Renee Schulte - Iowa State Representative
Proudly Representing Iowa House Distric 37
Yesterday the Iowa House was pleased to welcome Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School’s Happiness Inc., who was recently named Grand Champion at Show Choir Nationals in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this month. In celebration of their recent accomplishment, legislators passed House Resolution 139, a resolution honoring Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School’s show choir for their success [...]
In today’s political environment, working together does not happen often. In fact, “extreme” views in politics are common. Though reality, this attitude is unfortunate. Nothing gets done. To some, compromise has become an evil word defined as giving up one’s true beliefs or watering down values. The real definition of compromise is a settlement of [...]
As the legislative session comes to a close, a number of issues are yet to be decided on by lawmakers. One of the biggest questions still unanswered is how the legislature will address property tax reform in the state. Iowa currently has the 2nd highest commercial property taxes in the country, as well as the [...]
The Iowa House passed a flood mitigation bill last week that will give communities like Cedar Rapids the resources they need to build flood protection systems. The bill now awaits the Governor’s signature. Senate File 2217 was passed with bipartisan support, an indication of just how important these flood protection services are to communities all [...]
The Des Moines Fire Department hazardous materials team responded to a security scare yesterday at the Capitol, prompting members of the House to be quarantined for over three hours. A threatening letter received by Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad of Des Moines was found to contain a white, powdery substance. Abdul-Samad’s clerk, Mike McRae, was the one [...]
Mental health and disabilities services (MHDS) reform was the subject of a recent forum hosted by the League of Women Voters last Saturday in Cedar Rapids. Forum participants included Rep. Renee Schulte, Sen. Jack Hatch, Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston, and Polk County Supervisor Robert Brownell. The event, attended by over 130 area voters, was [...]
The second funnel week of session is the self-imposed procedural deadline for when bills from the opposite chamber must be passed through committee. With the second funnel week behind us, here is a list of Senate bills that made it through the House funnel: SF 451: Drop-out Prevention Allowable Uses – Changes the allowable uses [...]
Last week the Iowa Supreme Court reached a decision regarding Gov. Terry Branstad’s attempt to close 36 state unemployment offices and ruled that the veto was unconstitutional. While the implementation of the decision will be left to a lower court, it is likely that the Legislature will act in the coming weeks to approve supplemental [...]
A bill banning the use of traffic enforcement cameras appears to have found new life in the Iowa House. Initially the victim of the Legislature’s self-imposed funnel deadline, House Speaker Kraig Paulsen reassigned the bill to the Appropriations Committee, which allows the bill to remain eligible for consideration in spite of the funnel deadline. [...]
This week representatives of the nation’s leading organization for female legislators made their inaugural visit to Iowa. Executive Director of Women in Government, Marjorie Magninn, and her associate Martha Bourtso-Orzechowski, met with female legislators and other state leaders. The purpose of their visit was two-fold; to host a state briefing on Family Economic Success and [...]