Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Senate Republicans used a procedural maneuver last week to fast-track votes on a sweeping tax overhaul bill that national experts say could limit transparency and public engagement at the state Capitol. The legislation would reduce taxes by more than $1 billion annually, in part by cutting corporate and individual income taxes and eliminating some tax credits.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — Public safety officials are concerned about up to 500,000 bales of flammable stover that are stored across central Iowa and will be left over after a cellulosic ethanol plant is sold. The Des Moines Register reports that the newly merged DowDuPont is selling its $225 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, leaving many residents asking what will happen to the remaining stover. The plant’s corn cobs, husks and stalks are a fire liability for the city and county.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 61-year-old Iowa grandfather has been sentenced to five years of probation for molesting his 6-year-old granddaughter. The Des Moines Register reports Dean Hilpipre was sentenced Friday for committing lascivious acts with a child.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — County supervisors in western Iowa have renewed a ban on guns in the courthouse after a dispute over allowing weapons in parts of the building where court services aren’t held. The Sioux City Journal reports that Woodbury County Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday against permitting guns in non-court controlled spaces of the courthouse. Supervisor Jeremy Taylor says it’s “impractical” to bring guns into portions of courthouse floors, while restricting them on others above and below.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 61-year-old Iowa grandfather has been sentenced to five years of probation for molesting his 6-year-old granddaughter. The Des Moines Register reports Dean Hilpipre was sentenced Friday for committing lascivious acts with a child. He pleaded guilty last month as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Judge James McGlynn also ordered Hilpipre to have no contact with his granddaughter for five years, and he will undergo sex-offender treatment. He lives in Alden, Iowa.

The girl’s mother criticized prosecutors for failing to send Hilpipre to prison.
The girl’s family said Hilpipre performed sexual acts on his granddaughter and forced her to perform acts on him in return.

The Montgomery County Communications Center received a call at around 2:15-a.m. Sunday, about a rollover accident near Red Oak, with the possibility of multiple persons injured. An investigation determined a vehicle had rolled over near the intersection of Highway 34 and Ironwood Avenue. At the southeast part of the intersection, there were tracks and items from the bed of a pickup truck located. The vehicle, a 2005 Chevy Silverado, was located in a ditch near K Avenue, on 140th Street. The owner, 22-year old Alec R. Thomas, of rural Elliott, was found at his residence. Thomas admitted he had been the driver of the pickup. He told authorities he lost control of the vehicle on  the icy road surface, after swerving to avoid hitting a deer.

The pickup entered the east ditch and overturned, coming to rest on its wheels. Thomas drove out of the field and took his two passengers to a residence in Red Oak. One of the passengers, 22-year old Austin D. Brokaw, of Cavour, SD., was transported from the residence to the hospital, to be treated for minor injuries. He was subsequently released after being treated. Another passenger, 20-year old Colton L. Robinson, of Red Oak, was not injured.

Damage to the vehicle was estimated to be $7,500.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two juveniles, ages 11 and 14, were arrested Sunday for Criminal Trespass, following an investigation into a report of two people being on the railroad tracks and placing items on the tracks, and leaving them there. The youth were located at 7th Avenue in Villisca on the BNSF tracks. They were brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and processed before being given Juvenile Referrals, and being released to the custody of family members. Their names were not released due to their age.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Senate Republicans used a procedural maneuver last week to fast-track votes on a sweeping tax overhaul bill that national experts say could limit transparency and public engagement at the state Capitol. The legislation would reduce taxes by more than $1 billion annually, in part by cutting corporate and individual income taxes and eliminating some tax credits. The Republican senator who authored the bill said Thursday he didn’t yet have a five-year projection on its fiscal impact to the state’s roughly $7.2 billion budget, but the measure is moving through the legislative process quickly.

The bill was released publicly Wednesday morning. A little over 24 hours later, it had advanced through a tax-writing subcommittee and a full committee. At one of those meetings, lobbyists for various organizations indicated they hadn’t read all of the bill’s roughly 130 pages. A Senate floor vote is expected as soon as this week. Alex Howard, deputy director for the nonpartisan, open-government watchdog Sunlight Foundation, said there are reasons bills can move swiftly if there are emergency circumstances and the legislation is straightforward, but this doesn’t seem to be the case with the Iowa tax bill.

“The more complicated the legislation becomes and the more far reaching it is, the more it makes sense to look at how much time there is for the public to fully understand and digest it,” he said. Sen. Randy Feenstra, a Hull Republican and the bill’s author, defended the move to suspend rules and advance the legislation through a subcommittee and committee on the same day. He told The Associated Press via email: “This procedure is utilized frequently in Senate Committees.”

That argument requires context. Few bills advance so quickly unless there’s a looming legislative deadline known as funnel week, which requires legislation to have a threshold of votes to stay alive for the session. There have been several instances over the years in the Senate and House, under both Republican and Democratic control, where a panel approves a bill in the morning with then a full committee vote a few hours later. There are also instances when lawmakers suspend rules to hold a subcommittee within a committee meeting.

Dan Beverly, executive director of the nonpartisan National Freedom of Information Coalition, said allowing lawmakers to repeatedly suspend existing rules, particularly with same day votes, sets bad precedent. “If you’re not consistent with the rules, you really don’t have rules,” he said.

Sen. Rob Hogg, a Cedar Rapids Democrat, said tax-related bills aren’t even subject to the legislative deadline that drives many of those other scenarios. He also pointed to last year, when the new Republican-controlled Legislature publicly released a 68-page bill on Feb. 7 that eliminated most collective bargaining rights for many public workers. The legislation advanced quickly in both chambers through existing chamber rules. Former Gov. Terry Branstad signed the measure into law on Feb. 17.

“They’ve shown they have the ability to ignore public input and steamroller the legislative process,” Hogg said of Republicans. The Iowa Senate GOP tax bill would cut the state’s top corporate tax rate from 12 percent to 7 percent. The top individual income tax rate would drop from 8.98 percent to 6.3 percent. It’s unclear how the tax cuts would impact government services. The Legislature is currently debating mid-year budget cuts for state agencies and higher education amid lower than expected revenue growth. Lawmakers made similar decisions last year and eventually borrowed about $144 million from emergency reserves. Lawmakers plan to pay that back.

Feenstra said Thursday: “I can assure you the bill is fiscally responsible.” He said there will be a nonpartisan fiscal analysis before a floor Senate vote. Data indicates the state could see some revenue increases soon, in part because of the new federal tax cuts. Details are still being sorted out. Still, the reality of budget constraints is one reason GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds released a tax plan earlier this month that isn’t as expansive.
Reynolds doesn’t cut corporate tax rates or remove tax credits, arguing she’d like to study the issue further. Reynolds also proposes tax cuts of $1.7 billion over several years, a smaller price tag that will also need more review. There are some similarities, like eliminating a longstanding federal deductibility provision. Both bills also expand taxes on online sales and allow tax-free savings accounts for private K-12 education.
House Republicans are expected to slow the process.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, a Clear Lake Republican, said Thursday her caucus will work off Reynolds’ bill. Senate Republicans, who argue without evidence that their “bold” plan will spur economic growth, acknowledge they expect negotiations within their party. Neither Upmeyer nor Reynolds’ staff would comment on the legislative speed of the Senate Republican bill. However, Upmeyer said House Republicans could debate tax cuts in the weeks ahead while considering spending cuts and the next state budget. “I think you can do both things at once,” she said. “You just have to be thoughtful about it.”