Below are the opening day remarks from Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh as prepared for delivery:

Madame President, Leader Weiner, friends and colleagues of the Senate,

It is only appropriate for me to begin this speech by taking a moment to recognize the two Iowa soldiers who lost their lives in Syria. Staff Sgt. Edgar Brown Torres-Tovar and Staff Sgt. William Nathaniel “Nate” Howard were dedicated to serving their country, protecting its interests, and helping promote peace and stability in a region desperately looking for it. These are Iowans who were taken far too early in life, but Iowans have shown how thankful we are for their service and were proud to solemnly welcome them back to American soil, and back home to Iowa. To their family, friends and loved ones, our thoughts and prayers are with you, and all of Iowa is standing with you.

I would also like to take a moment to talk about the losses of two members of the Senate since we were all last in this building. We sadly lost Senator Rocky De Witt and Senator Claire Celsi, both dedicated public servants and committed to improving the state of Iowa. Claire was a fierce advocate for her constituents and her beliefs. Rocky was a staunch conservative who was always a strong believer in Second Amendment rights and, as we all had the privilege of hearing last year, constitutional protections for Iowans, especially when it came to protecting their own money. Their losses are felt across this chamber. They will be dearly missed.

Today is the beginning of my first legislative session as the new majority leader of the Iowa Senate. I know I have big shoes to fill, and a tough legacy to follow. Senator Jack Whitver led the Iowa Senate through a number of its greatest accomplishments. He ushered through major income tax reform to improve our state’s competitiveness from fortieth to top ten, a monumental task by any measure, let alone one accomplished in just a few years. Under his guidance and leadership, the Senate passed reforms to get Iowans back to work faster, root out fraud and abuse in Iowa welfare programs, tort reforms, and election integrity bills to protect our elections, just to name a few. Also, during that time, we saw the Republican majority grow and grow.

I have no doubt he will go down in our state’s history as one of the greatest Republican leaders Iowa has ever seen. I would like to thank Jack Whitver and his family for their dedication and commitment to public service, the Iowa Senate, and for all they have done for the state of Iowa. The laws you have passed and reforms you’ve implemented will make Iowa a better place for families for generations to come.

Thank you, Jack, for all you have done and will continue to do. We are all praying for you.

For those who have gotten to know me over the last several years, you know I enjoy the policy, digging into the details, and immersing myself in an issue or a topic. Even though I have a new job, I have the same desire to find policies to make Iowa the best state in the country. In my first speech as Majority Leader, I’d like to share my vision for Iowa with you.

In the last several months I have met with small business owners, industry leaders, and community members across this state. I’ve talked with policy makers across the country about the great things happening in other states and how they made those things happen. One of the most important things I have heard for Iowa’s future is the number of people out there who want to start their businesses and build their ideas, and they are looking for the right place to do it.

I want Iowa to be that place. I want Iowa to be the home they choose for growth and investment. And encouraging an environment in Iowa where government gets out of the way so innovation can thrive has effects that could be felt all across every area in our state. It brings more careers to Iowa, more investment in our communities, more people who want to live and work here with their families, more students in our schools – more opportunities for Iowans.

There are a number of issues we are facing this legislative session, some more complicated than others, but we can start making important reforms to open Iowa for business right now.

Over the next 100 days we will be addressing property tax reform to help bring relief to Iowans who have decided to build their lives, grow their families and dedicate their careers to our state. We will work to reduce the cost of energy in Iowa, expand and strengthen our agriculture markets, and help build up Iowa’s economy to withstand tough and uncertain times. Iowa has come a long way over the last nine years, but there is more we can do to make our state stronger.

For years, Iowans have been looking for help, for relief when it comes to property taxes. We hear it from grandparents who want to stay in Iowa and spend time with grandkids, but are struggling to afford to stay in their home. We hear it from our farmers and business owners being crushed by high commercial and industrial rates. We hear it from a younger generation, trying to build their wealth and set themselves and their families up for success.

To provide real, lasting relief requires major reform that tackles our system and helps make it simple and workable for Iowans and their families.

Today, Senate Republicans will be releasing a proposal to bring real property tax reform to a complicated and antiquated system – or as I have said over the last several weeks, strip the old, broken system down to its chassis and rebuild it. It will bring relief to Iowans facing rising costs and help restore Iowa’s aging roads and bridges. Perhaps most importantly, this proposal builds on the idea that once you pay off your home, it is truly yours.

Our proposal implements reforms and restrictions to help protect Iowa families from relentless property pricing inflation. It allocates additional dollars to Iowa’s roads and bridges to help make them safe for Iowans and visitors to travel. And finally, our proposal eliminates property taxes for Iowans who own their family home, so that once your mortgage is paid off, you can truly say that home, that land, that property you have been building your lives on and caring for, is yours.

Another big issue facing us this year is eminent domain and carbon capture pipelines. It’s no secret it is a tough issue, and one where there is no shortage of opinions. Our state is an agricultural state, where farmers work day and night to feed the world. We work hard to support them and ensure markets exist for the products of all their diligent work. I want to find a solution that respects landowners, farmers, and continues to put our state on a path of success. Creating a policy that allows our state to be successful is of the utmost importance to help our state grow, prosper and attract investment, and will have ramifications across our state.

I will also be releasing several proposals this session to accomplish that goal. There will be a proposal to implement important landowner protections, improve the communications process between landowners and project owners, and add additional requirements for Iowa Utilities Commission members during project meetings to bring more transparency to the process. Our land is one of our most valuable resources in this state, and ensuring that land, and the Iowans who own it, are taken care of and heard throughout the process is important.

