99counties.org

AP reports :

Iowa lawmakers are considering changing the way the state’s presidential votes are counted as part of a national effort to break from the Electoral College system.

The proposal is moving through the state Senate and so far has generated little opposition.

“This is the real deal,” Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said Wednesday.
Jochum is an expert on elections and campaign financing and a leading backer of the effort. The measure also has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal.

E-mail: Pam.Jochum@legis.state.ia.us
Home Address: 2368 Jackson Street, Dubuque, IA, 52001-3521
Home Telephone: 563-556-6530

This proposed end-run around the constitution would require Iowa to enter into a compact with other like-minded (suicidal) states and pledge to direct Iowa’s electoral college votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of who wins in Iowa.

“I think there’s broad support for the concept that a majority of the people in the country should elect a president,” Gronstal said. “This is a mechanism to get there and it doesn’t require a constitutional amendment.”

“If states that represent a majority of electoral votes in the country pass this compact, we can get a national popular vote without Congress, without a constitutional amendment, without any of those folks,” he said.

E-mail: mike.gronstal@legis.state.ia.us
Home Address: 220 Bennett Ave, Council Bluffs, IA, 51503
Home Telephone: 712-328-2808

Tags: electoral college, iowa senate

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

Democratic state lawmakers will likely mount another effort to revise the state’s labor laws during the upcoming session beginning in January, said Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal on Friday.

The Legislature passed a bill last session that would have expanded collective bargaining rights for unions representing public employees, but Iowa Gov. Chet Culver vetoed the measure because he said it was poorly written and could have unintended consequences.

This bill was opposed by the Iowa Association of School Boards at least in part because it may have taken power away from local school boards in some circumstances.  A neutral adjudicator would decide whether a teacher should be fired rather than a school board. Clearly, we are not done with this issue.  

An exchange from Iowa Press on IPTV:

Yepsen: What about the core issues that led to this disagreement, the labor questions that the legislature passed, the Governor vetoed?  What are you going to do specifically about open scope, about fair share in the coming session?

Gronstal: We’re going to have those discussions with the Governor and figure out what level of funds he is comfortable with, have some discussions inside our caucus as to what we’re comfortable with and figure out what we’re going to do.

Yepsen: Is there some middle ground here that you can reach with the Governor, something that you can do, that he can sign, that you can do that the labor movement will say is fine?

Gronstal: That’s why it’s important to have communication, go back and forth and figure out what we think will be asked for the state of Iowa.

Borg: What I hear you say is yet, so what that means is there will be something?

Gronstal: I think it’s highly likely there will be something.

Borg: In dealing with Iowa’s current labor law?

Gronstal: I think it is highly likely there will be something on that subject.

Also this, regarding gas tax hikes:

Henderson: Let’s talk about highways.  There are some who build them who wish that the gas tax would be increased.  There are cities who say that their roads are in need of repair and the gas tax should be increased.  Will that be on the table?

Gronstal: I think that’s on the table for us in particular since I think we have some challenges on infrastructure related to disasters in 89 counties in this state.  I think there may be some interest in pursuing something in that area.

Tags: iowa senate, labor, tax

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