The 2025 session is in the books and we’ll focus on the last day (technically two days?). Firstly, the second day after pulling an all nighter is always worse than the first. Dave and Kathie get into the weeds on last minute negotiations and amendments that ended up in the final budget bill that officially passed before adjournment at 6:31am Thursday. The state will be over budget and we discuss how the legislature is closing that deficit. Also the house gets their paraeducator pay raise in the budget, but decided not to play hardball on the governor signing the eminent domain bill. Republican Muscatine Senator Mark Lofgren wrote a scathing email to his fellow state legislators complaining about his own party’s leadership that was leaked to the press. Dave had the scoop and he and Kathie discuss how rare this is. Property tax reform punted to next year at the earliest. Kathie had a great nugget on possible property tax changes in another Midwest state. Dave and Kathie share what surprised them most in the final days of negotiation. Have a nice weekend, and we’ll see you next week!

AI generated transcript:

Dave Price (00:00:01):

Welcome,

Dave Price (00:00:01):

everybody,

Dave Price (00:00:02):

to the newest Iowa Down Ballot podcast,

Dave Price (00:00:05):

a production of the Iowa Riders Collaborative.

Dave Price (00:00:08):

Here on the podcast for the last four and a half months or so,

Dave Price (00:00:13):

we've tried to bring kind of a deep dive look at what's going on with the Iowa

Dave Price (00:00:18):

legislative session.

Dave Price (00:00:19):

And guess what, Kathie Obradovich?

Dave Price (00:00:22):

This week,

Dave Price (00:00:22):

we can finally say that session is officially complete,

Dave Price (00:00:26):

minus the bill signing or vetoing or whatever the governor's going to do,

Dave Price (00:00:30):

right?

Kathie Obradovich (00:00:30):

It's a beautiful day.

Dave Price (00:00:33):

Sing it.

Dave Price (00:00:35):

Laura Belin on assignment, so she will not be joining us this week.

Dave Price (00:00:38):

I will warn you,

Dave Price (00:00:39):

Kathie,

Dave Price (00:00:41):

a legislator who apparently tunes in each week to the Iowa Down Ballot podcast was

Dave Price (00:00:49):

saying that I am not relaxed enough to

Dave Price (00:00:55):

During these podcasts.

Dave Price (00:00:57):

So I've brought a beverage.

Dave Price (00:01:00):

Excellent.

Dave Price (00:01:01):

Although it would seem appropriate,

Dave Price (00:01:04):

although,

Dave Price (00:01:04):

frankly,

Dave Price (00:01:04):

a caffeinated beverage may be the appropriate drink of choice after this.

Kathie Obradovich (00:01:10):

I don't know about you, but the second day after getting no sleep is worse than the first day.

Kathie Obradovich (00:01:16):

I mean, there's only a few times a year when this happens, like election night, you know.

Kathie Obradovich (00:01:21):

And it seems like the very next day,

Kathie Obradovich (00:01:23):

not so bad because you're kind of running on caffeine and adrenaline.

Kathie Obradovich (00:01:26):

And it's the second day where you're just kind of going home.

Kathie Obradovich (00:01:30):

But I will try to stay awake here.

Dave Price (00:01:33):

That's exactly what happened on Wednesday into Thursday.

Dave Price (00:01:36):

So the house got done about 630.

Dave Price (00:01:38):

It was either 630 or 631 a.m., whatever the official time was.

Dave Price (00:01:42):

And, you know, then you're wrapping up, you're getting your story put together.

Dave Price (00:01:45):

And I came home.

Dave Price (00:01:47):

I...

Dave Price (00:01:49):

I had breakfast.

Dave Price (00:01:51):

My son had already taken off for school before I got home.

Dave Price (00:01:53):

So I totally missed him.

Dave Price (00:01:55):

I did get to have breakfast with my daughter.

Dave Price (00:01:57):

Then she heads out for school.

Dave Price (00:01:58):

And, you know, there's nothing like going to bed for a nice extended nap at 9 a.m., right?

Dave Price (00:02:03):

Yes.

Dave Price (00:02:05):

Wake up around lunchtime, eat a little bit, suck down some caffeine.