Most critically, our proposals will expand the noticed corridor, dramatically expanding the ability of private investment and private property owners to voluntarily exchange easements and payments. I believe this change will all but eliminate the need for eminent domain for hazardous liquid pipelines. Proof of this concept exists in other states and other projects. Recently, a liquid jet fuel pipeline was built from Kansas to Denver International Airport, a distance over 230 miles, and it did not use eminent domain once. We can repeat that success here.

And lastly, there will be a proposal to implement a severance tax on the carbon dioxide flowing through those pipelines. As I said previously, one of Iowa’s greatest natural resources is our land, and taxing a byproduct of our land and one of our largest industries will put Iowa on a quicker path to eliminating our income tax. Just like states with their own natural resources have no income tax, Iowa can use its natural resources to accelerate our trajectory to no income tax – not to make government bigger, but to continue making our state more competitive and put Iowans on a path to prosperity.

Another part of making our state better for Iowa’s hard-working families and businesses is abundant affordable energy. Energy is being discussed all across the nation and the world, because we are all looking for where we can find more energy, how we can get it, how we can expand capacity, and make it affordable for the people in our state. Opening up Iowa for business brings more jobs all across the state, from northeast Iowa to southwest Iowa.

I spent 20 years as the mayor of Spillville, a small town in northeast Iowa with a population of roughly 380 people. As mayor, my goal was to leave that town better than I found it. My goal for Iowa is the same. I believe working together in the Senate with the House and with the Governor, we can achieve truly great things to help build on our past accomplishments, set up Iowa for the future, and leave this state better than we found it.

I’m looking forward to this legislative session and getting started on the work ahead of us. To quote Jack Whitver, “Let’s get to work.”

Thank you.

Below are the opening day remarks from Senate President Amy Sinclair as prepared for delivery:

Good morning, everyone.  Welcome to the 2026 session of the 91^st General Assembly of the State of Iowa.  Welcome and congratulations to Senator Drey and Senator Hardman on your election to the Iowa Senate.  To all of my colleagues, I look forward to working with each of you as we begin this new year.  To our guests, I extend my gratitude that you decided to join us here today and be a personal part of our rich tradition of self-governance.

I’d like to start by taking a moment of silence in remembrance of our departed colleagues, Senator Rocky De Witt and Senator Claire Celsi.

The first day of each session, like the first day of each new year, is a time of reflecting on the accomplishments of the past and envisioning a path towards new achievements.  As I took that moment to reflect on my time in office, I returned to what originally prompted me to run for this position.  I clearly remember three main reasons for seeking a seat in the Senate:

• First: A focus on advancing agriculture and rural vitality,
• Second: A vision of better opportunities for Iowa’s children and families, and
• Third: A mission to free Iowans from an overly burdensome government.

I’m proud to say we’ve come a long way towards meeting those goals in the past nine years.  We have protected our farmers from those set to destroy their way of life, increased marketing opportunities for Iowa’s agricultural products, eliminated the inheritance tax to facilitate the prosperity of the next generation of farmers and business owners, and taken numerous steps to improve our water quality.  We have provided Iowa families with the opportunity to choose the best suited education for their children, created the Children’s Mental Health System to improve services for our kids, and increased opportunities for Iowans to work and gain workforce training.  We have cut income taxes allowing Iowans to keep more of their hard-earned money, restored gun rights to law-abiding citizens in our state, protected consumer choice in the market from over-regulation, and protected individuals’ religious beliefs from government overreach.

Through my first six years in office, the majority party in the Senate worked together as a team, voting as a nearly unbreakable block.  During this time, the power dynamic in the Senate flipped, but the mantra was the same, we are in this together, as a team.  I know that not everyone agreed 100% with every bill that was passed, but as a team, we set our personal interests aside to do what was best for Iowa.  This wasn’t limited to just party-line votes.  Many of the accomplishments I previously listed had bipartisan support in our chamber.  When we have worked together, we have accomplished much, even when we have disagreed. 

As a body, just last year, over 60% of record votes we took in the Senate were unanimous.  Nearly 70% had at least 40 yes votes.  We agree far more than we disagree.  Certainly, the minority of bills that we disagree on are important issues, and this is what differentiates us in governance and in the eyes of voters, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that we are all working to do what is best for our state.  Let’s not lose sight of the fact that we have made great achievements together, Republicans and Democrats.

We’re a collegial body – a Senate family.  And like any family, we don’t always see eye to eye.  We have our squabbles now and then, but when it matters, we pull together and get the job done. Even when we disagree, we can do it without being disagreeable.

This reminds me of a story I once heard about two former senators, one Republican, one Democrat.  As they passed each other in the lounge, they exchanged a bit of good-natured banter, and the Republican was jokingly called “miserly.”  It was meant as a jab, but he took it as a compliment.  At that time, political name-calling wasn’t really name-calling, it was just a way of describing who you were.  He was known as a budget hawk, and he was pleased his colleague noticed.  They didn’t agree on much, but they respected each other, and they never let their disagreements turn disagreeable.

Today, people of all political flavors have taken name calling to new extremes.  When people disagree, it has become disagreeable.  The debate no longer stops with policy descriptions; it has spiraled into slurs aimed at dehumanizing the opposition.  Calling people fascists, scum, deplorables, bigots, and a host of things I cannot repeat on the Senate floor cannot be embraced as status quo.  I call on all of us to do better and set a positive example of what civility looks like in our political discourse.  We are all human beings, created in God’s image, and we need to remember that, not just today, but every day. 

