After a tense State Government Committee on Wednesday, March 18th that kept us at the Capitol until late in the evening, one thing is clear: this session continues to be about power, not people.
At the center of the debate was HF 2694. The majority party is framing it as a way to prevent a government shutdown and promote fiscal responsibility.
In reality, it allows the legislature to avoid doing one of its most basic jobs—passing a state budget. Instead, it opens the door for funding decisions to shift away from elected officials and toward unelected processes. That means less accountability to Iowans.
This also comes in the context of the ongoing fight over eminent domain. Last session, some Senate Republicans said they would not support a budget until landowner protections were addressed. It’s clear, their solution is to lump it all together, strong-arming their own members into submission.
For landowners who have been following this issue closely, it’s hard to see this as anything other than being sold out. For taxpayers, it raises a bigger question: if lawmakers can walk away from passing a budget, who is actually responsible for how your tax dollars are spent?
HF 2694 is being presented as a procedural fix. It is not. It is a shift in how power is held and exercised at the Capitol, and it concentrates more of that power in leadership.
My Democratic colleague, Senator Winckler, addressed this directly, saying:
“In an effort to revive a dead idea before the funnel deadline, Senate Republicans are attaching their continuing appropriation bill as an amendment to HF 2694,” Sen. Cindy Winckler (D-Davenport) said. “Senate Democrats will not sit idly by while the majority party walks away from its responsibility to pass a budget.”
“Once this legislation is enacted, Senate Republicans could refuse to pass a budget, adjourn the session, and head home without addressing property taxes, eminent domain, their growing deficit, or any of the significant issues that Iowans face,” Sen. Winckler said.
“This power grab is just another effort to continue consolidating power in a way that fails the people we serve and moves Iowa one step closer to the kind of D.C.-style politics that Iowans hate,” Sen. Winckler said.
During the committee, I asked Senator Rozenboom to explain who was behind the amendment (you can watch the full exchange here).
After several seconds of silence, he acknowledged he couldn’t name anyone.
The bill will continue to move through the process, with a floor vote still ahead.
But the takeaway from this week is simple: this wasn’t about keeping your electeds accountable to voters, it’s about consolidating more power in the hands of the majority party’s leadership.