Jan. 27—OSKALOOSA — When asked what had legislators excited about the 2025 session of the Iowa Legislature, State Sen. Ken Rozenboom didn’t have to ponder the question.
“You know what excited me this year? Doing as little as possible,” Rozenboom, who represents Sen. District 19, said. “What I mean by that is we have transformed Iowa in the last eight years … We have transformed every piece of Iowa government the last eight years. To me, all along, this has felt like a year that we need to do less rather than more.”
Rozenboom said two emergency funds, which the Legislature is statutorily obliged to divert 10% of the annual budget to, are full. Property taxes are down and the income tax rate is a flat 3.8%.
“So our most fundamental and primary duty is to pass a balanced budget,” Rozenboom said. “We will do that this year.”
Rozenboom and three other area legislators — state Reps. Helena Hayes (House District 88) and Barb Kniff-McCulla (House District 37), and Sen. Adrian Dickey (Senate District 44) — were guests at the second Coffee and Conversation this year, held at Smokey Row in Oskaloosa.
Legislators cautioned people that it was still early in the session, which convened Jan. 13, and they may not be familiar with all the bills that are pending.
People in attendance asked questioned the legislators about bills to limit the governor’s emergency powers and change the starting date for the school year, and other issues important to them.
Eric Palmer, a local attorney and former Democrat legislator, asked the legislators to improve upon the $1 million that Gov. Kim Reynolds called for to research why Iowa’s cancer rate is the second-highest in the nation. He called the $1 million “not a serious effort” and challenged the legislators to update constituents on any bills they are sponsoring to better fund the research when they return on Feb. 22 for Coffee & Conversation.
Dickey took exception to the question. He said Palmer didn’t know the details of the governor’s proposal.
“So find the details of what you’re criticizing before you criticize it. That’s all I’m saying,” Dickey said. “I’m pretty certain she’s not thinking $1 million is going to solve the issue … Let’s see her plan before we just tear it apart.
“And … I guarantee you we will not come back with any answers to your loaded questions,” Dickey said. “So if you have some ideas, please bring them to us.”
Although not directly questioned on the matter, Hayes said she would not support a bill to make it harder to sue pesticide companies, should it be introduced this legislative session.
Last year, a bill cleared the Iowa Senate that would have protected pesticide companies from being sued for failing to list possible health risks, as long as the product was labelled as federally-approved.
Hayes said she’s not generally supportive of tort reform.
“Removing the cause of action, which includes failure to warn on labels, is a very dangerous precedent,” Hayes said.
Another constituent was concerned about legislators discussing bills in caucus — closed-door meetings of just that party’s legislators in the House or Senate — when other governing bodies, like school boards, can’t hold similar closed-door discussions without violating open meetings laws.
Rozenboom defended the caucus meetings, likening them to a “family talk.”
“No one up there … questions the propriety of doing that,” Rozenboom said. “That’s where the real knock-down, drag-outs can occur. I’m a Senate Republican. We don’t always all agree. We’ve had some very, very difficult conversations. But those aren’t appropriate in the public, in my view.”
“Media doesn’t even question that,” Rozenboom said. “We have to have our family talk.”
The next Coffee and Conversation will feature Mahaska County schools, on Feb. 8.
Jeff Wilford is a staff writer for the Oskaloosa Herald. He can be reached at jwilford@oskyherald.com.
