The Sinclair Report

Week five in the state legislature did not skip a beat due to the weather. The Iowa Senate members continued their work on proposed legislation and debated and voted on bills to send to the Iowa House for their consideration.

One of those bills was Senate File 146. This legislation is important for those of us who purchase tickets online. For too long, many people have been unable to purchase tickets for an event because of the overwhelming use of “bots,” a technology that operates on the internet and performs repetitive tasks. Bots perform a rapid buying sequence to overbuy, upsell, and horde available tickets to later sell them to the consumer on secondary markets for a profit.

Senate File 146 passed the Senate unanimously, and if it becomes law, the Attorney General can impose civil actions and penalties, including a fine of up to $10,000.

One of the most important pieces of legislation we enact early in the legislative session is the state funding increase for our local schools for the subsequent school year. It is important that we agree on this bill as early as possible so the local school boards can finalize their school budgets for the following year. Senate File 167 adds $235 million for K-12 education in Iowa, as recommended by the governor. This will raise the total K-12 education funding in Iowa to $4.2 billion, almost half of Iowa’s roughly $9 billion budget.

Senate Republicans remain committed to responsible budgeting and improving student achievement. This increase in education spending will raise the average per pupil spending from state, local, and federal sources to $18,722.

Visitors to

the Capitol

Members of the community were at the Capitol this week to advocate for child care solutions, energy interests, agriculture, automobile collision repair (very timely with this week’s snow storms), the motor truck industry, restaurant industry and health care.

Staying in touch

I rely on your input because everything we do as a General Assembly affects you personally. You can email me at amy.sinclair@legis.iowa.gov or call me at 515-725-4122 to voice your support or concerns on upcoming legislation.

Visit the legislative website for information about bills important to you or to follow the work of the legislature: www.Legis.Iowa.Gov.

Also, meet with me in your area to talk about issues important to you:

The Barnyard Restaurant, Leon (Decatur City), at 8:30am on Monday, March 3

Revelton Distilling Company, Osceola, at 10:00am on Monday, March 3

Farm Bureau Financial Service, Corydon, at 8:30am on March 10

Pin Oak Marsh, Chariton, at 10:00am on March 10

The Dug Out Café, Orient, at 10:00am on Friday, April