In a letter to their Republican counterparts, House Speaker Pat Murphy of Dubuque and Senate President Jack Kibbie of Emmetsburg said with the attorney general and auditor already conducting an investigation, there is no reason for the matter to go before the Legislative Oversight Committee.

“At this time, however, we believe that it would be imprudent for the Oversight Committee to bring officials from the Department of Economic Development/Film Office, state auditor’s office, attorney general’s office or Department of Revenue before the committee because it could impede or interrupt this joint investigation,” the letter said. “We are especially concerned about the effect of such testimony on any potential criminal proceedings in light of Chief Deputy Auditor Warren Jenkins’s statement that criminal charges against some individuals are possible.”

Jenkins told the Iowa Independent that any time the auditor’s office conducts an investigation that criminal charges are possible, although the likelihood of that happening in this investigation is small.

Murphy and Kibbie were responding to a request by Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley and House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen requesting the Oversight Committee look into the film credit allegations when the meet on Thursday.

Democratic Sen. Rich Olive of Story City, who chairs the Oversight Committee, said Tuesday that the committee would discuss the issue Thursday, saying the investigation could expand to all the state’s tax credit programs.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement filed the complaint after the Iowa Pharmacy Association failed to file a disclosure report for a function it held in February that was attended by 20 lawmakers and Gov. Chet Culver. The group only filed the paperwork after reporters began asking questions about the party due to the fact that Democratic state Rep. Kerry Burt attended the event on the evening of his drunk driving arrest.

The committee dismissed the complaint unanimously, although Senate Ethics Committee Chair Jack Kibbie said there would be a review of current Iowa code to see if changes should be made to improve accountability and transparency.

Before 2005, disclosure forms for these types of legislative functions were filed with the nonpartisan Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board (IECDB). The board’s staff would also check the social calendar and call groups to make sure reports were filed on time.

The law was changed in 2005, and authority was given to legislative ethics committees. At that time, the IECDB discontinued the practice of ensuring the prompt filing of reports since it lost enforcement jurisdiction.

Since the law changed, the number of reports filed has gone down, from 101 in 206 to 90 this year.

The other difference, according to the state’s campaign law, is the IECDB can investigate an issue on its own motion. The legislative ethics committees do not have that power.

Section 68B.31 of Iowa’s campaign law lays out the powers, responsibilities and format of the legislative ethics committees. It can prepare rules relating to lobbyists and lobbying activities, issue non-binding advisory opinions interpreting the intent of constitutional and statutory provisions, recommend legislation and hear complaints against legislators or lobbyists.

“We expect Sen. Jack Kibbie to lead the charge to restore oversight and enforcement of lobbyist function reports to the Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board,” Mason said.

Iowa CCI found 26 additional late-filing disclosure violations by lobbyist groups during the 2009 legislative session. This amount represents nearly one-third of the 90 reports that were filed in 2009.

A bill passed last week by the U.S. House allocates $1.1 billion to rail – $800 million to Amtrak and $300 million to state projects to improve intercity rail outside of Amtrak’s capital needs.

“The best way to make sure our transportation investments meet our energy policy goals is to invest in intercity rail,” said Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg. “We cannot afford to miss this opportunity to create jobs that lead to long-term prosperity through better intercity rail that connects the Midwest.”

Kibbie, along with state Sen. Daryl Beall, D-Ft. Dodge, and State Rep. Paul Bell, D-Newton, are Iowa’s legislatively-appointed members to the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission (MIPRC), a 10-state coalition that advocates at the local, state and federal levels for passenger rail development.

The commission has submitted to congressional leaders a list of more than $815 million in projects that could move forward within 120 days. In Iowa, the federal stimulus could provide funding for track, signaling and other improvements to begin new service between the Quad Cities and Iowa City, and between Chicago and Dubuque. The lawmakers point to a proposal from the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee which recommended a $5 billion total investment in rail, including $3.4 billion for state passenger rail projects, $1.5 billion for Amtrak and $100 million for short line railroads.

“The economic stimulus plan currently being considered by Congress provides an incredible opportunity to build a modern regional passenger rail network that makes America and Iowa more energy-efficient, sustainable and prosperous, while at the same time putting more Iowans and Americans to work,” Beall said.

The U.S. Senate is expected to debate the stimulus plan this week.

Culver said raising the gas tax during a recession would not be “a prudent thing to do” but stopped short of committing to veto an increase. He said, “If 150 legislators want to keep talking about it, they have that right.”

“[Culver] hasn’t said ‘no’ in my presence,” said Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, Thursday morning.  Kibbie argued for a gas tax increase during his opening remarks to the legislature.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said legislators think that based on Culver’s public statements there is a willingness to listen to the legislature on this issue.

House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said it would be closer to the end of the session before legislators tackle the issue.

The gas tax issue seems to be driven by a feeling that the next Revenue Estimating Conference, which will take place in March, bring more bad economic news. Most believe revenues will be down further than expected, which would mean more spending cuts on top of those already proposed by Culver or increased taxes.

