Iowa Senate leader answers reporter Qs (Feb. 19, 2026) скачать в хорошем качестве

Iowa Senate leader answers reporter Qs (Feb. 19, 2026)

Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh took questions from statehouse reporters on February 19, 2026, one day before the Iowa legislature's "funnel" deadline for most policy bills. This is Klimesh's first year as majority leader. While Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley holds a media availability most weeks during the legislative session, Klimesh rarely does so. If he holds a press conference, it is usually on a specific topic, rather than an open exchange with reporters. Topics covered during this exchange: -the state of play on K-12 school funding, which the Iowa House debated later on February 19 (he indicated the House Republicans, Senate Republicans, and governor were close to an agreement) -why Republicans keep increasing school funding by less than the rate of inflation -a Senate Republican proposal to allow the state to function on continuing spending resolutions (funding the government at previous year levels) in the event that the legislature cannot agree on a state budget in time -how Senate Republican talks on eminent domain legislation are going -a new executive order from President Donald Trump ensuring production of glyphosate and whether that affects the importance of a "pesticide immunity" bill Senate Republicans approved in 2025, which hasn't advanced from a House committee -a bill that would restrict abortion medications, which was pulled from the agenda of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the last minute (but cleared the funnel in the Iowa House) -his practice of deferring to Senate committee chairs on which bills move forward -why some subcommittee meetings were scheduled on Democratic bills but canceled -proposals to either increase state legislators' pay or shorten the legislative session -the personal sacrifice and financial sacrifice associated with serving in the legislature -the bills related to hydrogen or mineral rights and why that issue is important to him as "a policy guy" -the failed attempt to lure the Chicago Bears to Iowa (he joked that he would try to get them to build a stadium in the small town of Spillville, where he was mayor for 20 years) -a bill setting standards for siting renewable energy projects, limiting county government authority to pass de facto bans on new wind or solar development -next steps with negotiations on property tax reform (Senate Republicans, House Republicans, and Governor Kim Reynolds have introduced their own bills) -the impact on local governments of proposed revenue caps as part of property tax bills -his overall takeaways as the first funnel date approaches ("There's a lot of bills") -whether he would ever consider capping the number of bills each legislator can introduce -his thoughts on the various bills targeting public libraries that Republicans have introduced this year