Des Moines, Iowa — The 2023 Iowa Legislature has been gaveled into session, with the GOP in firm control of the agenda since Republicans occupy 65 percent of the seats in the Iowa House and Senate.
Republicans have what’s called a super majority in the Senate. With 34 of the 50 votes, Democrats will be unable to block Republican Governor Kim Reynolds’ nominees for appointed positions in state government. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says it’s been a remarkable turn around for Senate Republicans.
In the House, Republicans hold 64 of the 100 seats. House Speaker Pat Grassley says each of Iowa’s 99 counties is now represented by at least one House Republican.
Representative Brent Siegrist of Council Bluffs was House Majority Leader in the mid-1990s when the House GOP held the same number of seats. He warns there’s no guarantee every bill Republicans try to advance will have 64 “yes” votes.
Democrat David Osterberg represented the Mount Vernon area in 1989 when Democrats held 61 seats in the House, and 60 percent of all seats in the legislature.
And Republican Governor Terry Branstad was a check on the Democrats in the legislature back then. Osterberg says with majority Republicans in the 2023 legislature sending bills to a Republican governor, expects some breathtaking moments. “Mischief happens when you have these kind of majorities,” Osterberg says. Siegrist says proposals that may be out of the mainstream have a better shot when one party has the trifecta in state government.
Thirty-nine House members and 14 state senators are starting their first terms. Siegrist says that’s more than a third of the legislature, and that’s a big challenge. “That’s not to say we won’t do a lot this year,” Siegrist says, “but it takes a while to get that many people used to the process and how everything works.”
Republicans in the legislature say property tax reform is a top priority. Governor Reynolds says her top goal is ensuring every parent can choose where to send their child to school. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says she doubts Reynolds has the votes in the House to get that passed in 2023.
Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls says Democrats will shine a light on Republican efforts to enact new abortion restrictions.
Governor Kim Reynolds will deliver the annual “Condition of the State” message at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