In many ways, 2025 was a difficult year politically. I watched in horror this past year as two of our neighboring colleagues were targeted and shot in their own homes; Melissa Hortman and her husband did not deserve to die, and John Hoffman and his wife did not deserve to be critically injured for serving the citizens of Minnesota.  My heart grieved when a young man was callously murdered for speaking truth; Charlie Kirk’s life was more valuable and his call to civil discourse more powerful than the bullet that took him from us.  In a time where our nation and our state, even our neighborhoods, have become divided along party lines – left and right, right and wrong, good and evil – I encourage each of us to tone down our rhetoric and get to work on what Iowans are telling us they really want:

• Good jobs and affordable living,
• Lower taxes and less regulatory interference, and
• The freedom to flourish in the state they love.

Let’s get to work together and get a handle on our property tax system so that local government growth does not continue to outpace the salaries of the people paying the bills.  Let’s step up and build accountability into our executive branch so that whistleblowers and taxpayers can have their voices heard.  Let’s eliminate laws that make government more powerful and the people less.  I’ll be introducing bills that do just that, and I issue the challenge to each of you to make these principles your guide as we head into the upcoming year’s work.

Before I close, I want to congratulate Senator Klimesh on his new role as Majority Leader.  I look forward to working with you in your new position and I thank you for your willingness to serve.  I also want to thank Senator Whitver for serving as our Majority Leader for over seven years.  Your leadership guided us through the challenges of Covid, delivered the state’s largest income tax cut, and grew our majority as our state prospered to record surpluses through fiscal discipline.  I also want to thank Rachel, your kids, your parents, and the rest of your family and friends for the sacrifices they made and the support they provided to you throughout your tenure in the Senate, but especially while you were Majority Leader.  As you approach your retirement from the Senate, I am proud of what we have accomplished together, proud to call you my friend, and I look forward to continuing to work with you to make Iowa the best place to live, work, and raise a family.

Thanks again to each of you for your service. Thank you to your families for supporting you as you meet the calling to guide Iowa’s future.  God bless each of you for the work we are about to undertake, and God bless this great state we call home.

Today, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver appointed Senator Ken Rozenboom to chair the Iowa Senate State Government Committee. The position became open when Governor Reynolds selected former Senator Chris Cournoyer to be Lieutenant Governor. Rozenboom is President Pro-Tempore of the Iowa Senate. He was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2012 and he represents Jasper County and portions of Marion and Mahaska counties. 

Whitver also reassigned Senator Kerry Gruenhagen from the Agriculture Committee to the Ways and Means Committee to fill the vacancy created by Cournoyer’s appointment. He also appointed Senator Kevin Alons as Vice Chair of the Technology Committee.

Today, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver announced committee assignments for the 91^st General Assembly. 

Agriculture – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  12 Republicans, 5 Democrats (70.5%)

1. Senator Driscoll, Chair
2. Senator Rozenboom, Vice Chair
3. Senator Alons
4. Senator Costello
5. Senator Green
6. Senator Gruenhagen
7. Senator Guth
8. Senator Shipley
9. Senator Sweeney
10. Senator Zumbach
11. Senator McClintock
12. Senator-elect Sires

Appropriations – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  15 Republicans, 7 Democrats (68%)

1. Senator Kraayenbrink, Chair
2. Senator Zumbach, Vice Chair
3. Senator Bousselot
4. Senator Costello 
5. Senator Garrett 
6. Senator Green 
7. Senator Koelker 
8. Senator Reichman
9. Senator Rowley
10. Senator Shipley 
11. Senator-elect Warme
12. Senator Guth 
13. Senator Lofgren 
14. Senator-elect Sires
15. Senator Salmon

Commerce – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  14 Republicans, 6 Democrats (70%)

1. Senator Bousselot, Chair
2. Senator Koelker, Vice Chair
3. Senator De Witt
4. Senator Dickey
5. Senator Gruenhagen
6. Senator Klimesh
7. Senator Reichman
8. Senator Rowley
9. Senator Schultz
10. Senator-elect Warme
11. Senator Webster
12. Senator Zumbach
13. Senator Sweeney
14. Senator Driscoll

Education – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  12 Republicans, 5 Democrats (70%)

1. Senator Evans, Chair
2. Senator Taylor, Vice Chair
3. Senator Cournoyer
4. Senator-elect Campbell
5. Senator Garrett
6. Senator Green
7. Senator Gruenhagen
8. Senator Kraayenbrink
9. Senator-elect Pike
10. Senator Rozenboom
11. Senator Salmon
12. Senator Shipley

Ethics – Statutory Membership:  3 Republicans, 3 Democrats

1. Senator Rowley, Chair
2. Senator Rozenboom, Vice Chair
3. Senator Westrich

Government Oversight – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  5 Republicans, 2 Democrats (71%)

1. Senator Gruenhagen, Chair
2. Senator Evans, Vice Chair
3. Senator Kraayenbrink
4. Senator De Witt

Health and Human Services – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  12 Republicans, 5 Democrats (70%)

1. Senator Klimesh, Chair
2. Senator Costello, Vice Chair
3. Senator Alons
4. Senator-elect Campbell
5. Senator Garrett
6. Senator Guth
7. Senator Lofgren
8. Senator-elect Pike
9. Senator Rowley
10. Senator Salmon
11. Senator Sweeney
12. Senator-elect Warme

