WASHINGTON

If one theme emerged from the Legislative Briefing held Thursday night, it was that there was no one theme. Constituents took advantage of the first evening forum held with state legislators Dawn Driscoll and Heather Hora in Washington, and their concerns were many and varied.

Prior to the Q&A session, which lasted a bit over an hour, Sen. Driscoll and Rep. Hora were given time to review recent activity in their respective chambers. For Driscoll, that meant lamenting the Senate’s failure to advance a bill that would have reinstated a moratorium on new casinos in Iowa, including one in nearby Cedar Rapids that is expected to ‘cannibalize’ revenue from the Riverside Casino.

“I’ve taken this vote very, very, very hard,” she said. “I feel terrible that I wasn’t able to come through for Washington, for Washington County, for our entire area.”

Driscoll noted that she had spoken “very passionately” about the Riverside Casino in the Senate, and that many people from the area reached out to her regarding its importance and reach. She thanked those who advocated on the casino’s behalf.

“I’m not proud of how we [the Senate] handled ourselves,” she said. “I’m very sorry that I wasn’t able to get this across the line, because this was a big one for me. I worked on it for a long time.”

Rep. Hora agreed that a casino moratorium was “probably the biggest thing for Washington County” when it comes to recent activity in the House, which did pass the bill.

Q&A

For the past two years, constituents have been asking the legislators for evening and weekend briefings, as those held on weekday noon hours are difficult for workers to attend. Thus, one might have thought that the evening forum held Feb. 20 would attract a new crowd with different concerns. However, that did not appear to be the case: for the most part, the same community leaders, ag advocates and retired schoolteachers filled the room.

On the whole, Washington County residents and their representatives were on the same page. For example, more than one attendee was against a House bill that would remove legal exemptions in obscenity laws for public libraries and schools, thus opening these institutions to criminal charges for distributing or exhibiting obscene materials to minors – this at a time when what counts as ‘obscene’ is hotly contested.

“I think the libraries are doing a great job. I’m not going to be holding a subcommittee on that bill,” Driscoll said.

“I think that needs to be a local issue,” Hora agreed.

Modernizing the Grain Indemnity Fund was another issue attendees cared about. A bill is currently in the House that would increase the indemnity fund minimum from $3 million to $8 million and the maximum from $8 million to $16 million to help cover farmers’ losses when their buyers go broke.

“We’d like to include credit sale contracts and deferred price payments as well in the floor and the ceiling,” said a Farm Bureau member. “It’s not 1985 anymore,” he added, noting that foreign animal disease is devastating, and the state lab needs continued funding.

Driscoll agreed. “Foreign animal disease has been the top of everyone’s mind this year,” she said. “If something happened out here, it would be absolutely devastating to our area. We would like to see a plan in place.”

The bill in the House, however, is still being discussed, Hora said. “It did move out of Ag Committee, but there’s just a lot of things that need to be looked at,” including the $16 million cap and inclusion of credit sale contracts, she said.

There were also issues people felt passionate about where they felt their legislators did not exactly have their backs.

“In the state of Iowa, 66 counties do not have an OB-GYN doctor or birthing facilities. That’s a serious situation,” a Wellman resident said. “I realize that a lot of Iowa is remote, but we can’t continue with this when people are traveling across a county and a half to see an OB-GYN.”

“We are absolutely trying to address that,” Driscoll said.

“It’s very expensive, and so we need to figure out how to fund it,” Hora agreed, noting that last session’s midwifery and physician’s assistant bills were meant to help the situation.

“Women need health care across their lifespan, not just when they’re pregnant,” said a public health professional, to which the legislators agreed.

When they mentioned trying to retain medical students in Iowa after they complete their education, “Abortion bans are a great way for doctors to leave the state,” she responded. “They’re not willing to risk their license to put themselves in a situation where they have to choose between jail time or saving the life of the woman. We have seen maternal mortality increase across the board since Roe was overturned.”

Jon Green, chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, also took issue with the legislators.

“This is the third year that you have been running a supervisors districting bill targeting Johnson County. There are 150 members of the legislature. I’m just curious why you think that your judgement is superior to the 155,000 residents in Johnson County that are quite satisfied with how we elect our supervisors,” he said.

Driscoll said that the bill predates her, but that she has chaired and sponsored it. The idea is that in larger counties, everyone would be represented.

“We hear it all that time that the rural voices do matter, and that people want to be heard,” she said.

“I would note that if I go out my back door, I’m at the Riverside Casino. I am rural elected,” Green, a Lone Tree resident, responded.

The briefing went a bit over its allotted hour so that all constituents would have a chance to voice their concerns. Several of those present thanked the legislators for the opportunity, and Driscoll and Hora promised to follow up with many of them.

Next Briefing

All Washington County residents have an opportunity for their own voices to be heard at the third and final Legislative Briefing on March 14 at noon at Washington City Hall.