Iowa legislature considering fewer bills as second funnel deadline passes

Hunter
03/18/24

The Iowa Legislature begins work this week with fewer bills to consider now that the second funnel deadline has passed.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver has said lawmakers don’t need to pass 200-300 bills to keep Iowa strong, and the bills they want to keep working on are still alive.  Over 100 bills survived and are considered unfinished business.

Whitver said the Area Education Agency overhaul bill is still up for debate, as the governor, House and Senate proposals differ from each other on what changes to make.

Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum criticized Republicans in both the House and Senate for not acting on bills affecting Iowans like affordable housing, reproductive health care, and public school funding. She called the last funnel week one of the more bizarre weeks she’s seen, with House lawmakers passing dozens of bills through floor debate while the Senate has not debated for more than a week.

So far this session, House lawmakers have passed 150 bills while the Senate has passed only 51.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch article summarizing which bills are still alive and which ones died last week is available at the link below.

https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/03/14/which-bills-survived-which-died-as-second-funnel-week-ends-at-the-iowa-capitol/?emci=e857a7b1-65e2-ee11-aaf0-002248223197&emdi=49b4e42c-bbe2-ee11-aaf0-002248223794&ceid=80875