The first major funnel of the 2022 Iowa legislative session is today (Friday), and local representatives are tracking which bills will be making their way out of their House and Senate committees. District 12 Representative, Brian Best, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, is hoping a bill that limits cell phone usage to hands-free only while driving will finally make it into law this year. The bill has bipartisan support and comes after a five-year high for Iowa traffic fatalities in 2021. Best also supports a bill limiting girls sports to individuals with female on their birth certificate. In a weekly newsletter, he wrote, “Girls deserve equal opportunity in athletics and to compete on a level playing field. The purpose of this legislation is to protect girls’ opportunity to participate in sports and gain all of the important life skills that come with that experience.” Best is also backing changes to the state’s unemployment system that cuts the benefit period to 16 weeks and provides pathways for Iowans to return to the workforce more quickly. District 6 Senator, Craig Williams, fully supports Republican proposals to overhaul the state’s tax code by reducing income taxes to a flat rate and eliminating around $141 million in corporate exemptions and credits. Williams is also advancing legislation that allows for private contracted medical services. He says, “If a bona fide doctor wants to provide a legal medical service, and I want to contract with him or her for it, what business is that of the state?” Best and Williams are scheduled to attend the next Carroll Chamber of Commerce Legislative Forum tomorrow (Saturday), Feb. 19 at Des Moines Area Community College in Carroll. The forum is open to the public and will begin promptly at 10 a.m.
