(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is reviewing legislation that would make state permits to buy handguns or carry a concealed weapon an option rather than a requirement.  “I’m waiting for that to come to my desk,” Reynolds says. “We’ll do a thorough evaluation as I always have.”

In 2010, Reynolds voted as a state senator to establish Iowa’s “shall issue” permit system and she’s called it good policy, but the governor is also expressing an openness to doing away with it. “I said I thought the policies were good that were in place, but I will continue to take a look at new legislation that is presented and I think that’s the appropriate approach and that’s what we’re doing right now,” Reynolds says. “and I’ve been very consistent on my messaging on that.”

Republicans in the Iowa House passed the bill to make gun permits voluntary last week. Senate Republicans gave it final approval Monday, before Colorado officials that evening confirmed a gunman had killed 10 at a Boulder grocery store. In 2018, a G-O-P lawmaker said Reynolds had asked senators to table a similar bill that had been scheduled for debate 24 hours after a mass shooting at a Florida high school.

“I’ve been pretty clear that when we are talking about gun violence, we need to take a holistic approach,” Reynolds says. “There’s not a single answer. We need to be following the laws that are on the books. We need to make sure that coordination is in place between the agencies. We need to do everything we can to address mental health and behavioral health issues.”

The bill does not do away with the permit process, as some gun owners will be able to show their Iowa permit and be able to carry a concealed weapon in some other states.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa Senate are proposing a major change in property tax policy. County property taxes would no longer be used to finance Iowa’s mental health system by July 1st, 2022. Republican Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs says the plan would shift to financing the system entirely with state revenue, like sales and income taxes.  “And make sure that all Iowans, wherever you’re at, you actually have the same per capita distribution for mental health funding,” Dawson says.

Shelly Chandler is C-E-O of the Iowa Association of Community Providers that represents organizations that provide mental health services throughout the state. She says the bill could help refocus the conversation about how to improve Iowa’s mental health system. “We all hate property taxes. I hate property taxes,” she said. “We don’t want having conversations about the mental health system to be about property taxes.”

Leslie Wood, a lobbyist for Iowa Mental Health Advocacy, says she’s prefer a combination of state taxes and local property taxes being used to finance mental health services. “When a state has a bad economic year, one of the first things that usually gets cut is mental health funding,” she says.

Matt Steinfeldt, a lobbyist for the Iowa Farm Bureau, says paying for mental health care with property taxes creates inequities. “Our members believe the state should make mental health a priority in their budget and assume the cost of the system,” Steinfeldt says, “removing this from the backs of property taxpayers.”

The bill addresses a wide variety of other tax issues. For instance, it would phase out 152 million in state payments to cities, counties and schools that were set up when state lawmakers reduced commercial property tax rates.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say inmates used hammers to attack prison staff members during a failed attempt to escape an Iowa prison, killing a nurse and correctional officer and severely injuring an inmate who intervened. The victims of the attack at the Anamosa State Penitentiary were identified as staff nurse Lorena Schulte, 50, of Cedar Rapids, and officer Robert McFarland, 46, of Ely. Both had worked at the prison in the city of Anamosa in eastern Iowa for more than a decade. An investigator says each died of blunt force trauma to the back of the head when they were attacked with hammers during Tuesday’s attack. Inmates Michael Dutcher, 28, and Thomas Woodard, 39, face murder and kidnapping charges.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says the state expects to allow any adult get a coronavirus vaccine as of April 5. Reynolds said Wednesday that Iowa expects to receive enough of vaccine to open eligibility to anyone in the state age 18 or older. Even though all adults will be eligible, it could be weeks before many people can book an appointment to get vaccinated. Iowa has no centralized vaccine registration or appointment system. Instead, people must must go online and attempt to find open appointments through providers’ websites. Reynolds urged people to have patience.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Illinois man out on bail for a murder charge was arrested by police in Iowa on charges related to a fatal crash on a freeway in Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids police issued warrants Wednesday afternoon for 34-year-old Tyler Lee, of Rockton, Illinois. He turned himself into authorities at the Linn County Jail less than two hours later. Lee was charged with homicide by vehicle-operating while intoxicated and homicide by vehicle-reckless driving as well as two counts of serious injury by motor vehicle. Lee was driving a pickup truck that crashed into a sport utility vehicle early on the morning of March 7 while he was out on $1 million bail for first-degree murder and 11 other counts. Those charges stemmed from a May 2017 shooting in Loves Park, Illinois.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iowa Democrat wants Congress to overturn her state-certified defeat for a House seat. But Rita Hart’s effort is prompting awkward divisions within her party. Democrats reacted with uniform fury at Donald Trump’s unfounded drive to reverse his own presidential election loss by throwing out state-certified returns he didn’t like. Hart says she’s found 22 uncounted ballots, which she says would make her the victor over Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Miller-Meeks defeated Hart by just six votes and took office in January. The dispute is being considered by the House Administration Committee. With both sides lawyered up, the dispute could smolder into summer.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Illinois man out on bail for a murder charge was arrested by police in Iowa on charges related to a fatal crash on a freeway in Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids police issued warrants Wednesday afternoon for 34-year-old Tyler Lee, of Rockton, Illinois. He turned himself into authorities at the Linn County Jail less than two hours later. Lee was charged with homicide by vehicle-operating while intoxicated and homicide by vehicle-reckless driving as well as two counts of serious injury by motor vehicle.

Lee was driving a pickup truck that crashed into a sport utility vehicle early on the morning of March 7 while he was out on $1 million bail for first-degree murder and 11 other counts. Those charges stemmed from a May 2017 shooting in Loves Park, Illinois.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say inmates used hammers to attack prison staff members during a failed attempt to escape an Iowa prison, killing a nurse and correctional officer and severely injuring an inmate who intervened. The victims of the attack at the Anamosa State Penitentiary were identified as staff nurse Lorena Schulte, 50, of Cedar Rapids, and officer Robert McFarland, 46, of Ely.

Both had worked at the prison in the city of Anamosa in eastern Iowa for more than a decade. An investigator says each died of blunt force trauma to the back of the head when they were attacked with hammers during Tuesday’s attack. Inmates Michael Dutcher, 28, and Thomas Woodard, 39, face murder and kidnapping charges.