Lawmakers hope to adjourn this week, but much remains unresolved

Members of the legislative leadership are sounding a familiar refrain: They have made it clear they would like to get out of town this week. But with a long list of bills still sitting unresolved, and with a presidential visit coming up soon, adjourning early could prove difficult.

The end date of a legislative session is traditionally dictated by the length of time lawmakers receive daily expense payments.  This year, the payments end May 1. But Democratic leaders have repeatedly said they want to adjourn early to save money and help with the state’s budget crunch. In order to do that, though, legislators will have to put the finishing touches on several bills or abandon them for at least another year.

First on the docket is legislation that would revamp the state’s sex offender laws. At 6:30 p.m. tonight, the public will get a chance to sound off on the measure, which ends the ban on sex offenders living within 2,000 feet of a school or day care and replaces it with restrictions on where they can go. It would make places like schools, day cares and parks off limits.

The 2,000-foot rule would still apply to the most dangerous offenders.

Legislators and Gov. Chet Culver have been working out the bill’s details for more than a week and Republicans have said they would be willing to change the law, which law enforcement officials have said for years was unworkable.

“We’ll give a very, very hard look at this and if it’s good for Iowa families and Iowa children, we will be supportive of that,” said Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley, R-Chariton.

Democrats are also working on legislation that would borrow $700 million to pay for public construction projects and flood recovery. The details of the bills remain sketchy, but one thing that is clear is that they will differ from the original proposal put forth by Culver, which called for spending on road and bridge projects.

A Democratic tax plan that would end federal deductibility and use the funds to lower overall tax rates is also still alive, but several House Democrats conceded last week the plan was very unlikely to pass this year. House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said the bill is one vote short of passage, blaming changes made at the insistence of the governor for the lack of consensus.

“We’ll probably make an appeal to [Culver] to see if he can pick up that extra vote,” Murphy said. “I’m still very optimistic that we’ll get it passed.”

Action is expected this week on a continued push by Republicans for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The last two weeks have seen several attempts to force debate on the issue, with Democratic leadership thwarting GOP actions each time. Gronstal and Murphy have both said there will be no debate this year on same-sex marriage, but conservatives have continued to press, attaching a ban onto several budget bills and the Democratic tax plan still awaiting debate.

Further complicating matters is President Obama’s scheduled trip to Newton for Earth Day. Several lawmakers have indicated they wish to attend the event, which could make for a light workday on Wednesday.