Dave Price (00:02:09):

But I totally agree.

Dave Price (00:02:10):

It's like the day after.

Dave Price (00:02:12):

it just hits you like you've gone out on a bender, you know?

Dave Price (00:02:16):

Dehydrated and tired and wondering where your life's gone.

Kathie Obradovich (00:02:21):

Yeah, you start saying to yourself, I'm too old for this.

Dave Price (00:02:24):

I said that about 423 times, I think.

Dave Price (00:02:25):

There have been a few of these...

Dave Price (00:02:31):

obviously,

Dave Price (00:02:32):

but what I felt like was so unique with this is that we go in there Wednesday

Dave Price (00:02:38):

morning and there had been kind of this optimism that they were going to wrap up

Dave Price (00:02:43):

Wednesday,

Dave Price (00:02:44):

right?

Dave Price (00:02:44):

You know,

Dave Price (00:02:44):

that it was kind of,

Dave Price (00:02:47):

it was like that carrot we couldn't quite grab for a while,

Dave Price (00:02:50):

but it finally felt like they were going to power through.

Dave Price (00:02:53):

And then it's just like in Wednesday evening, things just kept going not...

Dave Price (00:03:00):

the way people were telling me they thought it was going to go there were these

Dave Price (00:03:04):

like extended breaks where the house would be out the senate would be out and and

Dave Price (00:03:10):

it was it you know it's one thing where you're thinking okay they're pow wowing

Dave Price (00:03:13):

over here because they're figuring out what they're going to do right but then you

Dave Price (00:03:16):

start walking around the capitol just to get your legs moving and it's just random

Dave Price (00:03:21):

people here and there and lobbyists here lobbyists there a legislator here let and

Dave Price (00:03:26):

you're going what the heck is even going on at this point

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:29):

Yeah.

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:30):

And,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:31):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:31):

the longer that goes on,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:33):

the opportunity for something weird to happen at like two in the morning,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:38):

because,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:38):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:39):

up until the very end,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:40):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:41):

that the lobbyists who wanted the pesticide immunity bill,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:46):

for example,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:47):

I mean,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:47):

they were pushing to get that into the standings bill,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:49):

I think,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:50):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:50):

until the very last minute,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:52):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:52):

that utilities wanted that right of first refusal provision that was in the

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:57):

governor's energy bill.

Kathie Obradovich (00:03:59):

And I think probably the reason that the governor's energy bill didn't move forward

Kathie Obradovich (00:04:02):

was just because of that provision.

Kathie Obradovich (00:04:05):

You know, people were pushing to get that into legislation up until the very last minute.

Kathie Obradovich (00:04:10):

And had either one of those amendments gone on to the standings bill,

Kathie Obradovich (00:04:16):

we'd still be sitting in the Capitol right now.

Dave Price (00:04:20):

And the standings bill,

Dave Price (00:04:21):

in case you're not familiar with it,

Dave Price (00:04:23):

it's kind of the catch-all,

Dave Price (00:04:24):

the thing at the end.

Dave Price (00:04:25):

There's all kinds of stuff in there.

Dave Price (00:04:27):

But it's always the thing that is so hard,

Dave Price (00:04:29):

I feel like,

Dave Price (00:04:30):

as a reporter,

Dave Price (00:04:31):

because you think,

Dave Price (00:04:32):

okay,

Dave Price (00:04:33):

this is going to be approximately X billion dollars or whatever the heck's going to

Dave Price (00:04:37):

be in there.

Dave Price (00:04:37):

But it's the amendment here, amendment there.

Dave Price (00:04:40):

Somehow a pesticide bill can be in,

Dave Price (00:04:43):

you know,

Dave Price (00:04:44):

that pesticide legislation protection thing you're talking about.

Dave Price (00:04:47):

That could somehow be tucked into a budget bill, which doesn't really make sense.

Dave Price (00:04:51):

Or that facet of her energy bill that overall wasn't going to happen,

Dave Price (00:04:56):

but the right of first refusal part.

Dave Price (00:04:58):

Like you just had to keep wondering and there'd be like a little rumor that would pop up.

