(Radio Iowa) – The 2022 Iowa legislative session ended a few hours ago. The final votes were cast in the Iowa Senate at 12:10 this (Wednesday) morning.

House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl  and Speaker Pat Grassley wrapped things up in the House six minutes later

That phrase — sine die (SIGN-eh-DYE) — is Latin. Some people pronounce it as seen-ah-DEE-yah. It basically means the legislature is adjourning without setting a date for meeting again. So, unless the governor calls lawmakers back into a SPECIAL session, the two-year run of the 89th Iowa General Assembly is over. The 90th Iowa General Assembly is scheduled to convene January 9th of 2023.

(Radio Iowa) – Lawmakers took a flurry of votes over the past two days and early this (Wednesday) morning the 2022 Iowa Legislature adjourned for the year. Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver cite something that happened three months ago as the high point of the year. Republicans hold a majority of seats in the Iowa House and Senate and, along with Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, they agreed to shrink the state’s income tax down to one rate of just under four percent by 2026.

Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley says that tax plan is the crown jewel of 2022. The Republican-led legislature adopted a nearly eight-point-three BILLION dollar state budget this week. Democrats like House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst say it missed the mark in addressing the state’s child care shortage and the shortage of affordable housing.

The Senate adjourned at 12:10 this morning and the House completed its work six minutes later.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2022 Iowa legislative session ended early this (Wednesday) morning — just after midnight — with Republicans adopting a new proposal to let parents transfer their children from one public school to another, at any time.

Under current law, open enrollment applications must be made by March 1st and students may only transfer to a school in an adjacent district. Republican Representative Gary Mohr of Bettendorf says the new plan will let parents start transferring their children immediately to any public school, without citing a reason. Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, suggests the changes will lead to closures.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds wanted to spend 55 million dollars on private school scholarships. As parents complained about some school materials, a couple of Republicans proposed new criminal penalties for teachers and school librarians, but all those proposals were scrapped. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says she’s not surprised.

Despite the focus on these in the closing weeks, Republican legislators say the tax cuts Governor Reynolds signed into law back on March 1st are the crown jewel of the 2022 legislative session.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Democrats have refused to confirm the four Iowans Republican Governor Kim Reynolds selected to serve on the commission that nominates people to openings on the Iowa Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Senator Nate Boulton, a Democrat from Des Moines who’s an attorney, says according to state law, political affiliation isn’t to be considered, but all of the governor’s nominees to the commission have been either Republicans and independents.

“This is the new level of partisan politics in our state,” Boulton says. “Controlling two legislative chambers and the governor’s office is not enough. Republicans now are insisting on controlling the judicial branch and Senate Democrats cannot stand for that.” Reynolds says she nominates highly qualified commissioners who share her judicial philosophy and she says it’s shameful for Senate Democrats to play these political games. It takes the “yes” votes of 34 senators to confirm the governor’s nominees to the commission.

Senator Brad Zaun of Urbandale is one of thirty-TWO Republicans and Zaun says he’s looking forward to the day when Democrats don’t have the power to make these decisions. “And I look forward to our side being in the super majority because what’s being done with these great Iowans is disgusting,” Zaun said. A super majority would be 34 senators — enough to confirm ALL of the governor’s picks for position in state government.

The 17 member Judicial Nominating Commission has already begun the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Brent Appel (like “apple”) who will retire this summer. Every other justice on the court was nominating by Governor Reynolds or Republican Governor Terry Branstad. It appears state law allows the four people Reynolds had nominating for the commission to serve for two months. That means they’d complete the process of sending Reynolds a slate of three candidates for Appel’s seat on the Iowa Supreme Court before rotating off the nominating commission.