Columns from Representative Tom Jeneary

Greetings, We have been very busy during Week 5 of the Iowa Legislative Session. Here are some of the bills we passed and issues that were discussed: Government Oversight Hearing on Sexually Explicit Material in Schools This week, the Government Oversight committee brought in five Iowa moms to share their experience challenging age-inappropriate books in…

Greetings, The Iowa Legislature has just completed Week 4 of the 2023 Legislative Session. There were several groups that came to the Capitol. FFA students from all over the state filled the Capitol Rotunda and the House Chamber. From conversations with some of the students, the future of agriculture in our state is in good…

Greetings, We have just completed the second week and are beginning to work on bills for the session. The majority of the week was spent on subcommittee meetings for bills. I chaired a subcommittee on a bill that would add $3000 for every VSO (Veterans Service Officer) officer to receive updated training to ensure more…

I’m excited to be re-elected to the 90th General Assembly of Iowa. There are several issues we hope to tackle this year, including reform to property tax assessments, education policy, welfare reform, and many more.  Most bills will likely see many amendments and changes in the coming weeks as we continue to discuss its impact…

Greetings from the Statehouse, The 89th Convention of the Iowa General Assembly has officially come to an end. This session we were able to complete a variety of beneficial pieces of legislation. I am confident they will contribute to the growth and success Iowa has seen over the past several years. Thanks to the Governor’s…

Greetings from the Statehouse, After years of hard work and bipartisan negotiations, the Iowa House passed a bill this week to make improvements to Iowa’s bottle return law. A few weeks ago, the Senate passed their language on the bottle bill. This bill had done a good job of getting the various industry groups on…

Greetings from the Statehouse, As we are nearly to the end of session, budgets are passing the House. However, negotiations are on going with the Senate, so the figures presented in this letter may not be accurate. I will provide updates as they come. The Health and Human Services budget and the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure…

Work continues here at the Statehouse. We have passed significant legislation to provide greater access to mental health care, work continues to protect private property rights, and members of the Iowa Pork Producers Association shared their perspectives on current issues surrounding agriculture. This week, we passed three pieces of legislation to increase Iowans’ access to…

The Iowa House is moving Iowans forward. I am privileged to be a part of solutions to aid rural Iowans, and the people I represent. This week, House Republicans passed a bill that would benefit rural pharmacies, move Iowa from pandemic related unemployment to reemployment and a return to prosperity, and attract highly skilled Americans to…

Greetings from the Statehouse, Last week was filled with accomplishments that included the governor signing tax relief for all Iowans, protecting girls’ sports, the House passing child care relief, and the House passing a bill to forbid child care providers from mandating the COVID 19 vaccinations. This week, the House took the first steps in…