Forbes: Bi-Partisan Work Happening in House

We are now into our third month in the Iowa General Assembly and high profile issues continue to draw most of the attention in the press. And while it is true there are differences on some issues, one pleasant surprise in my first session in the Iowa House is how much good bi-partisan work there is on legislation that may not draw headlines, but are issues that are still important for Iowans.  

Here are a few examples:

As a member of the Transportation Committee, I worked with Rep. Gary Worthan (R-Storm Lake) on a bill related to truck axles.  The bill has already passed the House and is being considered in the Senate.  Admittedly, the subject of truck axles is a little out of my field of expertise, but is an important issue to Iowa farmers and the trucking industry.

One of my constituents, a retired state trooper, asked to make a change in the law to allow police officers to provide drivers education instruction without having a teaching certificate, as is presently required. The bill does require the officers to take a certified training course. I worked with Rep. Rob Taylor (R-West Des Moines) on the bill, which made it through the House Education Committee.  It has 33 sponsors from both parties, and we are working together on this common sense proposal at the request of a constituent.

Another bill passed out of the Commerce Committee, on which I serve, is a measure granting liability to architects and engineers who donate their time to inspect buildings during a disaster.  I spoke to several architects about this bill and it passed out of the Commerce Committee with bi-partisan support.  Peter Cownie (R-West Des Moines) chairs the Committee. Peter and I met before the legislative session started to discuss the direction of the Committee.

Another proposal, a little closer to home, is a bill to allow pharmacists to give flu shots to children age 6 and older.  Under the present rules, a child must have a physician’s prescription in order for pharmacists to immunize a child.  Parents visiting a pharmacy to get their own immunizations sometimes neglect or delay getting their kids their immunizations because they must have a physician’s order for their child. 

And one more: We are in the early stages, but Rep. Dean Fisher (R- Garwin) and I are working together on some legislation to prohibit the sale of so-called energy drinks to children under the age of 18.  When misused, these drinks can cause serious health problems and even death.  We have received emails from out of state and Canada on this matter, urging us to pass this legislation.  This matter requires considerable research. It may hold over until the next session.

So no matter what you hear or see or read, it is not all partisan fighting at the Statehouse.  Many of us are working together on any number of important issues, because that is what we legislators were elected to do.  And if we can forge relationships on these other issues, we should be able to do it on the major ones, too.

I was privileged to host Johnston middle school students in the House last week.  As part of their persuasive writing class, the kids emailed me about various pieces of legislation. Then we met at the Statehouse to discuss those bills and the legislative process.  Their energetic teacher is Kate Leo.  It was pleasure to have them at the Statehouse.

Don’t forget the next Chamber of Commerce forum for elected officials on Saturday, March 30 at 10:30am at the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce office, 2900 Justin Drive.