Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Lawmakers Unveil “Putting Iowans First” Plan

    IOWA LEGISLATURE NEWS
    Thursday, January 25, 2018

     

    Focus On Improving Lives for Everyday Iowans

    DES MOINES – Democratic lawmakers outlined their new plan today called Putting Iowans First.  The plan was developed by lawmakers to keep the 2018 session focused on improving the lives of everyday Iowans.

    “Iowans don’t ask for much. They just want a decent paying job and the chance to lead a happy, healthy life. But we know today that too many Iowans who are working hard are just struggling to get by. Stagnant wages, rising health care costs, and fewer dollars going to job training and public education are hurting Iowa families,” said House Democratic Leader Mark Smith.

    “Democrats believe it’s time to get back to the basics—to help improve Iowans’ everyday lives and give each of us opportunities to get ahead. Our Putting Iowans First plan focuses on better paying jobs, a great education, and affordable health care. Democrats believe that Iowa values include investing in Iowans. It’s a mistake to believe that the state can cut its way to prosperity,” said Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen.

    The Putting Iowans First plan has four parts:

    1. Better-Paying Jobs
    2. A Revitalization of Small Towns and Rural Areas
    3. The Best Education in the Country
    4. A Quality of Life that Makes Iowa the #1 Best Place to Live

    “It’s time to say goodbye to the back room deals and corporate tax giveaways. Our Putting Iowans First plan will bring the focus of our government back to improving the lives of everyday Iowans,” added Smith. “That means affordable job training and new recreational opportunities in rural areas. It means increasing the use of renewable fuels and investing in our public schools again to produce a highly skilled workforce. It also means expanding access to affordable health care.”

    The full plan can be found at http://iowansfirst.com.

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  • Perpetrators must pay for bad behavior – not Iowa taxpayers

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: January 24, 2018

     

    DES MOINES — A group of Senators introduced legislation today to ensure that state employees – not all Iowa taxpayers – would be financially responsible for egregious and illegal workplace behavior.

    “Iowans are disgusted by the harassment, discrimination and retaliation against Kirsten Anderson and other legislative staff by some Republican Senators and staff members,” said Senator Tod Bowman of Maquoketa, the legislation’s main sponsor. “Most Iowans can’t believe they’re on the hook for $1.75 million because of the misconduct and mismanagement of some Republican Senators. Especially in a tight budget year, this money should be put towards our kids’ education, job training programs or mental health care. Taxpayers expect more from their leaders.”

    The legislation is proposed in the wake of a jury decision last year to award $2.25 million to former Senate Republican staffer Kirsten Anderson in a sexual harassment lawsuit she brought against Iowa Senate Republicans. Anderson was fired in May 2013, just seven hours after filing a complaint alleging a sexually hostile work environment. Subsequently, Anderson agreed to a reduced award of $1.75 million to avoid a lengthy appeal process.

    Under current law, Iowa taxpayers must pay for such awards, and there’s no recourse for state officials to recoup that money from offending state employees.

    The legislation introduced today – which is sponsored by all 20 Democratic State Senators and independent Senator David Johnson – would allow the plaintiff to receive an award from the state but would require the Iowa Attorney General to recover the amount of the award from offending state employees.

    The legislation applies to state employment cases, which includes hostile work environment cases involving sexual harassment, race, religion, age or disability.

    “This proposed legislation is part of the national conversation about preventing sexual harassment in the workplace,” Bowman said. “We must send a message to legislators and other state employees who harass their co-workers or subordinates that their conduct will not be tolerated and that they will be held responsible for their illegal behavior.”

    “This legislation is another important step in our efforts to improve the workplace culture in the Iowa Senate and our commitment to making sure the Statehouse is a safe and healthy environment.”

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  • Senators introduce bill to end privatized Medicaid

    All 20 Democrats and the one Independent in the Iowa Senate have introduced SF 2058, a bill to end privatized Medicaid and put Iowans back in control of a state-run system that provides affordable health care to more than 560,000 citizens.

