Stories

State Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, promised Tuesday night that GOP legislators will continue to push for a popular vote on same-sex marriage in Iowa, in spite of a federal ruling that a voter-approved ban in California violated the U.S. Constitution.

Earlier this year, Republican Brenna Findley struggled to outline the differences between herself and incumbent Attorney General Tom Miller. She called for a “new direction” in the attorney general’s office, but stopped short of calling for any specific reforms.

That’s changed.

Without a state-level body, every state agency, the 99 counties, almost 1,000 cities and all the many other governing bodies around Iowa are each charged with enforcing public information rules. That sometimes means enforcement isn’t uniform through every level of government. And — between county attorneys, the state ombudsman, the attorney general and litigation — the channels to appeal information denials aren’t always clear.

During the 2009 General Assembly, Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley pushed for legislation asserting Iowa’s sovereignty under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Now, it appears the Chariton Republican is hoping to make sovereignty an issue in the fall campaign.
In a 10-minute video posted to his campaign website, McKinley makes the case for Iowa [...]

The 2010 General Assembly officially came to a close Tuesday afternoon, and Democrats and Republicans are walking away with dramatically different opinions on just how successful the session really was.

Lawmakers gave final approval Monday night to a $274 million infrastructure spending package, including $150 million in additional money for Gov. Chet Culver’s I-JOBS public-works program.
“I want to thank the Democratic legislators who worked tirelessly on behalf of Iowas hard working families to pass the final installment of I-JOBS,” Culver said in a statement. “Their [...]

Four Democratic state senators — Dennis Black of Newton, Keith Kreiman of Bloomfield, Rich Olive of Story City, and Joe Seng of Davenport — signed on to a Republican petition to force a vote on same-sex marriage, but it appears dead this session, at least in this form.

Following failed attempts in both the Iowa House and Senate Tuesday morning to force a vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, Republican leadership has conceded that the issue won’t likely come up again before the November elections.

A procedural move to force a vote on same-sex marriage in the Iowa Senate failed Tuesday morning when Republicans were unable to convince a majority to sign on to their petition.

During his opening remarks Monday morning, Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, was emphatic that the legislature will adjourn with a balanced state budget that does not rely on tax increases.
“We will balance the budget, and we will do it without raising taxes. We will not add to the burdens of middle class families [...]