Shipley reports on first funnel, answers to constituents

During his legislative coffee with constituents Saturday morning, Sen. Tom Shipley (R-Nodaway) said this week the state legislature is approaching its second “funnel” – a deadline designated to keep lawmakers on track.

The first funnel – which lawmakers call “funnel week” – ended Feb. 18. The funnel is when bills either make it out of House or Senate committees or not. To survive the second funnel, bills must pass a floor vote in one chamber and a subcommittee and committee vote in the other chamber.

“There’s a number of things that aren’t going to make it through,” said Shipley of the second funnel, before highlighting what is gaining support.

School choice

Shipley was asked his position on school choice voucher bill (Senate Study Bill 3080), keeping in mind that “all tax money is the parents’, not the states.” The bill would allow public money to be used for private schools. Proponents claim the bill opens up options for parents, but critics are concerned about the effects it could have on special education services in public schools.

“I’ve been very clear ... that I’m not in favor of doing that,” said Shipley. “Most of the people I hear from are not in favor of doing that.”

Shipley said millions in public money already goes toward private schools for transportation, books and AEA services.

“I am concerned, and some private schools are concerned, if they start getting much public money, eventually there will be strings attached to that and they’ll lose their flexibility of how they want to do things. And I think that’s a very real possibility,” said Shipley.

When asked if he’s seen kids succeed due to support from Iowa’s Area Education Agencies.

“Yes, of course,” he said, before adding it’s not in his “wheelhouse.”

“I just heard about the other day on reducing the numbers. Now, I don’t know what that plan would look like. I guess we’ll see. But I know there’s a lot of services provided through AEAs that are a big benefit to the kids,” said Shipley. “I think what happened to some of the funding for it, some AEAs were sitting on top of a lot of money that they weren’t getting spent.

Shipley said some AEAs were sitting on millions of dollars, which could indicate the need for funding is invalid. He also said Iowa’s nine AEAs are not the same.

“School districts, AEAs, towns, whatever, they all have their own personalities,” he said.

Shipley’s update

Shipley touched on a few bills that are gaining support in the state legislature. One is a bill relating to the admissibility of evidence in a prosecution for physical abuse or sexual assault on a child, or a person with an intellectual or developmental disability or cognitive impairment.

“Technically, you cannot use hearsay evidence in court and we’re going to create some exceptions,” said Shipley. “It’s about safety for victims,” he said.

Shipley said a bill (SF2309) relating to the sale of raw milk has also passed in the state Senate, which passed the Senate 32-15. The legislation would allow dairy farms to sell raw milk directly to consumers, either on-farm sales or by direct deliveries, but does not include resale, retail sales to restaurants, grocery, or convenience stores. The same rules would apply to sales of raw milk products, such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream produced with unpasteurized milk.

“Now, that’s what’s been rolled around for a long time,” he said. “It’s surprising how many people are buying raw milk, but they’ve got to go to Nebraska to do it. ... When you start looking at how many states allow it and the protections that are in place, people that are buying it know what they’re getting. ... And I’ve heard from people that’s the only kind of milk they can drink.”

SF2110, introduced by Shipley, is a bill that helps farmers growing industrial hemp overcome issues relating to acreage caps.

“So we’re going to take those acreage limitations off,” said Shipley. “Up to now, it’s only been 40 acres. And these people, if they’re going to go out and get a business set up, they’re going to need a lot more acres than that. There’s a veteran up at Ames that is doing some interesting processing, and he isn’t doing anything illegal, but there’s just some things that code is not very clear on.”

Under consideration

Shipley said all bills that gain enough support advance through the funnels and others do not. The only exceptions to funnel deadlines are budget and tax policy bills, which he said take more time.

Other bills considered during the second funnel include:

• Abortion: House File 2119 bans the dispensation of telemedicine abortion drugs.

• Bottle bill: House Study Bill 709 aims to address Iowa’s recyclables law.

• Ethanol: A proposal (House File 2128) to require E15 ethanol blend at most Iowa gas stations.

• Income tax cuts: Both the House (House File 2317) and Senate (Senate Study Bill 3074).

• Mobile devices: Senate File 30 bans the hand-held use of mobile devices while driving. House Study Bill 561 calls for a partial ban in school and construction zones.

• Public assistance: House Study Bill 698 and Senate Study Bill 3093 increases verification measures for individuals who qualify for public assistance.

• School books: House Study Bill 706 requires schools to post all educational materials online for parents to review along with the district’s policy for how parents may challenge materials. The Senate’s version (Senate File 2198) creates legal recourse for parents who disagree with a school’s decision by allowing them to sue the district or teachers.

• Solar panels: Under Senate File 2127, solar panels would not be permitted on farmland deemed to be of high agricultural value.

• Teachers: House File 2085 creates a temporary teacher’s license for anyone with a bachelor’s degree who completes an alternative teacher certification program and a praxis subject assessment.

• Traffic cameras: Senate File 2078 prohibits law enforcement in cities of 12,000 or fewer residents from ticketing speeders unless they are going 20 miles per hour over the speed limit or more. Senate Study Bill 3012 would outright ban all such cameras.

• Transgender sports: Both the Senate (Senate Study Bill 3146) and House (House File 2309) would ban transgender girls from competing in girls sports.

• Vaccines: House Study Bill 647 bans all businesses, schools and government agencies from requiring any vaccination for workers or students and prohibit them from requiring face coverings.