    Since April 2016, when Iowa Medicaid was turned over to out-of-state companies, constituents have complained about the obstacles they face getting care and services.

    Hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers – especially in Iowa’s small towns and rural areas – agree that the privatized system is not working. They aren’t being properly reimbursed for the care they provide. They face red tape and bureaucratic nightmares. Many are in financial jeopardy, and some have even been forced to close their doors.

    The state keeps giving private, out-of-state companies more of your tax dollars to run Medicaid. In fact, Governor Reynolds just agreed to give them another $130 million. Yet things continue to get worse.

    This is not how health care for sick, injured and disabled Iowans is supposed to work. Privatized Medicaid is not saving taxpayer dollars. Iowans are not getting healthier. The entire system is in shambles.

    For the health and safety of our citizens, let’s put Iowans back in control of Medicaid.

  • Democrats call on Statehouse Republicans to ‘put Iowans back in control of Medicaid’

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: December 15, 2017

     

    DES MOINES — Iowa’s Democratic state legislators are asking Governor Kim Reynolds and Republican lawmakers to work together during the 2018 session to end Iowa’s failed Medicaid privatization experiment.

    “We do our best work when we work in a bipartisan fashion” to expand access to affordable health care for many Iowans, Democratic legislators wrote in a letter emailed today to the Governor and every Republican lawmaker.

    “For the past 20 months, constituents of all ages have been bombarding Governor Reynolds and Republican and Democratic legislators with real problems caused by Medicaid privatization,” Democrats wrote. “There is clear evidence that Iowans have died as a result of life-sustaining services being cut off to extremely vulnerable individuals.”

    The letter also stresses the “financial jeopardy” that Medicaid privatization has imposed on hospitals, nursing homes and other Iowa health care providers, especially in Iowa’s small towns and rural areas.

    Democratic lawmakers noted that “privatization is not saving money for Iowa’s taxpayers, and it is not resulting in healthier Iowans. Under Medicaid privatization, the state of Iowa keeps giving the private, out-of-state companies more and more money, while giving Iowa taxpayers less and less.”

    Medicaid is a health care safety net that is administered by the states and funded through a federal-state partnership. Roughly 70 percent of Medicaid expenses are for the care of our very poor elderly and severely disabled Iowans. In 2015, the Branstad/Reynolds Administration announced that the state employees running the program would be replaced by for-profit Medicaid managers.

    Despite widespread opposition and repeated delays, large, out-of-state companies took over care of the majority of Iowans receiving Medicaid services on April 1, 2016. As of today, three of the four companies initially hired to manage the program have abandoned the project. When AmeriHealth Caritas quit the state last month, the health care of 215,000 Iowans was disrupted.

    Governor Reynolds has promised that more managed care organizations are being recruited to replace those that left.

    In today’s letter, Democratic lawmakers propose a different approach: “When Connecticut realized its privatized Medicaid was not working, state leaders made the decision to go back to a publicly managed Medicaid system. Connecticut is now seeing much better results with their new model. They are saving money and improving care.”

    The letter concludes with this plea:

    “More than ever before, we all know that privatized Medicaid is not working for Iowa. For the health and safety of so many, will you work with us to put Iowans back in control of Medicaid? We can and should do better for Iowans. Watching our health care system collapse is not an option.”

     

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  • Allen hopes to boost job creation through new committee assignments

    IOWA SENATE NEWS RELEASE
    November 30, 2017

    State Senator Chaz Allen, D-Newton, will help shape the work of the Iowa Legislature in 2018 through his work on key Iowa Senate committees.

    “Legislative committees are where much of the important work gets done,” Allen said. “Every day during session, I’ll be searching for ways to create good-paying jobs and strengthen Iowa’s economy.”

    Under new committee assignments announced this week, Senator Allen was named Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee. He also serves on the Local Government and Veterans Affairs committees, and on the Economic Development Budget Subcommittee.

