February 28, 2020

Floor debate began in earnest this week, with both chambers debating scores of bills, while committees continued to do work, as well.  The next funnel deadline is March 20th, just three weeks away. Bills that are subject to the funnel will need to move through one full chamber and the other chamber’s full committee to survive the funnel. These funnels are legislatively imposed deadlines that reduce the number of bills can be worked on as session progresses.

Committee meetings this week included a Senate Human Resources presentation by the Iowa Department of Public Health on the coronavirus, and discussion after the presentation touched on vaccine and antiviral drug development, as well as the potential public impact of an outbreak of the virus in Iowa, and prevention measures. Ways and Means in the House heard a presentation by IEDA Director, Debi Durham on the tax credit programs the department manages, including the angel investor credits, biochemical tax credit, R & D tax credits, and High Quality Jobs. She explained the internal evaluation measures that are taken when awarding tax credits. She conveyed that she is a champion of R&D credits and that of course they should be reviewed and possibly tweaked, but that they are doing their job exactly as intended. In addition, Durham said although there is not utilization of the Renewable Chemical Production Tax Credit program now, there are projects in the pipeline, so utilization will increase. 

The Revenue Estimating Conference will meet on March 12, 2020, to set revenue for FY 2021. This committee will either solidify or downgrade its previous revenue projections (made at the end of December). It is not anticipated that the revenue will be downgraded. This is significant because the budget process will gain momentum next week when legislators have a final revenue number. Negotiations between the House and Senate will continue as they narrow down on overall budget targets.

Remember to register for our Partnering for Growth Annual Conference. Next week, legislators will receive invitations to attend the networking reception on the 10th.  Here’s the full agenda. We would love to see you there!