Dave Price (00:05:05):

And we had this extended break and he kept thinking,

Dave Price (00:05:07):

okay,

Dave Price (00:05:07):

we got to see when this thing finally drops.

Dave Price (00:05:09):

What's the amendment going to be?

Dave Price (00:05:10):

What's the amendment going to be?

Dave Price (00:05:12):

The one thing that the House Republicans did kind of stand firm on would be that

Dave Price (00:05:17):

$14 million for the paraeducators.

Dave Price (00:05:20):

And that was something that they had told me for a while.

Dave Price (00:05:23):

They were...

Dave Price (00:05:24):

going to insist would make it in there the senate didn't want to do it but they had

Dave Price (00:05:29):

kind of backed off on the educational funding earlier on so they were determined

Dave Price (00:05:34):

that was going to be in there and you know then of course it has to it can't just

Dave Price (00:05:38):

be like a normal appropriation it's got to be out of the sports wagering side of

Dave Price (00:05:43):

this and it's a one-time funding source which is what they've been saying for years

Dave Price (00:05:47):

you can't do as a one-time funding source

Kathie Obradovich (00:05:49):

Yeah,

Kathie Obradovich (00:05:50):

it is interesting how some of these principles start to peel away when you've got

Kathie Obradovich (00:05:56):

what is technically a deficit spending situation.

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:00):

I mean,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:00):

yeah,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:01):

you've got you're essentially spending more in out of general fund programs than

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:06):

you've got in general fund money.

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:08):

And so they have to go shopping for,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:11):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:12):

the state has money stashed away in all of these different funds,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:15):

you know.

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:16):

But when we talk about the state budget,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:18):

normally what we're talking about is the general fund,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:21):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:22):

all of the ongoing programs.

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:23):

And these are the things that are,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:25):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:25):

generally,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:26):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:26):

funded through,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:27):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:29):

your income tax dollars,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:30):

right?

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:32):

But you've got a separate pool of money where it's gambling money.

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:38):

They got a couple of gambling funds,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:39):

but one of which generally pays for infrastructure,

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:44):

so building projects.

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:46):

And they consider building projects a one-time spend because it's not a program

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:51):

that goes on forever and ever and ever.

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:54):

And so they decided that this infrastructure fund would be spent using a good use

Kathie Obradovich (00:06:59):

for gambling money,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:00):

which I think I already gave you my little editorial last week about about gambling

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:05):

money,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:05):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:06):

and how,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:06):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:08):

back in.

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:10):

the days that they were first starting with riverboat gambling,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:12):

like,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:12):

oh,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:13):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:13):

is this really going to last?

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:14):

And so they decided that they would designate this as sort of one-time money and

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:18):

you wouldn't build it into the regular general fund budget.

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:21):

Well,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:22):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:23):

decades and decades later,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:25):

it turns out that some of this gambling money is more reliable than income tax

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:30):

revenue or state,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:31):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:31):

sales tax revenue.

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:32):

And so I think it's kind of silly to pretend like that's really one-time money,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:37):

but that's what they've done.

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:39):

And as you said,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:40):

with this paraeducator money,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:43):

they had to go off budget for it to make their budget targets.

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:48):

And they're saying that they're hoping to build it back into the general fund

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:54):

budget next year,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:55):

which probably means they would have to cut something else,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:57):

honestly,

Kathie Obradovich (00:07:59):

as tight as these budgets are looking.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:01):

But we'll see.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:03):

I mean, the principle behind the House insisting

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:08):

on that was a good one, I think.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:10):

It's like, you know, we promised this.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:14):

Was it the AEA bill?

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:16):

They promised this as part of passing the Area Education Agency bill last year,

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:22):

which was hugely,

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:24):

hugely controversial.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:25):

And they had to make lots of compromises to get that passed.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:28):

And they said they promised this and we're not going to come back and defund it the next year.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:32):

And, you know, it seems to me that that is kind of a stand-up thing to do.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:36):

But

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:39):

So now they found this one-time source of money,

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:41):

which is sports wagering,

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:42):

which is slightly different from the other gambling funds,

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:44):

slightly smaller.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:46):

But when the economy goes soft, which could happen, guess what?

