The State House continues to work on the FY2020 budget plan, which our proposal at 97.45% of on-going revenue amounts to $7.668 billion. This is an increase of 0.63% from FY2019 budget and results in a $298.6 million balance. Among other areas besides Education, we will be working on getting more money to rural hospitals, Medicaid, Future Ready Iowa, mental health reform, and rural broadband. Since I’ve been at this only 6 weeks and it’s still early in the voting for bills, I’d like to tell you a few things I’ve been working on. I submitted a bill to reduce inheritance taxes by 50% across the board, I’m attempting to get more money to the Iowa State Patrol for equipment upgrades without raising taxes, and reducing the taxes taken from bonuses our military personnel receive when re-enlisting. Senator Chuck Grassley stopped by on Thursday to talk with us about a variety of issues on his plate in Washington D.C. Also on February 20th, pictured from left are Paul Stults, Opie Kimm, and Spencer Kimm who visited the Capitol to show support for stricter penalties for crimes against pet animals. Spencer Kimm’s pet cat was in the news recently for being stolen and tortured, according to news reports earlier this month. If you would like to contact me, please do at Thomas.Gerhold@legis.iowa.gov or via U.S. Mail at: 1007 East Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50319, or leave a message at 515-281-3221.

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