By Jason Hancock

Should the channel catfish be the official state fish of Iowa? That is one of the burning questions legislators will face when the 82nd Iowa General Assembly is gaveled into session on Monday, and with an election around the corner for the entire House of Representatives and half the Senate, many believe that could be the most controversial issue the legislators dare to tackle.

“People position themselves for an election,” said James Strohman, a political science lecturer at Iowa State University who teaches state and local government. “That always happens in an election year, and it can make it very difficult to get things done.”

Last year was historic for Iowans, as the Democrats assumed control of the House, Senate and Governor’s Mansion for the first time in 42 years. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Des Moines) said the last session saw huge achievements, pointing to an increase in teacher pay, raising the cigarette tax and creating the Power Fund as just the tip of the iceberg.

“Last session was historic not just because of the shift in control from one party to another, but also in what we were able to accomplish,” McCarthy said. “We made major investments to the future of this state in a number of areas, and because of that, the goal of this session is to maintain that progress.”

McCarthy said another expensive project, like the Power Fund or expanded access to early childhood education, is not in the cards for this session. Instead, Democrats will focus on continued funding for these projects and holding the line on additional spending.

Brad Anderson, communications director for Gov. Chet Culver, agreed with McCarthy’s assessment of the upcoming session.

“There won’t be a whole lot of new spending,” he said. “We are going to work within last year’s budget. That will be a big focus for the governor. Keeping the budget in tact.”

It’s one thing to pass legislation, Anderson said, but you have to be able to keep funding it. So this session will be just as historic as last year’s, he said, because it will show Iowans that their government is committed to the promises it made.

Senate Assistant Minority Leader Pat Ward (R-West Des Moines) said this session should be quieter than the last, citing the upcoming election as the reason. She said that ultimately it would be up to the Democrats, as the majority, to set the agenda for the session, and she hopes that they don’t try to avoid issues in order to keep from alienating voters.

“There are a lot of things we need to work on,” Ward said. “But people are very cautious during an election year. It’s doubtful anyone will be willing to tackle really controversial issues.”

So is this the calm before the election storm, or will certain issues rear their ugly head, disturbing the best-laid plans to keep controversy out of the spotlight? Will legislators come together in bipartisan unity or spend the next 100 days duking it out? Will the catfish finally get the recognition it so richly deserves?

All these questions, and probably a few more, will begin to come into focus starting Monday. Let the games begin.

The issues

There’s never a shortage of things to bicker over in a legislative session — and not nearly enough newsprint to cover them all. But here are some of the issues that will be snagging headlines and sparking confrontations (maybe) over the next several months:

Road and bridge construction

A Department of Transportation report says Iowa is on the verge of a transportation crisis, facing a $27.7 billion shortfall for city, county and state road construction projects over the next two decades. The agency has estimated that a minimum of $200 million annually in additional revenue is needed to fix the problem.

The issue, which garnered little attention last session, was put back in the spotlight on Aug. 1, when a bridge spanning the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis collapsed during rush hour.

“Six months ago, most of the public didn’t even consider this an issue,” Strohman said. “When the bridge fell in Minneapolis, the public demanded that the government act and fund improvements.”

One idea floated initially was an increase to the gas tax, but recently Gov. Culver shot down that idea as asking too much of taxpayers with gas prices already at an all time high.

“The governor refuses to raise taxes on working families that are already struggling with high fuel prices,” Anderson said.

Both McCarthy and Ward agree that it isn’t the right time to raise the gas tax, but that begs the question: How will Iowa pay to update its roads?

One proposal is higher registration fees for pickup trucks, which are taxed at a much lower rate than most passenger cars. McCarthy said the lower fee should still apply to farmers who use their trucks for work.

Ward, who served on a committee that studied the issue, said changing truck registration fees would raise $50 million, barely reaching the amount needed.

“Infrastructure needs are very important and the responsibility of the government,” she said. “I think if we take a look at the budget as a whole and prioritize spending, we can find money to put into road repair.”

Immigration

Presidential candidates have been forced to reconcile with this issue for months, and while most see this as a matter to be dealt with by the federal government, McCarthy said Washington’s lack of action has forced the states to take the initiative.

“We want to put some teeth in Iowa’s laws,” he said. “There are people who come to this country seeking a better life, and they are being abused by employers. That has to stop.”

McCarthy said his party would introduce legislation that seeks to crack down on employers who abuse the process, including jail time for CEOs who skirt Iowa law.

This is an issue that divides the Republicans, Strohman said, and Democrats are going to try to get out front and make it an issue, especially during an election year.

Ward said immigration is an issue that can’t be solved in Iowa.

“This is a bigger issue than Iowa can deal with on its own,” she said.

Fair Share vs. Right to Work

Catchy slogans aside, no other issue sparked more debate last year than Fair Share legislation. Unions want to change the Right to Work law, which says you don’t have to join a union to get or keep a job. They want to allow contracts that require nonunion employees in union shops to pay a fee to the union for services the union provides. They say those workers benefit from union services without having to contribute to them.

“The Right to Work law is essential to this state,” Ward said. “Altering it would have a terrible impact on our ability to bring jobs to the state.”