Judiciary – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  14 Republicans, 6 Democrats (70%)

1. Senator Schultz, Chair
2. Senator Garrett, Vice Chair
3. Senator Bousselot
4. Senator Dawson
5. Senator Evans
6. Senator Lofgren
7. Senator Reichman
8. Senator Rowley
9. Senator Shipley
10. Senator Webster
11. Senator Westrich
12. Senator Green
13. Senator Dickey
14. Senator Taylor

Local Government – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  9 Republicans, 4 Democrats (69%)

1. Senator Webster, Chair
2. Senator Klimesh, Vice Chair
3. Senator Guth
4. Senator Lofgren
5. Senator Taylor
6. Senator-elect Sires
7. Senator Driscoll
8. Senator Westrich
9. Senator Shipley

Natural Resources – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  10 Republicans, 4 Democrats (71%)

1. Senator Sweeney, Chair
2. Senator Shipley, Vice Chair
3. Senator Cournoyer
4. Senator De Witt
5. Senator Evans
6. Senator-elect Pike
7. Senator Rozenboom
8. Senator Westrich
9. Senator Zumbach
10. Senator-elect Sires

Rules and Administration – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  7 Republicans, 3 Democrats (70%)

1. Senator Whitver, Chair
2. Senator Sinclair, Vice Chair
3. Senator Rozenboom
4. Senator Klimesh
5. Senator Kraayenbrink
6. Senator Koelker
7. Senator Dickey

State Government – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  13 Republicans, 6 Democrats (68%)

1. Senator Cournoyer, Chair
2. Senator Reichman, Vice Chair
3. Senator Alons
4. Senator Bousselot
5. Senator-elect Campbell
6. Senator Driscoll
7. Senator Green
8. Senator Guth
9. Senator Koelker
10. Senator Salmon
11. Senator Schultz
12. Senator Webster
13. Senator Westrich

Technology – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  8 Republicans, 4 Democrats (66%)

1. Senator McClintock, Chair
2. Senator Cournoyer, Vice Chair
3. Senator Alons
4. Senator-elect Campbell
5. Senator Sweeney
6. Senator Taylor
7. Senator-elect Sires
8. Senator Gruenhagen

Transportation – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  13 Republicans, 6 Democrats (68%)

1. Senator Zumbach, Chair
2. Senator Webster, Vice Chair
3. Senator Cournoyer
4. Senator De Witt
5. Senator Dickey
6. Senator Gruenhagen
7. Senator Klimesh
8. Senator Koelker
9. Senator Lofgren
10. Senator Rozenboom
11. Senator Shipley
12. Senator-elect Pike
13. Senator-elect Warme

Veterans Affairs – 91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  9 Republicans, 4 Democrats (69%)

1. Senator Reichman, Chair
2. Senator Salmon, Vice Chair
3. Senator Alons
4. Senator Costello
5. Senator Dawson
6. Senator McClintock
7. Senator-elect Pike
8. Senator-elect Warme
9. Senator-elect Campbell

Ways and Means -91st General Assembly Committee Membership:  12 Republicans, 6 Democrats (66.7%)

1. Senator Dawson, Chair
2. Senator Rowley, Vice Chair
3. Senator Bousselot
4. Senator Cournoyer
5. Senator Dickey
6. Senator Driscoll
7. Senator Green
8. Senator Klimesh
9. Senator Koelker
10. Senator Schultz
11. Senator Sweeney
12. Senator Reichman

Workforce – 91^st General Assembly Committee Membership:  9 Republicans, 4 Democrats (69%)

1. Senator Dickey, Chair
2. Senator Schultz, Vice Chair
3. Senator Lofgren
4. Senator McClintock
5. Senator-elect Pike
6. Senator Taylor
7. Senator-elect Sires
8. Senator Driscoll
9. Senator Alons

Appropriations Subcommittees

Administration and Regulation
Senator Guth, Chair
Senator Rowley, Vice Chair
Senator-elect Pike

Agriculture and Natural Resources
Senator Shipley, Chair
Senator Sweeney, Vice Chair
Senator Zumbach

Economic Development
Senator Lofgren, Chair
Senator Dickey, Vice Chair
Senator-elect Sires

Education
Senator Green, Chair
Senator Evans, Vice Chair
Senator Salmon

Health and Human Services
Senator Costello, Chair
Senator Klimesh, Vice Chair
Senator-elect Warme

Justice Systems
Senator Garrett, Chair
Senator Westrich, Vice Chair
Senator Reichman

Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals
Senator Koelker, Chair
Senator Bousselot, Vice Chair
Senator-elect Campbell

Administrative Rules Review Committee

Senator Klimesh, Co-chair
Senator Bousselot
Senator Cournoyer

International Relations

Senator Sweeney, Co-chair
Senator Alons
Senator Green

Today, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver announced Iowa Senate committee chairs for the 91^st General Assembly. 

“The even larger supermajority Senate Republicans have will continue to produce results for Iowans,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver. “I look forward to working with these committee chairs and all my fellow Republican Senators to help lower the cost of living, create an environment to encourage new career opportunities, control government spending and ease the tax burden on Iowa families.

