PROOF _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ STATE OF IOWA Senate Journal MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2020 Printed daily by the State of Iowa during the sessions of the General Assembly. An official corrected copy is available for reference in the Secretary of the Senate’s Office. (The official bound copy will be available after a reasonable time upon adjournment.) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1st Day MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2020 1 JOURNAL OF THE SENATE __________ FIRST CALENDAR DAY FIRST SESSION DAY Senate Chamber Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, January 13, 2020 The Senate met in regular session at 10:01 a.m., President Schneider presiding. Prayer was offered by Father Ray McHenry from Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in West Des Moines, Iowa. He was the guest of Senator Schneider. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Senate Page Dillon Belzer. SPECIAL GUEST President Schneider welcomed to the Senate chamber the Honorable Patrick Deluhery, former member of the Senate from Scott County, Davenport, Iowa. The Senate rose and expressed its welcome. OPENING REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE President Schneider addressed the Senate with the following remarks: Good morning and welcome to the second session of the 88th General Assembly. As I said last session, I am honored to serve as President of the Iowa Senate. I appreciate the trust you have placed in me, and I will work hard every day to fulfill the obligations of this office. 2 JOURNAL OF THE SENATE 1st Day Every year, fifty senators from different parts of the state gather in this chamber. We have different backgrounds. We represent different constituencies. We are from different generations. But we share a common goal–to make Iowa an even better state in which to live, work, and raise a family. I want to thank each of you for your service to our great state. I look forward to working with you in the weeks ahead. We begin this session with our state in a strong fiscal position. As a result of responsible budgeting during the last three sessions, our reserve accounts are full, and we have a significant budget surplus. In times like this, there is pressure to spend. While there are places where new investments make sense, it’s important for us to remember that we are spending taxpayer dollars. Taxpayers expect us to spend responsibly. And if the state receives more revenue than is necessary to fund generally agreed-upon priorities, those same taxpayers expect us to return the surplus to them. The conventional wisdom among the press corps, political pundits, and even some legislators, is that it is not possible to accomplish big things during the session immediately preceding an election. I reject this notion outright. In fact, we passed the largest income tax cut in state history just two years ago during an election year. We even adjourned after our per diem days had expired. The reality is that the challenges we face do not wait for a non-election year to confront us. We face them every year we are in session. Chief among them this session is the shortage of skilled workers in our state. This stifles our economic growth and keeps us from reaching our full potential. We must make Iowa a more attractive destination for talent. Iowa has a lot to offer individuals, families, and businesses. We have an outstanding education system, an educated workforce, a strong work ethic, low unemployment, outdoor recreational opportunities, and friendly people. Those advantages alone, however, have not been enough to train, keep, and recruit as many people as we need to fuel our growing economy. There is more we can do. First, we can improve our tax climate. We know a state’s tax climate can attract people. It can also drive them away. According to the Tax Foundation, Iowa ranks 42nd in business tax climate. The income tax cut bill we passed two years ago has improved our ranking, and it will continue to improve as the bill phases in over time. Still, it is a barrier to growth and an area where we must improve. The more we can lower income taxes, the sooner Iowans will be able to pay off student loans, buy a home, start a family, save for their children’s education, or put aside money for retirement. Second, we can remove barriers to work. Excessive occupational licensing is the proverbial government red tape of our era. Unelected bureaucrats should not impede people who move to Iowa from working in an occupation for which they were licensed in their home state. If someone who moves to Iowa is a doctor, electrician or other licensed professional, whether they come from Boston or Bangladesh, Iowa should welcome them to the workforce as quickly as possible. Finally, we can improve how our assistance programs work. Our programs should promote work and career development. Unfortunately, for Iowans receiving childcare benefits, that is not always the case. Far too often, I have heard from constituents and business leaders who say people turn down opportunities to advance in their careers because they risk losing their childcare benefits. This is unacceptable. We need to find a way to reform this benefit to allow people receiving it to have a better shot at their American dream. While the shortage of skilled workers is a major challenge for us this session, it is not the only one we face. We must continue to find opportunities to position rural Iowa to compete in the 21st Century. We must continue to improve access to mental health services. 1st Day MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2020 3 These and other issues we will address this session are big challenges, but that does not mean they are insurmountable. We can achieve great things for our fellow Iowans if we work together. I wish everyone in this chamber, including the staff, clerks, and pages, a happy, healthy, and productive legislative session. I look forward to working with all of you to make our state an even better place. God bless you all, and God bless the great state of Iowa. REMARKS BY THE MINORITY LEADER Senator Petersen addressed the Senate with the following remarks: Thank you, President Schneider. Welcome back to the Iowa Senate and the start of the 2020 Legislative Session. A warm welcome to our returning Senators and staff and a special welcome to our new pages, clerks, staff and news media. I hope you enjoyed being home in your districts during the interim. I am fortunate that most of my family lives in Iowa and we get to spend the holidays together. For Christmas, my mom wrapped up a few records from my sister Barb and my 1980’s and ’70s record collections and gave them to my husband who is an avid vinyl collector. One of them was a “Mister Rogers” album. While the last episode of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” aired in 2001, nearly twenty years ago, Fred Rogers nostalgia seems to be everywhere. So much so, that my 15-year- old daughter asked me this fall why Mr. Rogers has become so popular again. I told her I believe Mr. Rogers popularity has resurged because people are longing for kindness and a sense of connection in our world. As author and podcast creator Carvel Wallace put it: “In a time like this, Fred Rogers has something that we desperately need.” “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” was created especially for kids, but it also sent a message to adults about making our neighborhoods, communities and nation better places to live. Mr. Rogers famously told this story: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ’Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” In that spirit, I’m asking today that we strive to be the new helpers focused on working together to build a healthier, happier, safer and stronger Iowa neighborhood for our parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and our friends. What’s that mean for the Iowa Legislature and Governor this year? First, it means state leaders must lead by example. It is time to start sending a message that Iowa will once again be a friendly, inclusive state for everyone. Iowans shouldn’t have to worry that their human and civil rights are on the line when the Legislature is in session. We have a responsibility to deliver kindness and care to people who don’t look like us, people who have less money than us, people who don’t share our interests or our political views, and people who haven’t had the opportunities we have received. As leaders, we can foster the idea that our state, our communities and our neighborhoods are safe places where very diverse people can live together. We have great examples of Iowans who have delivered that message. 4 JOURNAL OF THE SENATE 1st Day Iowa State University graduate Carrie Chapman Catt played an important role in securing women’s right to vote in the United States. Our state and country are stronger because women have the right to vote. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, let’s push for policies that expand voting rights and advance women’s rights. A native of Cresco, Iowa, Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize for a lifetime of work to feed a hungry world and to prevent famine and misery in Asia and Central America. His legacy was the inspiration for the Iowa-based World Food Prize, which recognizes the achievements of individuals who are improving the world food supply.