Photo: dangarneau / iStock / Getty Images
(Des Moines, IA) -- With the legislative session gaveling in next week, Iowa state senators are finalizing preparations. Republicans will have a 34-15 advantage in the chamber with the seat vacated by now-Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer being decided January 28th.
Sen. Amy Sinclair (R-Wayne County) will serve as Senate President. She says money will be at the forefront this year.
"As long as Sen. [Jack] Whitver and myself, as long as we're leading this caucus in the Iowa Senate, we're going to talk taxes and we're going to talk responsible spending," Sinclair says.
More specifically, they will be honing in on property taxes.
"We've kind of done a cycle over the past five years, alternating years, to address income tax and property tax," Sinclair says. "Just as a matter of course, this would look like a property tax year."
Senate Democrats say they know they're not in charge, but that doesn't mean they don't still represent their constituents. Sen. Janice Weiner (D-Johnson County) will serve as Senate Minority Leader.
"Unless it's something on which we can make common cause with Republicans, we're not going to be able to pass our priorities," Weiner says. "But that doesn't mean we can't be very vocal about them."
She says helping those who have been laid off is at the top of her list.
"We can't have a system where a plant closes, people are out of a job for no fault of their own and they're left without," Weiner says. "What Iowans deserve is to have the safety net for them. The unemployment safety net. So that they can pull everything together, get a new job and get back to work."
The session begins Monday, and is scheduled through May 2nd.