Agriculture 
Senator Dawn Driscoll, R-Williamsburg

Appropriations
Senator Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Ft. Dodge

Commerce
Senator Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny

Education
Senator Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia

Ethics
Senator Dave Rowley, R-Spirit Lake

Government Oversight
Senator Kerry Gruenhagen, R-Walcott

Health and Human Services  
Senator Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville 

Judiciary
Senator Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig

Local Government
Senator Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf

Natural Resources and Environment
Senator Annette Sweeney, R-Alden

Rules and Administration
Senator Jack Whitver

State Government
Senator Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire

Technology  
Senator Charlie McClintock, R-Alburnett

Transportation
Senator Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan

Veterans Affairs
Senator Jeff Reichman, R-Montrose

Ways and Means
Senator Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs

Workforce
Senator Adrian Dickey, R-Packwood 

Appropriations Subcommittees

Administration and Regulation
Senator Dennis Guth, R-Klemme 

Agriculture and Natural Resources
Senator Tom Shipley, R-Nodaway

Economic Development
Senator Mark Lofgren, R-Muscatine

Education
Senator Jesse Green, R-Boone 

Health and Human Services 
Senator Mark Costello, R-Imogene

Justice Systems
Senator Julian Garrett, R-Indianola

Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals
Senator Carrie Koelker, R-Dyersville

Other Committee Chair Assignments

Administrative Rules Review
Senator Mike Klimesh, vice chair

International Relations
Senator Annette Sweeney, vice chair

Below are closing remarks from Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver as prepared for delivery:

Madame President, 

The headline of this session is simple: Iowa’s income tax rate will be the 6^th lowest in the country and starting pay for Iowa teachers will be the 5^th highest in the country. 

At the beginning of session, I talked about making sure Iowans kept more of what they earn. Easing the tax burden for working Iowans is, has been, and always will be my biggest priority. I’m proud of our work to ease that burden this year. Beginning January 1, 2025, Iowa families will save an average of $800 on their state income taxes. Total money remaining in the hands of working families is $1.3 billion. These savings will continue year after year, permanently ensuring Iowans keep more of what they earn. A flat, simple rate provides incentives to work hard and build a life in the greatest state in the country. Constitutional amendments to require a flat tax and a supermajority to raise taxes give Iowans the confidence to know state government will stay within its means, and taxes will remain low, fair, and structured to promote growth. 

The most critical issue on the minds of Iowans and Americans is the crisis at the southern border. Day after day the Biden Administration has ignored its duty to defend the border and provide for the security of our country. This Legislature responded by passing a bold new law, SF 2340, to empower Iowa law enforcement to deport people in our state illegally. The federal government refuses to do its job, so Iowa will get to work and do what we can to defend our country and keep the people in this state safe. This year we also enhanced pension benefits for many law enforcement officers to recognize and reward them for their lifetime of work to keep our families safe. 

Perhaps the issue that attracted the most attention this session was the education reform proposal to improve outcomes for Iowa special education students. Iowa’s performance has been below expectations, and it was time for reform. This year’s education reform package changes the delivery of special education funding, raises teacher pay, and increases funding flexibility over $68 million to help Iowa schools best meet the needs of their students. 

One other dominant issue in this country is the continual rise in prices. Inflation has been eating away at the ability of Iowa families to afford the necessities of life. Unrestrained spending at the federal level has created an inflation monster that has not been tamed. In Iowa, again, we’re doing things the opposite way. We banned local government from implementing the types of programs driving inflation and a workforce crisis. We also helped Iowans fight inflation with our continued drive to reduce their tax burden. The extra $800 the average family will have next year will be useful when it’s time to buy clothes, food, or save for the next big expense. 

We also passed vital policies to protect our greatest natural resource from being owned by foreign entities like communist China. Iowa had some of the strongest laws in the country to protect our land, but enhancing our vigilance to protect the state’s greatest resource meets the demands of our time and the expectations of Iowans. 

Another consistent goal of Senate Republicans over the years has been reducing the size of state government and making it more efficient. Last year a major government reorganization bill passed and it included a review of the state’s board and commissions. This year the legislature acted on that review, eliminating dozens of outdated boards and commissions, consolidating others, and streamlining the process for Iowans interacting with their government. This body also led on ensuring state rules were being reviewed and ensuring those regulations put Iowans first, not government. 

Big and bold ideas have always been our focus, and our caucus has never shied away from difficult or complex issues. This year was no different. This session was another tremendous success for Senate Republicans as we kept our promises to Iowans and focused on big reforms, bold changes, and major tax relief. I know we all look forward to a break from this session and to return in 2025 ready to continue making Iowa the best place to live in the world.

Below are the opening day remarks from Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver as prepared for delivery:

Good morning Madame President and colleagues of the Senate,

I’d like to take a moment now to mention the tragedy in Perry last week. It is impossible to find words to appropriately convey the sorrow and the sympathy we have to the victims of the shooting, but the people of Perry should know we share in their grief and support them at this time. 

Good men and women in Perry and surrounding communities did many good things to prevent this tragedy from being worse. 

Law enforcement response time was 7 minutes. When they arrived, they immediately contained the threat, protected students, and quickly determined no additional threats existed. Emergency health care professionals also responded quickly, cared for those injured in the attack, and took them to the hospital. 

According to news reports, the principal of Perry High School approached the shooter and put himself in extraordinary danger to protect the lives of students in his school. It is a remarkable demonstration of courage and self-sacrifice. Being a servant leader is easy to talk about, but in moments like these it is hard to do. It shows how leaders act in times of crisis. It shows how Iowans act to protect and defend each other. 

Thank you to law enforcement, health care providers, and school leaders for all their work to defend Perry students. They are in our prayers as they move forward from the evil perpetrated in their community last week.

