State Senator Joe Bolkcom

Week Four

 Snow was the story of the week. Des Moines was socked with rain and snow on Sunday/Monday and then got about 8 inches of snow on Tuesday/Wednesday. It made it difficult for people to get to the Capitol for a number of constituency group meetings and receptions this week. Eastern Iowa got even more snow this week. I arrived home yesterday to dig out.

I spent time this week in a couple of meetings discussing how to create a better way to fund mental health and developmental disability services. This has been a subject of much study over the past few years.  The Department of Human Services has proposed a new approach to addressing emergency support for persons with mental health problems. They are proposing a new regional approach to providing crisis intervention services. See the bill at SSB 3136.

I continued to introduce legislation this week. See the bills I have introduced so far. SF 2007 is the first bill for the 2008 session.

Tax Transparency and Accountability

 Unlike the appropriation process of the state budget where legislators debate how much money to spend on education, health care and the environment, much of the spending in the tax expenditures side of the state budget goes without scrutiny. Many tax credits that have been written into state law over the years provide automatic benefits to businesses that create jobs. One of my priorities as Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee is to work to evaluate the effectiveness of these expenditures much like we evaluate other spending in the state budget.

So, this week the Senate Ways and Means Committee heard from Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) Director, Mike Tramontina, on the growth of state tax credits to support Iowa ’s ethanol industry as well as other projects. There has been a huge increase in these tax payer supported credits over the past few years and many of these tax credits are projected to continue to increase.  A combination of programs increased the state tax credit expenditures by around $300 million from 2006 to 2007.

The IDED has developed an excellent resource for citizens to follow what companies are receiving these tax credits at their web site. Below is a link to the details on 441 projects funded through the Iowa Values Fund and other state business development programs made from July 2003 – June 2007. A detailed description of the award source, obligations, performance projected, budget and expenditures are included in these searchable databases. Visit:  Tax credit transparency

Mr. Tramontina’s presentation is one of several that are scheduled to continue to explore the effectiveness of this increasing expenditure of state tax dollars.

This week the Iowa Department of Revenue released a report on the state’s Research Activities Tax Credit.  This report was done as a result of transparency legislation I offered last year to provide more taxpayer transparency of this tax credit. The legislation did not move forward, but it prompted the Department of Revenue to compile this report. View their report at Research Activities Tax Credit Report.

The Iowa Policy Project released their response to the state’s Research Activities Tax Credit Report.  See their report: Accountability to Taxpayers at http://www.iowapolicyproject.org/

My car trying to get to the garage

Senate Moves in Bipartisan Manner to Improve Schools for Iowa Children

One of the top priorities for any Legislature is to stand up for Iowa schoolchildren. We must continue our efforts to make Iowa schools the best than they can be.

That’s why I joined my Republican and Democratic colleagues on Thursday in voting for increasing basic state funding for Iowa ’s schools by four percent for the 2009-20010 school year. 

These funds will be used for textbooks, heating bills, technology and other basic needs which are necessary for students, teachers and schools to be successful.

The budget this year is tight and I’m focused on keeping the commitments we made last year to education.  In addition to increased basic school funding, I’m working to make sure that we:

Our efforts this session to improve local schools reflects the strong interest of Iowa families in giving their children the best start possible in life.

Health Care For All—Starting With Iowa ’s Children

This week, legislators introduced a proposal that could make Iowa the first state in the nation to guarantee all children have health insurance.  The legislation comes from the Legislative Commission on Affordable Health Care Plans for Small Businesses and Families that has worked over the past eight months on this proposal.

Currently 44,000 Iowa kids are without health insurance.  Under the new legislation, 25,000 of them would be covered through hawk-i, Medicaid, and other state-funded initiatives.  The remaining 19,000 would be covered by private insurance plans.  A state subsidy based on a sliding scale would ensure all families could afford to buy health insurance for their children.

I’m optimistic we can accomplish this goal in the next two to three years.  As we move through the process, we’ll better understand how to reach the goal of extending health care to all Iowans.  My goal is to see every Iowan have access to quality health care that provides choice, affordability, consumer information, cost containment, and preventive health care. 

In many ways, Iowa is better positioned than any other state in the nation to lead on health care reform.  We have the highest percentage of our population already insured, the fourth lowest health care costs, and the sixth highest quality when compared to other states. 

I will be serving on the subcommittee that will be working to move the legislation forward, To review the bill click here. SSB 3140.

Iowa City Woman Appointed to Child Welfare Advisory Committee

Congratulations to Miriam Landsman, a child welfare researcher at the University of Iowa .  She was recently appointed by Governor Chet Culver to the statewide Child Welfare Advisory Committee, which advises the Department of Human Services on state child welfare budgets, programs and policies so that Iowa families and children are better served.

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My New Clerk

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce my new clerk to everyone. Dennis Tibben is a senior in Political Science at Iowa State . Dennis is originally from Manning, Iowa , a small town in Western Iowa, and he now lives in Ankeny . While Dennis is new to the legislature, he is no stranger to the capitol. This past summer and fall, he completed back-to-back internships in the Governor’s office. Aside from helping me with scheduling, correspondence, and serving as the committee secretary to the Ways and Means Committee; Dennis also a full-time student. He is taking classes at night and online to keep on track to graduate in May.

Visitors This Week

Dreams, Memories and Other Destinations Paintings by Michael Kienzle

Hudson River Gallery

538 South Gilbert Street

Iowa City , Iowa

February 15 - March 15, 2008

Opening Reception

Friday, February 15, 6-8 PM

How to Contact Me

Joe Bolkcom

728 2nd Avenue

Iowa City, IA 52245

319.337.6280

joe.bolkcom@legis.state.ia.us

joe@joebolkcom.org

www.joebolkcom.org

www.iowasenatedemocrats.org

www.legis.state.ia.us