The Iowa Legislature convenes for the 2024 session next week, and the area’s representatives at the statehouse are preparing for what will likely be a quick start. District 6 Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig was live on KCIM Thursday morning when he learned of the school shooting that had occurred at the Perry High School. The legislature approved additional funding for districts to improve school safety last year, but following Thursday’s tragedy, Schultz says they will almost undoubtedly be looking to do more. Schultz says schools have become soft targets, and his initial thought is to make them less appealing to potential shooters.
Officers entered the school approximately seven minutes after the initial call, which was reported to dispatch almost immediately after the incident began. There were six victims in Thursday’s shooting. A sixth-grade student was killed, and five other students and staff were injured before the 17-year-old shooter killed himself. Another topic that is likely to take up much of the legislature’s time this session is further changes to the state’s income tax system. In 2022, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill to progressively reduce the state’s income tax to a flat 3.9 percent. Schultz says the governor is hoping to eliminate income taxes in Iowa by 2027.
At the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, Iowa had $2.7 billion in its Taxpayer Relief Fund. Schultz says the government’s goal is not to “stack cash” and that money should be back in Iowans’ pocketbooks to circulate through the economy. Schultz says he also expects the legislature to take additional action to improve transparency in the medical industry through pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) regulation.
Sen. Schultz is entering his 16th session at the statehouse, which begins Monday, Jan. 8. The full interview with Schultz is included below.
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