While we cannot legislate away evil and get rid of all the bad things in the world, we will keep our thoughts and prayers with Perry as we move forward to put in place policies to help make our state better and stronger.

Life is full of competition. It’s basketball and wrestling season and teams from elementary school to college are competing against each other, winning, losing, and improving. Businesses across Iowa are competing with each other for customers and market share, making their products better and their prices more economical. Competition spurs innovation, benefits consumers, and has been a key driver of the American economy, which has improved the lives of its people more than any country in history. 

Just like sports teams and small businesses, states are increasingly competing for jobs, investments, and people with other states. For a few moments, I’d like to compare the Iowa plan with the agendas of our neighbors to the north and east. 

Last month the REC evaluated Iowa’s economic status and the condition of the state budget and determined our state was experiencing organic economic growth. This growth is leading to revenues higher than expected, even with the largest income tax cut in Iowa history, the elimination of the tax on retirement income, the phasing out of the inheritance tax and a reduction in the income tax on Iowa businesses. 

The Senate has consistently demonstrated fiscal responsibility to ensure these tax cuts are sustainable. As a dad with three kids at home, I know how hard it is to be consistent. So, I applaud the members in this chamber who, year after year, do the hard work it takes to support conservative budgets. We provided reasonable increases to public safety, education, and health care, while at the same time preserving the interest of the taxpayer and improving our state’s competitiveness. 

One of our focuses as Senate Republicans is competitiveness. We want to improve Iowa’s competitiveness with the states around us, and make our state the best to live, work, and raise a family. We want Iowa to be at the top of the list for people looking for careers, the top of the list for families looking to settle down and build a home, the top of the list for employers looking to grow and expand, and the top of the list for an educated and skilled workforce. 

While Iowa has passed measured increases in state spending, our neighbors to the north have struggled quite a bit with that concept. Minnesota Democrats have their own trifecta and they used it to grow their budget by 38 percent. But a 38 percent budget increase wasn’t enough for Minnesota liberals. They passed a billion-dollar bonding package. Then, they signed into law $2.2 billion in additional tax increases, even with historic surpluses in the state. 

The contrast between the positive news from the Iowa revenue projections and Minnesota’s is clear. Iowa is projected to have a surplus of roughly $2.8 billion in fiscal year 2025, while Minnesota’s revenue estimating panel projected a $2.3 billion deficit in 2025. 

So much rhetoric has been spilled in this building accusing Republicans of turning Iowa into the next Kansas. I think the much bigger and much more real danger for states is becoming the next Minnesota. A state where, in the span of two years, big spending legislators and governor turned a record surplus into a projected deficit. Overspending leads to higher taxes, broken promises, and fewer opportunities. 

Last year they provided taxpayer-subsidized health care to illegal immigrants, and they gave them free college tuition. Instead of putting more resources towards police officers, they funded something called “violence interrupters.” Yeah, I don’t know what it means either.

The list of bad policies from Minnesota doesn’t stop there, but for the moment we will turn our attention to our neighbors to the east. 

Many stories have been published about how Illinois struggles to keep its people safe.  They are the first state to eliminate cash bail. They have a large sanctuary city and are enduring the incentives it creates for trafficking, the flow of fentanyl, and organized crime. It should come as no surprise when major companies from Illinois make high profile departures to other states, they often cite the significant rise in crime. They tolerated high taxes and a dysfunctional state government for years but when their employees were no longer safe, it was the final straw for them.

In Iowa we chose a different path. We have very clearly declared support for law enforcement, providing them legal protections and steady increases in funding. The state has cracked down on the serious problem of illegal immigration because we know it is a fundamental task of government to keep its people safe. 

Last year was a historic year for parents and students in Iowa. We passed a parents bill of rights, putting into law the Iong-standing concept that parents have the final say in the education of their children and gave all parents a choice in the education of their children. 

In Illinois, they killed a scholarship program for lower income students, guaranteeing school choice only for the wealthy, despite more than 20,000 Illinois kids on the waiting list for those scholarships. 

After passing school choice for Iowans, we saw thousands of parents sign up for education savings accounts to help put their child in a school that will help them be successful. While we had estimated how many would apply for this program, thousands more did. That response tells me, Iowans want choice, they want freedom, and they want to do what is best for their children. 

The point of these comparisons is to show the example we are setting with our pro-growth, pro-jobs, and pro-family policies. The policies we are enacting give families, job creators, and small businesses across the country a place to grow and succeed. The message to them is, “Iowa is the place for you.” 

We’ve seen results from many of the policies we’ve enacted. Iowa is the number one state to retire. We moved up from being 46th in the country for our tax climate in 2017 to 33rd due to our work on lowering rates and simplifying the tax code, and our flat tax hasn’t even gone into effect yet. Our state has been rated as the number one state for lowest housing costs and the state with the second lowest health care costs in the nation. 

The positive news isn’t just limited to headlines and rankings by national outlets. For decades Iowa’s population has been stagnant at about 3 million people. For decades, Iowa has had high tax rates and largely done business the same way. Seven years ago we started down a different path. We promised to control spending, reduce needless regulations, and open the door to new career opportunities. And we are seeing it happening. Americans are fleeing high tax, high crime, big spending states and relocating to states with low taxes and more opportunity. Iowa has been adding population, while migration out of states like California and Illinois is high.

