The Iowa House of Representatives closed out the 2024 Legislative Session last weekend, and District 11 Rep. Brian Best of Glidden joined Carroll Broadcasting on Tuesday morning to recap. He says there were plenty of contentious bills at the statehouse this year, but overall, Best gave the session a “B” grade. Best says one of the biggest wins for the state, in his eyes, is the accelerated plan to reduce income taxes.
Best, who serves as the House Transportation Committee chair, says they also scored a significant win for Iowans regarding traffic enforcement cameras.
The bill does not ban traffic cams altogether, but it does require cities and counties that want to install them to prove to the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) that there is a legitimate safety rationale. The legislation that grabbed the most headlines during the session was Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposed reforms to the state’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs). Under the new regulations, AEAs will receive 90 percent of the state funding that they currently do to provide special education services, but it allows individual districts to use the remaining 10 percent to contact alternative providers or on district-led initiatives. Best, who did not initially favor the proposed changes, explains why he voted for the reform.
The AEA reform and new teacher pay bills were functionally tied together. The bill increases the minimum pay for first-year teachers to $47,500, increasing to $50,000 in the second year. Teachers with at least 12 years of experience will now make at least $62,000. Best says the issue of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which he had been hoping to see addressed before his final term in office, did not make it to the governor’s desk.
Best adds that he is confident that PBM reform in Iowa will pass soon, but he wonders how many pharmacies will be lost before it finally becomes law. Best has served in the Iowa House for five terms and is not seeking reelection in November. Carroll Broadcasting will have more from Best and his thoughts on the last decade in politics in upcoming newscasts. He made his comments Tuesday morning on KCIM, and a link to the full interview is included below.
