Sorensen to visit Perry Perk coffeehouse Friday at 11 a.m.

Iowa House District 20 Rep. Ray “Bubba” Sorensen (R-Greenfield) will meet voters at the Perry Perk coffeehouse Friday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. for a “Spill the Beans” event.

“Perry is a pretty Democratic town,” said Perry-Area Democrats Chair Monica Peitz. “It’s great that Ray’s offering a chance to engage in conversation. I respect that! This is a chance to engage in a discussion on policy issues.”

Sorensen’s committee assignments include the Appropriations, Commerce, State Government and Veterans Affairs committees in the Iowa House of Representatives. He chairs the Appropriations Committee’s Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee. The Greenfield Republican issues a weekly newsletter during the legislative session. The following text is from his Feb. 7 newsletter:

We are a month into session, subcommittee and committee work continues with intensity as we comb through the wide ranging issues in each committee. We separate into committees so we can properly vet the issues that we are assigned. We then rely on our colleagues to do the same in committees we aren’t a part of. We caucus throughout the week to share the bills that are making it and those that need work, to keep each other up to date on the bills heading to the House Floor. I’ll share a few of those here and of course an update on my committees.

This week House Republicans advanced two bills out of committee to increase child care provider rates and introduced legislation to address the “cliff effect” in the child care assistance program. Last session, we passed HF 771 to help working Iowa families afford the child care they need to stay employed. The bill remains alive and is currently sitting in the Senate awaiting action. Our plan doubles the Iowa income limits and make the credits available to taxpayers with net incomes of less than $90,000. A taxpayer can only claim one of these credits per dependent. The Governor did include the House Republican plan in her Condition of the State and in corresponding legislation. The legislation is still available for consideration in the Senate.

The High Quality Jobs (HQJ) program provides qualifying businesses assistance to off-set some of the costs incurred to locate, expand, or modernize an Iowa facility. This flexible program includes loans, forgivable loans, tax credits, exemptions, and/or refunds. The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) offers this program to promote growth in businesses, which employ Iowans in jobs defined as high-quality by state statute. House File 2041 allows a business with a new onsite daycare facility or expansion of an existing onsite daycare facility to qualify as a project under the HQJ program. The legislation allows IEDA to provide incentives or assistance under the program to a business for a project that creates or retains jobs that will pay a percent of the qualifying wage threshold as determined by rules adopted by the authority. This requires IEDA to consider the economic impact of the proposed project on the state and must place greater emphasis on projects that are located in economically distressed areas, that will have the capacity to care for 20 or more children, that are located in areas that have an inadequate number of existing child care providers, and that will provide child care to the business’s employees at a low-cost rate. This emphasis should help the state work toward finding a more comprehensive solution to the child care needs of Iowa’s workforce. The bill has cleared a House subcommittee and is ready for consideration by the full House Ways and Means Committee.

In Appropriations we heard from the University of Iowa on their 50-year partnership involving its utility system with ENGIE North America and Meridiam. The UI is one of the first universities in the country to engage in a utility public-private partnership. We also passed out of committee, the per-pupil funding and transportation funding for our K-12 schools that I explained in last week’s newsletter.

In Commerce, I continue running subcommittees on a range of bills to connect our unserved and underserved to high speed internet. I’ve been working with our committee Chairman, our staff, TelComs and a group of concerned legislators to craft “technology agnostic” legislation. I’m also working with the same group on utilizing some existing state infrastructure to help bridge the gap to the underserved and unserved. My hope is our work in this area finally connects us all, but the pace of government is much slower than the pace of technology.

In State Government I ran a public meetings and notice transparency bill. It is the combination of four bills the Newspapers have been running to add “sunlight” to our governmental bodies actions. Although, not all the pieces made it, that doesn’t mean we won’t be trying again next session. HSB 504 will add budgetary duties to the definition of meeting and excludes weekends and holidays form 24 hour notice. An amendment to the bill, requested by school boards, adds “personnel and student discipline matter” to the good cause for not giving proper notice.

In Veterans Affairs, we ran a few bills. One was a bill that repeals the need for an applicant for admission to the Iowa Veterans home be signed by two members of the County Veterans Affairs Commission as a requirement for admission. Another bill added the US Coast Guard to code sections in 29A (military code) concerning definitions and subsequently benefits as a member of our armed forces. There is also talk of amending this bill to add the newly formed Space Force!

I’ve scheduled some coffees throughout the district, as a chance to meet and discuss policy and budget ideas with you so I can better be your voice at the capitol. If you can’t make it, please feel free to catch me at the capitol or by email at Ray.Sorensen@legis.iowa.gov

I am honored to represent House District 20 at the Capitol. To you folks in Adair, Guthrie, Dallas and Cass Counties, thank you for allowing me to serve you and be your voice here in Des Moines and remember… Our Liberties We Prize And Our Rights We Will Maintain!