This legislative session, we are going to stay on this path forward, making Iowa a model for other states. We will expedite the tax cuts so Iowans keep more of their money sooner. We will condense the number of income tax brackets making taxes simpler and fairer. And we will responsibly manage our budget to focus on the necessities and maintain the principle of putting the taxpayer first, not the government. We will continue to pursue reforms by reviewing the hundreds of boards and commissions populating state government. The goal is to make government more efficient and help Iowans get to work faster. 

In one sentence, here’s the plan: cut taxes, control spending, reform government, and let Iowans be great. 

Let’s get to work.

Below are the opening day remarks of Senate President Amy Sinclair as prepared for delivery:

Good morning, Senators, staff, guests, and Iowans everywhere.  As I welcome you to the 2024 Session of the 90^th General Assembly, my heart, like the hearts of all Iowans, is heavy.  My thoughts and prayers remain with the victims, families, and Perry community, and my heartfelt thanks goes to all of the first responders who helped save lives.  Despite this selfish act of violence in our state, I sincerely hope each of you had a chance to enjoy the interim.  Each year I’m here, there is never a shortage of new faces, and I appreciate the annual opportunity to meet new friends and rekindle old friendships.

It remains the greatest honor of my life to serve over 60,000 Iowans in District 12 and Iowans all over the state as your Senate President.  The work we do can sometimes be difficult, but it is always rewarding.  The hard work we complete in this grand building is shaping the trajectory of the state, impacting the lives of over 3,000,000 Iowans, and setting an example for other states to follow.

Since taking the majority in 2017, Senate Republicans have worked tirelessly to lower taxes, empower families, and restore individual liberties.  

These efforts are working.  In this time, our tax climate has improved 13 positions in national rankings.  We are ranked in the top ten for fiscal stability, top ten for best overall state, and top three for opportunity.  At the same time, our state’s budget has never been in a stronger position.  Responsible budgeting has resulted in spending only 88% of our ongoing revenues, filling our reserves to their statutory maximums, and still maintaining a $2 billion budget surplus.  Senate Republicans are leading the state the same way responsible Iowans run their businesses, families, and personal finances.  Lower taxes and less spending have fueled a robust economy in the state, giving Iowans more opportunities to flourish.

Creating opportunities isn’t just limited to taxes and the economy.  Creating educational opportunities is equally important to ensuring our students get the most out of their formative years.  I remember 2013, my first year in the Senate, when I was first assigned to the Education Committee.  Senator Jerry Behn, who was recently assigned to the committee for his second stint, came to me, and he asked me to be a co-sponsor to Senate File 323.  This was the first time the concept of education savings accounts had been introduced in Iowa.  Senator Behn continued to serve on the Senate Education Committee until his retirement, where he worked tirelessly advocating for his bill.  He had a vision for Iowa students and their families.  A vision of revolutionary change in our education system to empower parents to make educational decisions for their children, not government officials.  Finally last year, 10 years after Senator Behn first filed Senate File 323, I had the privilege of floor managing the Students First Act and watching it be signed into law by Governor Reynolds.  The decade of work was long and difficult, but certainly rewarding with over 29,000 Iowa students applying for an ESA this year.

Senate Republicans have long stood for freedom, and not just educational freedom.  We have protected consumer choice in the marketplace.  We have protected the personal information of Iowans from needless government intrusion.  We have protected parental rights and increased transparency in Iowa classrooms.  We have even given small dairy producers the freedom to sell fresh milk in the state.  These are rights that never should have been questioned in the first place, and I’m proud of the work we have done to restore these personal freedoms to Iowans.

The work we have done is being noticed.  Iowa is leading the way, not just among other states, but across the world.  I have spent much of the interim hosting visitors from across the country and the world and traveling to other states and countries.  Everywhere I go, everyone who visits, they all ask me how we did it.  Leaders from other states and countries are looking to Iowa as a leader in good governance.  These leaders are seeking to replicate what we have accomplished.  These other places want to be like Iowa.  

Regardless of where we fall on the ideological spectrum, we can all be proud of our accomplishments and the worldwide recognition we are receiving.  I sincerely believe everyone in this room wants what is best for the state, and while we may sometimes disagree about how to accomplish this, I think we can all agree that prosperity is good.  We are prosperous, and others want to be like us.

I look forward to this session and the work we will accomplish.  It is an honor to serve in this body, as your president, and for the people of Iowa.  Thank you, God bless you, and may God continue to bless the State of Iowa.

Today, the Iowa Senate passed HF 732, the Heartbeat Bill, 32-17 sending it to Governor Reynolds. Below are the closing remarks of Senate President Amy Sinclair on HF 732 as prepared for delivery:

Thank you Mr. President: 

Thank you for sharing this time with me in debate. I respect each of you and the perspective and experiences your life brings to this foundational conversation. Ultimately, House File 732 gets at the very heart of what it means to be an American, to be a person. Five years ago I stood before you advancing this exact legislation, and a colleague shared a quote from Dostoevsky with me: “We are citizens of eternity.” I feel the weight of those words and the long-term impact of the decisions we are making tonight. The bill we have before us carries all the gravity of the human rights atrocity of our time, and history will judge each of us for the role we played here.

As I said, we’ve been here before. I will be saying the very same things I said in 2018 when we initially had this conversation to pass a law to protect the most vulnerable of human beings. We are back again today because of a procedural division of powers that left our existing Iowa Code, Chapter 146C, in limbo. We are forced by our courts to reinforce the legislature’s 2018 intent to protect the unborn, to reinforce this legislature’s continued defense of all human beings’ right to their own lives. And we are more than willing to do that. We are here to confirm that the Iowa Legislature does not pass hypothetical laws. When we pass a law, we mean exactly what is written on the pages placed into code.

