The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
DES MOINES — While they are in the minority party in both Iowa legislative chambers, Democratic leaders made it clear they will be active in the upcoming legislative session, saying they aim to hold Republicans accountable and advance legislation their constituents care about.
In a legislative forum held Thursday by the Iowa Capitol Press Association, Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights and Iowa Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner of Iowa City laid out their thoughts on the legislative session starting Monday, what legislation they think might be introduced and how the party will move forward while Republicans hold the House, Senate and governorship.
Members from both parties were invited to the forum. Gov. Kim Reynolds declined, and House and Senate Republicans did not respond to the invitation.
Republicans won supermajorities in both legislative bodies last election with majorities of 67-33 in the House and 34-15 in the Senate, making it easier for their party to pass legislation. A special election will be held later this month to fill an open Senate seat.
Despite facing an uphill battle in both chambers, Weiner says Democrats still have a job to do.
“We are the employees of all the Iowans who elected us and we’re here to do a job for them,” she said. “They deserve to have their voice heard. They deserve to have us represent them. They deserve to have us hold our Republican colleagues accountable if it appears to us that they are veering into areas that are not in the interest of all Iowans. So we’re here to do a job, and we plan to do it.”
Konfrst said the party is looking forward to having new Democratic lawmakers join the Legislature this session.
“Sometimes we can get a little cynical up here, and we can just sort of see that the new session is starting, and start to jump right into it,” Konfrst said. “But we have four members coming in to our caucus who are really excited about Monday. They’re excited about the milestone of being sworn into the Iowa Legislature. They’ve worked hard for this, and they’re excited. So we’re trying to make sure that we’re also celebrating that milestone for them.”
Both Democratic legislative leaders said they hope to influence the discussion on property taxes, noting that they’ve heard from cities expressing concern over how potential property tax limits would impact funding for local public safety functions and schools.
Konfrst and Weiner also discussed potential areas of focus such as flood insurance, summer food service programs and strengthening the state’s workforce.
Weiner noted she is also interested in getting opioid settlement funds out the door and addressing the state’s cancer rates, while Konfrst said she looks forward to bipartisan action on a bill on hands-free cellphone use while driving.
“Our role of the minority is to bring to light conversations and negotiations that might be happening behind the scenes,” Konfrst said. “Just because you have the majority doesn’t mean that you don’t still need to engage both the minority and the public in your legislation.”