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:56):

Gambling money also goes soft.

Kathie Obradovich (00:08:58):

So whether they're going to be able to keep going back to that tank, I don't know.

Dave Price (00:09:03):

And we got to get into the drama before we dig into some other stuff.

Dave Price (00:09:06):

But there was one other thing I wanted to bring up that I'm curious if you had the

Dave Price (00:09:12):

same interactions.

Dave Price (00:09:13):

A few of the lawmakers I was talking to during these extended,

Dave Price (00:09:17):

extended breaks,

Dave Price (00:09:18):

I had said,

Dave Price (00:09:19):

hey,

Dave Price (00:09:19):

did you all have any,

Dave Price (00:09:20):

and this was both Republicans and Democrats,

Dave Price (00:09:23):

and I was mostly on the House side,

Dave Price (00:09:25):

although...

Dave Price (00:09:25):

I would see some of the senators out in the hallway and such.

Dave Price (00:09:29):

But I had asked them,

Dave Price (00:09:30):

did you all think about playing hardball with the governor on this eminent domain

Dave Price (00:09:37):

bill?

Dave Price (00:09:38):

Did the thought go through your mind about sort of calling a big time out and not

Dave Price (00:09:45):

agreeing to do any budgets until the governor signed the eminent domain

Dave Price (00:09:50):

restrictions?

Dave Price (00:09:52):

and there were a few members now mind you I'm not talking to leadership these are

Dave Price (00:09:57):

the rank and file and they everybody I happen to be talking to and I would say full

Dave Price (00:10:02):

disclosure they were all those who supported the bill I wasn't talking to any

Dave Price (00:10:07):

opponents but they all said that had been discussed but I don't know how seriously

Dave Price (00:10:13):

it was discussed nor do I know if leadership ever really

Dave Price (00:10:17):

Thought about it and leadership didn't do an avail at the end of the night,

Dave Price (00:10:21):

end of the morning,

Dave Price (00:10:21):

whatever you want to say when the session was done.

Dave Price (00:10:23):

So I couldn't really ask about any of that.

Dave Price (00:10:25):

But I found it interesting that a few of them were at least intrigued by the idea

Dave Price (00:10:29):

of playing hardball.

Dave Price (00:10:31):

And in the end, leadership decided not to play that way.

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:34):

Yeah,

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:35):

that's,

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:36):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:36):

that would be the big,

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:38):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:39):

the big hurdle to get over is that leadership doesn't want to do that.

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:44):

They have to keep negotiating with this governor.

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:47):

you know, for another session after this one.

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:51):

And yeah,

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:52):

that's kind of a nuclear option,

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:55):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:55):

to try to hold the governor's feet to the fire.

Kathie Obradovich (00:10:58):

You know, you're better off

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:00):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:00):

if you're going to go that direction,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:02):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:03):

you're better off overriding,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:05):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:05):

trying to get the votes together to overwrite a veto,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:08):

which of course,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:09):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:10):

they,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:11):

the thing is they can't call themselves back into session,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:14):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:15):

they kind of,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:16):

well,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:16):

they could,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:17):

but they kind of need the governor's cooperation to get back in that,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:21):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:21):

especially at the very end of session to get back into a special session.

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:24):

So, so it's, it's, it would be difficult.

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:29):

Yeah.

Dave Price (00:11:29):

You know, and Senate Republican leadership didn't want to do this in the first place.

Dave Price (00:11:33):

So it's really, really, really hard.

Dave Price (00:11:36):

It would have had to have been Pat Grassley on the House side really pushing.

Dave Price (00:11:39):

Yeah.

Dave Price (00:11:41):

Yeah.

Dave Price (00:11:41):

It makes it probably imploded everything.

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:44):

Yeah,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:44):

it's kind of when you think about it,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:46):

it's kind of miraculous that they got that bill passed at all when you've got

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:51):

you've got one chamber that's completely,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:53):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:54):

half the Republicans and the leadership against it.

