Monday brings day four in the longest attempt to keep a bill vote open in the history of the Iowa legislature. House speaker Patrick Murphy decided to keep sitting in his chair, around-the-clock over the weekend, to keep the vote open on a prevailing wage bill.
It would set a standard for the wages paid to workers who build state projects, but Murphy is failing at his mission to get one last vote to pass the bill. Sunday night, the final state representative cast his ballot, but it wasn’t enough to push the bill over the 51 required votes.
If Democrats can’t sway a “no” vote their way, the bill will be considered dead at 1:00, Monday afternoon.
Their best hope is Representative McKinley Bailey. The Hamilton County Democrat took away his support Friday, after an amendment was tacked-on to the bill.
Bailey says the sleepover tactic won’t work and his vote won’t change, “They learned two years ago that strong-arming me doesn’t work. I went to war twice and I was shot at, it doesn’t scare me.”
Republicans say Murphy’s sit-in is delaying talks on flood relief. Democrats say prevailing wage would ensure flood dollars are spent properly.
Tags: iowa house
An email from the IowaGOP:
Democrats who control the Iowa House of Representatives have scheduled debate for later this morning on the so-called “prevailing wage” bill that will create state mandated wages and benefits for those working on public construction projects and raise property taxes (House File 333).
HF 333 would require contractors and subcontractors who work on public improvements to pay wages and fringe benefits that have been established by collective bargaining agreements. Even those supporting the legislation acknowledge it will result in higher construction costs for public projects and that it WILL raise property taxes.
Labor union lobbyists have flooded the State Capitol today to lobby for this bill and secure the 51 votes needed for passage.
Organizations fighting for small businesses and property taxes are working hard to defeat this bill, but they need your help.
Iowa Republicans must stand up against this power grab and tax raising scheme and contact their State Representatives, TODAY! Call your State Representative and ask him/her to vote NO on HF 333.
Please call your State Representative: 515.281.3221
“At a time of economic stress, it makes no sense to saddle Iowa taxpayers with a big increase in the cost of public improvement projects. Due to the economic downturn and the floods, state and local governments are facing significant economic hardships. They cannot afford the additional costs of a prevailing wage law. Because of the increased cost of public projects to taxpayers, nine states have repealed prevailing wage laws since the last state passed one. No state has passed a prevailing wage law in the last 30 years.
As former governors, we believe that an Iowa prevailing wage law would be bad public policy and we urge Iowa legislators to vote against it.”
Governor Terry E. Branstad
Governor Robert D. Ray
Tags: iowa house
Lawmakers are again considering a bill to cut alcohol limits for boaters.
The bill calls for lowering the blood-alcohol limit from .10 to .08, which is the limit for drivers on the road.
The bill was approved by the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday.
The House and Senate have both passed versions of the bill during the past two years, but lawmakers disagreed on various points, such as who is considered a boat “operator.”
Tags: iowa house, iowa senate
Republicans in the Iowa Senate are likely to consider new leadership in the wake of an election that again shrank their numbers.
The share of Republican seats has slipped each election since 2000, dropping from 30 to 29 to 25 to 20 to 18.
Iowa House Republicans meet Monday, and “we’ll be watching them,” said Sen. David Johnson, a Republican from Ocheyedan who supports Wieck.House Republican leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City also faces a challenge from one of his closest advisers, Kraig Paulsen, a Republican from Hiawatha.
House Republicans have seen their numbers shrink from 56 to 54 to 51 to 47 to 44 since 2000.
Take a few minutes to examine the election results from the Des Moines Register.
Tags: 2008, iowa house, iowa senate