Supporters say truckers driving along the state’s interstate system would pay the majority of a gas tax increase.

Iowa could no longer put off the challenges to its transportation infrastructure, Kibbie said, especially now that the economy is hurting.

“Success in that endeavor will mean better roads, jobs, and an economic boost to Iowa’s families and communities,” Kibbie said. “While there may be funds for these efforts as part of the federal economic recovery package, we also need to act.”

The idea of a increase in the state’s gas tax has received a mixed greeting of late, with Gov. Chet Culver saying he would prefer to pursue other options to repair the state’s infrastructure, including bonding.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal said the legislature must address the pending budget crisis without “sabotaging the commitments we’ve made on economic growth, health care and education.” The U.S. economy is facing its most difficult crisis since the Great Depression, and although Iowa shares little of the blame it will share in the pain, Gronstal said.

“Iowa families are losing the jobs they depend on,” he said. “Iowa small businesses are seeing sales fall. Many Iowa homeowners are facing foreclosure. Iowans are wondering how bad things will get.”

Helping those hurt by last summers floods and tornadoes will be the main priority, Gronstal said.

“Places like Cedar Rapids, the economic engine of eastern Iowa, and small towns like Parkersburg, Oakville and Waverly. We need to help Iowa communities rebuild their infrastructure,” he said. “We need to help small businesses reestablish themselves. We need to help homeowners make decisions so they can move on with their lives.”

He reiterated a theme he has used repeatedly in recent weeks that this session will involve saying “no” to a lot of good ideas because there just isn’t enough money to go around.

And to the new legislators joining the House and Senate, Gronstal warned that the next 100 days wouldn’t be easy.

“If your idea of being an elected official involves being loved by everyone, the next few months will be pretty rough,” he said.

Kibbie went on to lay out some of the other priorities of Democratic leadership, including raising the age that Iowans can legally drop out of high school to 18 and changing the state’s labor laws to “help workers bargain for a better future.”

The awards will be presented Friday during Iowa’s Matthew Shepard Scholarship Awards Dinner at the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

“I am extremely honored to have been a part of this legislation being passed,” said Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, who served as floor manager of the anti-discrimination measure (SF 427) during House debate this session. “It has been such a good feeling to work on this and to watch all the individuals who fought for its passage truly celebrate each step in the process. I did work hard and I did my part, but I was just doing my job.”

Although Wessel-Kroeschell doesn’t have a personal story behind her work on the bill, she has spent a number of years studying the issue and working for its passage.

“This is a measure which has been around for a number of years,” she said. “It passed the Iowa House in the 1980s and then passed the Iowa Senate in the 1990s. This year marked the first time it gained approval from both houses and made its way to the governor’s desk.”

During the 1990s fight for the bill, Wessel-Kroeschell was a clerk for former state legislator Ralph Rosenberg. As proof that all things come full circle, Rosenberg will be enforcing the legislative changes as director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.

Despite 18 states — including Iowa neighbors Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin — having similar laws and Democratic majorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature, even this session the bill did not come without compromise. In the final days, Minority Leader Chris Rants of Sioux City put forth an amendment, which limited the scope of “gender identity” and inserted a provision to prevent any claims against Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act.

Speaking last week on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” former legislator Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, continued to denounce the new law despite the addition of the amendments. He contends the measure — which he dubs as “legislative and cultural malpractice” — gives gays and lesbians special rights.

“All the historians are in agreement that when a culture finally adopts acceptance of this behavior,” he told Associated Press senior political writer Mike Glover in an exchange on Iowa Press, “it’s one step away from the end of that culture.”

“This isn’t about special rights,” Wessel-Kroeschell said Wednesday. “It is about — and has always been about — ending discrimination and providing equality for everyone.”

Joining Wessel-Kroeschell at the awards dinner will be Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs, Speaker of the House Pat Murphy of Dubuque and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines. They are all mentioned in the event program along with Senate President Jack Kibbie of Emmetsburg, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Mike Connolly of Dubuque, Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, and Rep. Roger Wendt, D-Sioux City.

Iowa’s Matthew Shepard Scholarship Program also will award 18 scholarships to openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender high school students at the dinner. Recent graduates from high schools in Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Johnston and Cedar Falls will receive full scholarships (worth roughly $30,000 each), and 14 others will receive smaller awards.

The scholarships are named in memory of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was kidnapped, beaten and left to die in freezing temperatures in 1998 because he was gay. The program honors Iowa high school students who work to promote tolerance and non-discrimination in their schools and communities. Many of the scholarship recipients are teens who worked for both the anti-bullying and anti-discrimination legislation that passed this session.

In addition to awarding the scholarships and honoring the lawmakers, the program includes recognition of the best high school Gay-Straight Alliance and best college LGBT group in Iowa. Entertainment will be provided by the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus under the direction of Rebecca Gruber.