Rod Sullivan's Legislative Agenda

Rod Sullivan's Legislative Agenda

From Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan's weekly e-mail; so good I have to share it all.

Democrats now control the Iowa Governor, Iowa Senate, and Iowa House. We are presented with a rare opportunity to take important steps to improving Iowa.

I have the following wish list for the Iowa Legislature:

Raise the minimum wage.

Tax all income the same. Reward work at least as much as we reward investment.

Increase the income tax rate for the top earners, and reduce it for the middle class. Maintain a progressive income tax system.

Allow local governments to set their own property tax caps.

Allow local governments to use local option income taxes.

Eliminate Federal deductibility for State income taxes.

Increase the tobacco tax.

Repay the Senior Living Trust.

Repeal the so-called "Right to Work" laws.

Adopt Fair Share legislation.

Add OSHA inspectors.

Fully fund Medicaid, and expand HAWK-I.

Initiate same-day voter registration.

Allow for local control of smoking ordinances.

Expand the Bottle Bill to include all plastic containers. Increase the deposit to 10 cents. Give 1.5 cents more to handlers, and put 3 cents toward REAP funding.

Require all vehicles sold in Iowa to meet low emissions standards.

Increase requirements for utilities to develop wind power, and allow private wind producers access to the grid.

Increase teacher pay to greater than the national average.

Increase State funding for Regents institutions.

Institute public campaign financing, and strong campaign finance laws.

Add sexual and gender identities to the Iowa Civil Rights Code.

End mandatory sentencing.

Repeal the 2000 foot law for sex offenders.

Adopt "Sunshine Laws" similar to those observed by city and county governments. All meetings of 4 or more Legislators should be open to the public.

Encourage stem cell research.

It is a very long list, but that is to be expected when you haven¹t set the agenda for a very long time. I firmly believe all these changes would
benefit Iowa.

Do I expect all of these things to happen right away? No. But I do expect some of it to be accomplished. I also expect most of it to be discussed.
Asking for important issues to be discussed is certainly not asking too much.