On Monday of this week, the House passed HF2416, relating to student eligibility requirements based on their sex at birth in athletics in K-12 and higher education, including Community Colleges. The bill now goes to the Senate where a similar bill has already passed out of committee. The Senate also spent quite a bit of time this week debating and passing bills. This included SF2337, which expands testing for Commercial Drivers Licenses to third parties beyond the Iowa Department of Transportation, including Community Colleges. As policy bills continue to move in advance of the second funnel, conversations also continue related to taxes and the budget. Agreement was reached this week on the overall tax proposal. The Senate and House moved Thursday to pass the bill, House File 2317, which lowers Iowa's income tax rate to 3.9%, makes retirement income tax free and cuts the corporate tax rate. The bill now goes to the governor, who has said she will sign it.
This move means the appropriations process can begin in earnest, so next week will be an important time to remind legislators of our requests!
See you next week
We are looking forward to seeing nearly 200 students, Trustees, and other Community College staff and leaders next week for our Day on the Hill and Student Legislative Seminar. To help you prepare we have posted resources and a video on each event on our website under Community College Day on the Hill and Student Legislative Seminar events pages.