    Senator Allen said he has done bipartisan work with State Senator Jake Chapman, R-Adel, chair of the Commerce Committee, in the past and looks forward to working with him on initiatives that create good Iowa jobs in the coming months.

    The second year of the 87th General Assembly of the Iowa Legislature convenes Monday, January 8, 2018.

    “I’m preparing by touching base with as many constituents as possible,” Allen said. “Anyone with ideas and concerns is encouraged to share them with me.”

    Senator Allen represents the people of Senate District 15, which includes much of Jasper County and eastern Polk County.

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  • Bipartisan energy reforms can create jobs & boost economy

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release:  June 26, 2017

     

    DES MOINES – Senator Chaz Allen of Newton, a member of the Senate’s Commerce Committee and the Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee, has written a letter in response to Governor Kim Reynolds’s call for innovating the state’s energy policies.

    “One of the priorities we share is creating more jobs for Iowans through a more innovative state energy policy,” Allen wrote in the letter. “That’s because Iowa’s economic future is tied to improving and developing our energy resources. I believe Iowa’s economy – especially in our smaller towns and rural areas — will benefit by increasing the state’s commitment to clean energy production and transmission.”

    Allen said that he welcomed the new Governor’s promise to support bipartisan legislation to continue the momentum in Iowa that has produced thousands of jobs related to energy, including developments in the wind, solar, ethanol and biodiesel industries.

    In his letter, Allen specifically cited several successful job-creation projects in his Senate district, which includes portions of eastern Polk County and most of Jasper County. The projects include TPI Composites (a wind blade manufacturer), Trinity Structural Towers (a wind tower manufacturer) and REG (a bio diesel plant), all in Newton; and Facebook (a data center) in Altoona.

    Allen said one of the keys to expanding energy production in Iowa will be ensuring our state plays a bigger role in developing a skilled and innovative workforce to meet the demands of this new economy.

    “Our universities and community colleges have done a good job of meeting the needs of businesses and utilities that are moving to renewable energy production and manufacturing. We need to make sure that they can continue to help Iowans get the skills they need to fill jobs in the future,” he said.

    Allen concluded his letter by stating that “Iowans expect their Governor and legislators to take bold steps during the 2018 legislative session.  I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner to move Iowa forward to a vibrant, clean and secure energy future.”

  • “Keep Iowa Beautiful” recognizes Allen for community improvement efforts

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: March 13, 2017

    On Monday, March 13, Governor Terry Branstad presented Senator Chaz Allen with a special award from Keep Iowa Beautiful. The organization helps communities and organizations with cleanup and beautification projects while promoting anti-littering education programs.

    Senator Chaz Allen was recognized today for his leadership on a successful, bipartisan effort to continue state support of Keep Iowa Beautiful. In 2016, Allen worked with Iowa House Republican Pat Grassley to continue state support for Keep Iowa Beautiful.

    “Keeping Iowa beautiful by cleaning up garbage and educating people about the damage caused by littering is important to economic development,” said Allen. “Iowa is a great and beautiful place to live, and keeping it that way makes our state a more attractive place in which to live and invest.”

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  • SF213 – Prepared remarks by Sen. Chaz Allen of Newton

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For immediate release: February 14, 2017

    Mr. President and Members of the Senate:

    I rise today, not to debate or argue, but to share my experience.

    All in this room are familiar with Newton’s transformation from a company town dominated by Maytag to the diverse economy it is today.

    Bargaining is in the DNA of Newton and Jasper County, from the UAW Local 997 who represented Maytag, from Thombert’s and Progress Industries, from IBEW 347 who represent Trinity Structural Towers, from Teamsters that represent our Public Works employees, from PPME who represent the Police Dept., AFSCME for our county employees and correctional officers, and, of course, the firefighters.

    As we realized our community would not be the same with the departure of Maytag, we also realized we had to re- think how we operated as a city.

    For 100+ years, Maytag dominated how we thought about wages, benefits, and employee recruitment.