First of all, we are not here today as a matter of religion. While I am a person of faith, I do not have a current membership in any church. Secondly, this is not, I repeat NOT a war on women. Roughly 50% of the people this bill is designed to protect are women. So in actual fact, a failure to pass this bill would be the true war on women in its very purest sense… Hear me: the true war on women would be the failure to pass the bill. And finally, the science is on the side of life. No one can honestly view an ultrasound and deny the humanity of the unborn.

This bill is the logical beginning point for all of civil governance. Each of us took a sworn oath to defend the Constitution of Iowa and the Constitution of the United States of America. Each of these documents was created to govern a society where individual liberty is held in the highest regard, where each person’s rights are carefully and fully defended. And the most logical understanding of that right to life acts as a pre-requisite for every other law that exists and every other law that we might make in the future. So as legislators, our very first duty should be to protect each individual’s life above all else. This is why we have laws against murder and manslaughter, against reckless and drunk driving, against arson and drug dealers. These acts endanger the lives of others, and we legislate on the moral grounds that the right to life is a sacred underpinning of society.

So the question we must face in our sworn duty as legislators is this: who is an individual who has the right to have their life defended by society? House File 732 clearly answers that question. And the answer is simple: an individual life is any person with a beating heart.

Two beating hearts have done much to frame who I am and why I am such an advocate of this bill. The first was the beating heart of my first child, Evan. In 1995 at 19 years old I discovered I was pregnant. It was unplanned, and I was unprepared to be a mother, lost in how to move forward. At the doctor’s visit, where the pregnancy was confirmed, a device was placed on my abdomen and I heard my son’s heart for the first time. There was no question that he was alive and functioning independently of me. The other was in 2002 at the end of my father’s life: his heart stopped beating. I knew the man who had raised me was no longer alive. In each of those cases, the heartbeat, or the lack of one, was an indication of another individual person’s life. 

Mr. President, colleagues, people with a beating heart, please take a moment with me to reflect on what it means to be human – to aggressively defend your own right to life and your reasonable expectation that your government should actively support you and all other people in the primary endeavor. Mr. President, I move House File 732 be read for the final time and placed on its passage so that all people in Iowa understand that their life has intrinsic value and that our society and government are prepared to defend them.

Today, Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver released his closing remarks as prepared for delivery. 

Madame President, 

One hundred and fifteen days have passed since my opening day remarks in this chamber. During that speech I talked about how proud I have been to hear the word historic used again and again to describe our accomplishments in the prior six legislative sessions. 

Historic tax relief, historic expansion of Iowans’ 2^nd Amendment freedoms, historic protections of our elections, historic mental health reforms, and historic support for law enforcement are all included on that list. 

In our 7^th session in the majority, and first in the supermajority, we stacked more historic achievements on top of that list. One of the first bills passed by the Senate this year was HF 68. It kept our promise to parents to give all students choice in their education.  

Iowa has tremendous public schools, but they may not be the best fit for every student. School choice gives all parents and students the same opportunities currently available only for families with the means to pay their income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and still have enough to pay for private school tuition. School choice opens doors for families and it has shown in study after study to improve student achievement both for students in public school and in private school. Senate Republicans have led on this issue for years and we enjoyed seeing this policy cross the finish line so early in session and now the state of Iowa is a leader in school choice. 

On day one I also mentioned how often we heard from Iowans about their serious concern of impeding property assessment increases. They were right. Over the last several weeks they shared their stories of 20%, 30%, and even 50% increases in the value of their property. They were angry about these increases because for decades they’ve seen their property tax bills go up and up, while being told by their local governments it’s the assessor’s fault, not the taxing authority. 

HF 718 was another historic achievement. It fixed the assessment problem. This bill implemented structural property tax reform and protected Iowans from those massive jumps in property taxes they feared by automatically reducing tax rates when assessments rise and consolidating and simplifying more than a dozen different levies. It also empowered taxpayers by giving them information about the taxes and spending of local governments on how it impacts their tax bill. 

The final issue I addressed was workforce. Senate Republicans took several major steps to addressing the workforce shortage in Iowa by creating the Iowa Apprenticeship Office to put Iowans on the fast track to high-demand careers with strong salaries and benefits. We also made it easier for teenagers to explore potential career opportunities or make more money with common sense reforms to youth employment and removed unnecessary burdens to teachers looking to work in Iowa. 

But our work wasn’t just limited to those three issues. We passed a common-sense ban on gender transition surgeries on children and simply directed K-12 schools to have boys use the boys’ bathroom and girls use the girls’ bathroom. 

The list of achievements goes on: We also passed several common-sense policies to expand health care access and availability by limiting non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases and a rural emergency hospital declaration to help stabilize rural emergency hospitals. Reforms to Iowa’s public assistance programs were overdue. This year those reforms passed both chambers and the state’s welfare programs will be better protected from fraud and available for Iowans truly in need. K-12 schools got more flexibility to meet the specific needs of their districts. For the first time in 40 years state government was aligned to improve efficiency, eliminate redundancies, and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The 2023 Iowa Legislature was truly a historic session, one of the most productive since as far back as 2021. Now is the time to celebrate our achievements. I am proud of the work this caucus did. I think I speak for all of us when I say we are looking forward to some days off, time with our other jobs, and time with our families. I will see you again in 8 months refreshed with new ideas to continue to deliver results for the great people of Iowa. 

Thank you madame president.