Governor Branstad is signalling his support for a law that would ban motorists from driving with one hand and having a phone in the other. “If all we do is say: ‘You can’t text and drive,’ how do you prove that somebody was texting?” Branstad asks. “They could be looking at this device in their hands and say: ‘Well, I wasn’t texting,’ and so you can’t get a conviction.”

Cell phone providers, insurance companies and the state’s law enforcement community are lobbying legislators to make it illegal to handle an electronic device while driving. Advocates say crash data indicates there’s been a dramatic increase in distracted drivers causing accidents.

State officials say 70 percent of fatal wrecks in the past three years were caused by a vehicle that drifted out of its lane and investigators suspect many of those drivers were distracted by their smart phone.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Terry Branstad is pushing back on the idea the attorney general needs to weigh in on the proper transfer of power when he resigns to become an ambassador. “The constitution is clear and the law is clear that in the case of the death, resignation or disability of the governor, the lieutenant governor becomes the governor,” Branstad says.

Branstad is President Trump’s pick to be the next ambassador to China. The only independent in the legislature says the state constitution seems unclear on whether Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds gets the title of governor once Branstad leaves.

State Senator David Johnson of Ocheyedan has asked Iowa’s attorney general to issue a written opinion about the matter, including whether Reynolds will have the authority to choose a NEW lieutenant governor. Branstad says it’s not necessary because legislators passed a law on that a few years ago. “In the event of a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office, the governor makes the appointment,” Branstad said. “It’s just as clear as can be and I don’t think there’s any question about that.”

Branstad’s communications director issued a written statement last week, accusing Senator Johnson of “political grandstanding” by raising questions about what executive authority Reynolds may have when Branstad resigns.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature is pushing ahead with its plans to vote on a K-12 education spending bill that school officials say will result in larger classroom sizes and other district-level shortfalls. A group that included school board members, parents and students gathered at the Capitol on Monday in opposition to the legislation, which adds about $40 million to a roughly $3 billion education budget.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A key group of election officials plans to oppose legislation proposed by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate that would require voter identification at the polls and make other changes to the state’s election system. The Iowa State Association of County Auditors confirmed Monday that the group voted Friday to register against Pate’s bill. The group also agreed to form a committee that would suggest changes to the bill. Pate said in a statement he was disappointed by the group’s decision.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The recent winner of a special election to represent the Davenport area has been sworn into the state House. Democrat Monica Kurth took an oath of office in the chamber Monday to represent District 89. With Kurth’s addition, the House once again has a full 100 members. Republicans hold a 59-41 majority. Kurth won a Jan. 31 special election to fill a vacant seat left by Sen. Jim Lykam.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad says he has completed paperwork necessary to be considered as the next U.S. ambassador to China. Branstad told reporters Monday he submitted documents recently that are required under a confirmation process in the U.S. Senate. His office says there is no timeline available on when a hearing or set of hearings would happen. If Branstad is confirmed, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to become Iowa’s next governor.

A new group called Iowans for Public Education has formed and organizers say they intend to “fight back” against an “assault” on Iowa’s public schools. Karen Nichols of Iowa City founded the group on Facebook on December 30th and she says more than five-thousand people have now joined. “Our public education system used to be the envy of the country,” Nichols says. “…We must recommit to funding our education system and giving students and teachers the tools they need to succeed.”

Nichols, who is married to a teacher, says she’s concerned about efforts to curb collective bargaining rights for teachers who belong to a union. “Teachers are under a lot of pressure now with increasing class sizes,” Nichols says. “…Adding one more stress of insecurity to their benefit package is just one more reason to go looking for something else.”

Reyma McCoy McDeid, another member of this new group, lives in an unincorporated area north of Des Moines that’s in the Saydel School District. “We’re defending public schools on many levels this year, but perhaps the biggest threat is yet to come,” McCoy McDeid says. “There are special interest groups that would like to siphon money out of our school funding budget and funnel is directly into private religious schools and completely unregulated home schools.”

Another group called Iowa Advocates for Choice in Education is asking legislators to create new state accounts for parents, to be filled with state tax dollars that could be used on tuition at a public or private school. McCoy McDeid says that kind of a “voucher” system would leave some kids out. “Kids with disabilities, for instance; kids in rural areas, kids who can’t afford the high transportation costs to get to another school,” she says.

Perla Alarcon Flory has been a member of the Sioux City School Board for the past four years and she’s joined Iowans for Public Education.  “We want to attract capable teachers,” Alarcon Flory said. “We want to offer the brightest possible future to our kids in Iowa — to all of the kids in Iowa.”

The group held a news conference at the statehouse Monday and is urging its members to attend the forums most legislators hold on the weekends back in their districts.

(Radio Iowa)

Legislators hoping to change state law so Iowa no longer participates in Daylight Saving Time have run into a roadblock. Governor Terry Branstad is against the idea. (Click on the left side of the audio player below to listen to his comment)

Because of daylight saving time, clocks had to “fall back” an hour this past November 3rd — and clocks will “spring ahead” Sunday, March 12th. Daylight saving time was created during World War ONE, to conserve the fuel used to provide light and heat to homes and businesses at the end of the day. Critics say daylight saving time isn’t saving much energy in modern day America and they point to studies which show productivity dips in the fall and spring as workers adjust to different sleeping patterns.

(Radio Iowa)