bill for being financially burdensome to some counties.

Much of the controversy over the state budget for the 2013 fiscal year was over proposed abortion requirements, in S Amdt 5206, which was eventually rejected by a vote of 22 Yeas to 25 Nays. The amendment would have reduced the amount of state funding to private abortion providers. Similar appropriations reductions have been discussed in Arizona's HB 2800, Indiana's HB 1210, Kansas' HB 2075, Wisconsin's SB 92, and United States H Amdt 95.

The Senate did not vote on HF 561, which would have allowed for the construction and regulation of a new nuclear energy plant by MidAmerican Energy, but it will likely be considered again next session. Additionally, Senate Majority Leader John Kibbie emphasized the need to work on infrastructure, saying that “the next session of the Legislature must put this at the top of the agenda.”

Radhika Kshatriya is a student at the University of North Carolina— Chapel Hill majoring in Philosophy and a current intern with Project Vote Smart. For more information on internship opportunities with Project Vote Smart, contact us at intern@votesmart.org or by calling 1-888-VOTE-SMART.