Stories

“I like to think that good legislation gets passed regardless of whether it is an election year or not,” said Marcia Nichols, political and legislative director for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61.

Despite some efforts to cast the long nights at the capitol this weekend as a sneaky way for Democratic leaders to push through their agenda, no major policy surprises emerged from the waning hours of the 2009 legislative session.

A bill expanding the scope of collective bargaining for Iowa’s public sector employees will be debated tonight by the House Appropriations Committee.
An earlier version of House File 794 cleared the House Labor Committee March 12, making it eligible for debate later in the session. The legislation allows public employees to negotiate a wider range of [...]

On a party-line vote, the Iowa House Labor Committee passed an amended version of the controversial “choice of doctor” bill after a public hearing on the proposal Tuesday night.
The bill changes Iowa workers’ compensation law would so employees would have the right to designate a doctor to treat them for workplace injuries. It will now [...]

A bill that would change the workers compensation system to permit employees injured on the job to choose the doctors who treat them will go before the public Tuesday.
A public hearing on the measure, known as the “Choice of Doctor Bill,” will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in the chamber of the [...]

The Iowa Association of Business and Industry has begun airing radio ads around the state arguing against union-backed legislation, Radio Iowa’s O.Kay Henderson reports.
The ads attack all four of the major bills being pushed by labor this session: Fair Share, open scope bargaining, prevailing wage and choice of doctor.

Top Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate told The Des Moines Register today that stoping union-backed legislative proposals will be a priority in the upcoming session, with shutting down the legislature entirely as one viable option.

Eastern Iowa legislators at a weekend League of Women Voters’ forum in Iowa City worked to shift the rhetoric on the collective bargaining bill.