By Robert Cook

The first funnel in the Iowa Legislature is past. That means that any bill (except spending and tax related bills) that didn’t make it out of a standing committee in either the House or Senate is dead for the session*. The funnel killed a huge swath of bills both good and bad. But many of the worst did survive so we still have to remain vigilant and active.

As I said in my last post, I am now a registered lobbyist in the Iowa Legislature. I have updated my Lobbyist Declaration List to include links to the bills, brief legislative descriptions, and whether they are alive or dead. Please check it out. I think you will find it a useful reference to help IAF members keep track of the relevant bills. I will continue to update it as needed.

*”Dead” is a relative term. There are several ways to resurrect a dead bill. Leaders of the House or Senate can jointly reintroduce a dead bill. Dead bills can also be added to other bills as amendments. The leaders of the House and Senate are sneaky, Machiavellian bastards. I expect to see multiple shenanigans before the session is done.