McCarthy said despite Republican claims to the contrary, the Right to Work law was never questioned by the Democrats, and it won’t be questioned in the future.

“This is not on our agenda,” McCarthy said. “We will not be altering or tinkering with the Right to Work law.”

McCarthy said the issue was never truly on the table last session either, saying only a minor change in one section of labor law was ever up for debate.

“Republicans blew this way out of proportion to score political points,” he said. “They said we were trying to overturn the law, which is a flat out lie.”

Republicans may argue that even a slight alteration would put Iowa on a slippery slope to overturning Right to Work, but that simply isn’t so, McCarthy said.

Despite McCarthy’s assurances, Ward said she expects a very partisan fight to take place once again over the issue of Fair Share legislation.

Local control

Local control of hog lots is an issue that doesn’t necessarily break down party lines. More frequently, it depends on whether you live in rural or urban areas of the state.

Matt Ohloff, rural organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, said giving counties the ability to say where and if factory farms are sited would go a long way to protect and preserve natural resources, would lessen overcrowding of confined feeding operations and would protect the health and welfare of the public.

“We keep hearing excuse after excuse as to why there has been no action on this issue,” Ohloff said. “Local control is hugely popular, and failure to act will hurt the Democratic Party when they run again in the fall.”

McCarthy said it’s not that easy.

“Air and water don’t know county lines,” McCarthy said. “If you allow each county to define its own rules, you would still be greatly affected by what goes on in a neighboring county.”

Ward agrees, saying she comes down in favor of state control.

“There is no cookie-cutter solution,” McCarthy said. “It’s a highly controversial topic, and right now, there just isn’t enough votes to pass anything.”

Commercial property taxes

Iowa businesses have long complained of paying much more in property taxes than in neighboring states, and Ward said the legislature should make addressing this issue a top priority. But in doing so, the tax burden cannot be shifted to homeowners, she said.

“No one has come up with a fair and equitable way to relieve commercial property tax payers without shifting the burden,” she said. “It’s a tough issue.”

McCarthy called this the “29-year problem,” saying it has been plaguing Iowa for nearly three decades.

“The Senate had a plan to address this issue and the House had a plan, but there was no consensus, and the issue died,” he said.

A committee has been set up to look into possible solutions, but McCarthy said it wouldn’t make any recommendations until December, meaning the issue will not be up for discussion this session.

Same-sex marriage

“I would be surprised if the Republicans don’t bring this up,” Strohman said. “In an election year, they want to get Democrats on the record on a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage.”

When an Iowa district court ruled in August that same-sex couples could marry based on the state constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment, and also struck down a state law declaring valid marriages are only between a man and woman, the idea of amending Iowa’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage was sparked again. That ruling has since been put on hold until the Iowa Supreme Court makes its ruling in the case.

“The legislature spoke in April when we voted, unanimously, to reaffirm that marriage is between a man and a woman,” McCarthy said. “We will wait for the court’s decision, but we’ve already spoken on this issue.”

Ward said she is doubtful the Democrats will allow a vote on this issue, but she believes the constitutional amendment should get its day.

“Let the people get their chance to vote on it,” she said. “The Democrats are afraid they will lose voters in rural areas, and that is why they won’t bring it up for a vote.”

School construction

Last year legislators shied away from a plan to approve a state sales tax increase that would replace local-option sales taxes approved at the county level for school building improvements. Ward said she is very much opposed to this option, citing the failed Project Destiny sales tax initiative as evidence that voters aren’t interested in more taxes.

“We should just keep the plan in place that we have, where counties vote every 10 years on the sales tax,” she said. “I think if we put in a statewide tax, it would become a permanent tax increase, taking the issue out of the hands of the public.”

Strohman said the issue could be a sticky one for legislators in an election year.

“We saw cigarette taxes increase last session, and we could see a gas tax or truck registration fees go up this session,” he said. “Increasing another tax, regardless of the goal, isn’t something most politicians want to do when they are running for reelection.”

The Iowa Association of School Boards has endorsed the enactment of a statewide sales tax to meet the infrustructure needs of public schools. So have the eight largest school districts in the state.

Campaign finance reform

McCarthy said he plans to draw up legislation that would cap donations to candidates, something that currently doesn’t exist in Iowa. He would also ban contributions from lobbyists and would work to increase transparency in elections by increasing the number of times candidates must file disclosure forms and requiring electronic filing.

Iowa CCI’s Ohloff said the only way to truly give the electoral process back to the people is by passing legislation that would allow public funding of elections for candidates who agree to spending limits.

Official state fish

Iowa has a state bird, flower, tree and rock. Is there room for a state fish?

According to a Senate resolution proposed last year, “the channel catfish is the most preferred fish among Iowa anglers, reaching trophy size above 30 pounds and providing pole-bending action, with over four million caught annually.”

The idea has been brought up in some from or another in the legislature for almost 40 years, with little success. But now Iowa is one of only five states without an official fish, meaning 2008 could be the year the catfish finally reels in enough votes to get the title. CV

(Iowa CCI will hold a Rally and Lobby Day at the Capitol on Jan. 17)

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