Iowa

2024 Iowa Legislative Updates

• Iowa Office of Apprenticeship (IOA) has been officially recognized

  Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) announced June 28th that the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship (IOA) has been officially recognized as a State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA) by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

  Effective immediately, the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship (IOA) will assume the following roles and responsibilities which include:

  • Overseeing and registering all Registered Apprenticeship (RA) Programs in Iowa. Programs will still abide by the same approved federal standards as before, but will work exclusively through the IOA
  • Serving as the central point of contact for all RA program sponsors, school districts, and apprentices. IOA staff will be able to provide more direct technical assistance and program guidance, including innovative approaches that help programs succeed.
  • Ensuring that the mission of RA programs is directly aligned with the state’s workforce strategies.

  
  Stay tuned there will be more information and updates to come.

• Budget

  The House budget proposal would spend $8.955 billion for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The Senate Republicans’ proposal would spend about $82 million less than the House, and about $47 million less than what Governor Reynolds proposed in January. The particulars of the budget proposals signal a shift in the Legislature’s collective priorities - indicating session is heading for a close. As always, the budget needs to be completed before the session adjourns.

• Tax Policy

  A number of Republican proposals to accelerate state income tax cuts or otherwise reform the system have made varying degrees of progress. The House passed a proposed resolution to the state constitution this week that would make two-thirds majorities of the Legislative necessary to increase individual or corporate income taxes. The Senate appears poised to take that measure up, but they would need to pass it again in 2025 or 2026, and voters would need to approve the measure in the election following. More will likely come on the tax front before adjournment.

• Elimination/Consolidation of 116 State Boards & Commissions

  The Iowa House is at odds with Governor Reynolds and the Iowa Senate over the boards and commission bill. The House produced a scaled down 49-page version of the bill compared to the Governor’s 330-page bill. The house bill only eliminates boards and commissions that have not met in 3 years and have not been appropriated any funds. The Carpenters submitted written comments to express a handful of concerns pertaining to the Review Committee’s August 29, 2023, subcommittee recommendations to Governor Reynolds. We have had several pre-session meetings with legislators to voice our concerns. While we share the Committee’s goal of streamlining and making state government more efficient, some of the recommendations to eliminate or consolidate certain boards may also eliminate needed and necessary institutional knowledge those boards have, and provide little, if any, regulatory oversight especially when pertaining to boards and commissions that impact the building trades.

• Major Maintenance Projects

  The Senate has budgeted an additional $20 million to the major maintenance budget for capital projects in 2024. The Governor’s requested an additional $38 million.

• Unemployment Insurance Fund

  Governor Reynolds’ proposal to reduce businesses payments into the unemployment insurance fund has been pulled out of the overall tax bill and is now a separate bill. It does not seem to have support, but we are opposing the legislation.

• Iowa Legislative Conference

  The 2024 Iowa Legislative Conference took place March 18-19.  The conference had great participation this year with 35 attendees that discussed carpenter economics and met with their representatives. The legislative reception was held on Monday night and the Day on the Hill was a great success. Thank you to all our Iowa members who attended.