    As a city, we offered comparable benefits to attract the best talent. As many know, those benefits were quite good. No cost to very low cost healthcare and good wages.

    But, as we saw Newton change with the closure of Maytag, we understood we had to change our benefit structure to align with the remaining businesses in town and with the expectation of our constituents, the taxpayers.

    We immediately began discussion with all the City’s bargaining units: the firefighters, the police dept. and our Public Works. We knew the current structure could not be maintained and we needed to get employees to shoulder more of the cost of our healthcare premiums.

    At the end of the day, we reached an agreement with the unions that required employees to begin paying a greater portion of the benefits.

    Today, Newton city employees pay 12% of their premiums and 20% of any yearly increase.

    I bring this to your attention because this negotiations worked, not only for the city but for our community, our citizens and our local businesses.

    The contrary story was not as helpful to our community. At some point after Whirlpool took over Maytag, a (unilateral??) decision was made to require our Maytag retirees to pay $200 a month for their healthcare. Some will say, “Heck! $200 is a small price to pay for a healthcare package. I agree.

    This cost, however, is equated differently when taken in total, 3,600 retirees times $200 times 12 months = $8,640,000/year taken out of the Jasper County economy yearly.

    I was asked at recent forum, “How will the revisions of Chapter 20 affect my small business?”

    The answer is complicated, but, predictable. Any quick change in the short term can have a dramatic impact on a local community.

    For Newton, it was the reduction in a car dealership, the closure of a grocery store, closure of a clothing store on the square, the closing of a flooring store, and much higher rate of free and reduced lunches at our schools.

    What’s the lesson here?

    I believe the best approach is one that features cooperation and honest negotiations between management and workers, between neighbor and neighbor, between people who all have a stake in the success and prosperity of our communities.

    Newton didn’t bounce back because of mandates and new rules imposed by the Governor and a majority of the Iowa Senate and Iowa House.

    The people of Newton bounced back because they sat across the table from their neighbor, and they all had the chance to say: “How can we be worthier together, to make our community great again?”

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  • Tax break for farmers, small businesses, teachers & families

    Senate Democrats have introduced legislation to help Iowa taxpayers by “coupling” Iowa’s tax code with recent federal changes for 2016, the taxes Iowans must pay this April. Thousands of Iowans want to use these provisions, which have been available to them in previous years, to lower their state taxes.

    Senate File 428 will benefit nearly 24,000 farmers and small business owners by allowing them to take advantage of a provision called Section 179 expensing. Federal law allows these taxpayers to take a larger deduction on equipment they have purchased as an investment in their operations. If Iowa “couples” with the federal tax code, these folks also get to take a similar deduction on their state tax returns.

    The Republican chair of the Senate’s tax-writing committee says he does not intend to support the legislation this year, but I am not giving up. Thousands of Iowans want to use these provisions, which have been available to them in previous years, to lower their state taxes.

    Last year, tax coupling legislation helped:

    • More than 39,000 Iowa teachers who purchase supplies for their classrooms with their own money.
    • More than 43,000 Iowans who own their homes, by allowing them to deduct mortgage insurance premiums from their state taxes.
    • More than 18,000 Iowans who are going to college or getting training to improve their skills and better their lives.
    • More than 45,000 working Iowans who are married with three or more children, by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit.

  • Let’s create more jobs with solar energy

    Fourteen Senate Democrats want to grow Iowa’s economy with an initiative to increase our investment in one of our most successful incentives: Iowa’s solar energy tax credit.

    Between 2012 and 2016, the credit has led to more than 2,500 solar energy projects. An investment of about $16 million in state funds has generated more than $130 million in private investment, while creating more than 1,000 jobs throughout Iowa.

    Senate File 97 would create hundreds of new jobs and millions in additional investment. Learn more about Iowa’s Solar Energy System Tax Credit at http://programs-taxcredit.iowa.gov/Solar/Dashboard/External.