Iowa House of Representatives

On a statewide tour this week, Democratic legislative leaders said the Legislature will focus on helping Iowans rebuild and recover during the 2009 legislative session, which begins on Monday, January 12th.

“With the national recession beginning to take hold in Iowa, we know thousands of Iowans are struggling to make ends meet. Our goal is to provide more economic security for families through good-paying jobs, energy independence, and a world-class education for our kids,” said House Speaker Pat Murphy of Dubuque.

Renewable and alternative energy have been the centerpiece of the Democrats’ economic plans since 2007 and the effort will continue in 2009. The bipartisan effort to make Iowa an energy independent state has included such initiatives as the Iowa Power Fund and efforts to improve energy efficiency. The result over the last two years has been 2,300 new “green” jobs for Iowans. (more…)

From the Associated Press/Chicago Tribune:

Democrats have opened a wide gap in voter registration in Iowa, more than quadrupling their lead over Republicans.

State election officials say registered Democrats lead registered Republicans in Iowa by more than 111,000. There are more than 710,400 registered Democrats and just over 599,000 registered Republicans. That compares to a margin of 27,000 in December 2007.

With Gov. Chet Culver up for re-election in 2010, strategists for both parties are already looking at the numbers.

Culver says the edge in voter registration says a lot about Democrats’ ability to govern effectively and the support the party has among the state’s voters.

Republicans blame the surge in Democratic registration on a national climate that saw President-elect Barack Obama begin his drive to the White House.

“The December revenue estimate includes both good and bad news for the state budget – concerning both the national economic recession and revenue projections for FY 2009 and FY 2010,” says House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines.

“We have over $620 million in the state’s rainy day funds and we have a Governor and state legislature that are committed to fiscal discipline,” McCarthy continued.

“Yet, we need to be prepared for real cuts in budgets for both 2009 and 2010. There will be real cuts and there will be real pain, but I do believe that Iowa is in a better position to weather this budget storm than almost any other state. I am disappointed in statements made by Republican leaders. Now is not the time to play partisan politics…we are all in this together and need to work together in a bipartisan way.”

House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, appointed committee chairs and made committee assignments for the 83rd General Assembly, which starts on January 12, 2009.

“We’ve put together a solid team with expertise on issues ranging from jobs to education to health care. We will work across party lines to build consensus and help Iowans struggling in these difficult times,” said Murphy.

(more…)

In the House Democrats’ “2009 Agenda for Securing Iowa’s Economic Future” we talk about how we need to pass legislation to crack down on corporate CEO’s who knowingly recruit and hire illegal immigrants - including tough new penalties for violation of child labor laws and wage laws.  The Iowa Independent has a story:

The Iowa Independent broke the news today that former Agriprocessors CEO Sholom Rubashkin has been arrested by federal officials for allegedly conspiring to hire undocumented workers for financial gain.  Since Election Day is only days away, the story is likely to have a political impact.

So who’s the big winner from all of this?

My first instinct is to say that this helps Democratic candidates for the Iowa House, who have been proposing to “protect our jobs by cracking down on CEOs who hire illegal immigrants” in television ads, mailings, and other communications for some time.

That these were federal charges and not state charges is unlikely to matter.  Iowans will wake up tomorrow to newspapers that say a CEO has been ‘cracked down on,’ and Democrats’ television ads will begin to resonate even more.

Here are ads from two candidates for Iowa House — Larry Marek and John Beard — that both use the ‘cracking down on CEOs’ line at about the 25-second mark:

You can find the ads at the House Democratic Caucus YouTube page.

House Democrats today unveiled their plan for the 2009 legislative session. The Plan to Secure Iowa’s Economic Future focuses on helping middle class families and businesses succeed in today’s challenging global economy.

“Middle class families and small businesses are being hit financially by high gasoline and energy prices, increasing healthcare costs, potential job loss, and natural disasters. Our plan will provide more economic security for Iowa families and businesses,” said House Speaker Pat Murphy of Dubuque. (more…)