I’m sure most of you know by now that the Iowa House passed a water bill this week that has significant short-comings.  The bill is on its way to the Governor’s office.
During the House floor debate, Rep. John Wills repeated that the bill is a beginning of a conversation about water quality improvements.  He even indicated that he has a draft bill to continue the work on water quality.  Rep. Wills was responsible for shepherding the bill through the House.
You can help further this conversation.  On the weekends, many of the legislators will be participating in forums and meeting with constituents.  Attend the forums in your area.  Ask your legislators, “What are you going to do to continue working on water quality improvements in Iowa?”
For a list of forums, see:
http://www.senate.iowa.gov/democrats/events/
http://www.iowasenaterepublicans.com/events/
http://iowahouse.org/forums/
http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/forums-this-weekend

The shortcomings of the water bill are:

Not enough money is allocated to water quality improvements.  It allocates $286 million over 12 years.  The effort to clean up Iowa's waters is expected to cost $4 to $5 billion, as indicated in the Nutrient Reduction Strategy.
There are no measurable outcomes.  Iowans expect that their tax dollars will fund projects that actually work to improve water quality.
This bill takes the water tax from the general fund, so other projects are going to suffer.  The rest of the money comes from gambling money that is currently being used to pay for bonds.

Thank you for your support.


Pam Mackey Taylor
Lobbyist for the Iowa Chapter

 

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