Kathie Obradovich (00:11:58):

That that is it's pretty amazing that they were first of all,

Kathie Obradovich (00:12:02):

that those 12 Republicans were able to hang together in the face of what I have to

Kathie Obradovich (00:12:07):

assume was pretty incredible pressure from their colleagues and their leadership to

Kathie Obradovich (00:12:12):

get that done.

Kathie Obradovich (00:12:13):

And,

Kathie Obradovich (00:12:13):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:12:13):

we have seen a few social media posts since then that suggest that there may be,

Kathie Obradovich (00:12:21):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:12:22):

continuing bad blood among Republicans over that.

Dave Price (00:12:29):

And we witnessed that.

Dave Price (00:12:30):

And I didn't see this in person Wednesday morning.

Dave Price (00:12:34):

So late Wednesday morning, I was on the House side, so I totally missed this.

Dave Price (00:12:39):

But you had this blow up on the Senate floor with Mark Lofgren from Muscatine,

Dave Price (00:12:46):

who was one of those 12 Republican senators you were talking about.

Dave Price (00:12:50):

And he had...

Dave Price (00:12:52):

was clearly frustrated,

Dave Price (00:12:54):

but he sent out an email to everybody,

Dave Price (00:12:58):

to all the senators,

Dave Price (00:12:59):

to all the representatives,

Dave Price (00:13:02):

both Democrats and Republicans.

Dave Price (00:13:04):

And I'm not going to read the whole thing,

Dave Price (00:13:06):

but he started with,

Dave Price (00:13:07):

dear fellow colleagues of the Senate and the House,

Dave Price (00:13:10):

I know you're all busy trying to finish up the last few days of session,

Dave Price (00:13:13):

but I wanted to take a moment to share with you the disrespect and backlash that

Dave Price (00:13:17):

some members of the Senate are now being given because of

Dave Price (00:13:20):

standing up for the property rights of Iowans.

Dave Price (00:13:22):

And he talked about a bill he was working on,

Dave Price (00:13:24):

which was the one about providing benefits for volunteer firefighters.

Dave Price (00:13:28):

And he found out that he was no longer,

Dave Price (00:13:31):

he had worked on this all through the session,

Dave Price (00:13:33):

but he had found out from leadership he was going to have to move aside.

Dave Price (00:13:37):

Somebody else was going to floor manage the debate on this and it was going to be Adrian Dickey.

Dave Price (00:13:42):

But

Dave Price (00:13:43):

And I'll scroll down a little bit on his email,

Dave Price (00:13:47):

but he's saying that Dan Dawson had told him that his involvement was standing up

Dave Price (00:13:53):

to his own party and going against them and such.

Dave Price (00:13:55):

That's why he was getting pulled off.

Dave Price (00:13:57):

And so then Lofgren wrote in this email,

Dave Price (00:14:00):

I feel this to be a very vengeful way of doing business.

Dave Price (00:14:04):

And I'm sure the general public would be appalled that our state government is

Dave Price (00:14:07):

being run using bullying tactics and threats.

Dave Price (00:14:10):

The dangling carrot has not worked and has only served to disappoint and anger me more.

Dave Price (00:14:15):

I know we can't add this to the standing bill this year,

Dave Price (00:14:17):

but maybe we have to have an ethics course for legislators in the future.

Dave Price (00:14:22):

It was fascinating.

Dave Price (00:14:24):

And so many people were talking about it.

Dave Price (00:14:26):

And, of course, it got leaked to the media, which is no surprise.

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:30):

Yeah, well, and actually another senator posted that whole letter on social media.

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:35):

Yeah.

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:36):

So.

Dave Price (00:14:38):

How unusual.

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:39):

Yes.

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:40):

Well, I mean, again, it's been such a long week.

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:45):

I don't know if we talked about this last week, but the level of.

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:52):

vitriol,

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:52):

I guess,

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:53):

the level of scorn,

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:56):

really,

Kathie Obradovich (00:14:57):

that we were seeing from some Republicans against other Republicans during that

Kathie Obradovich (00:15:03):

eminent domain debate was shocking and eye-opening.

Kathie Obradovich (00:15:09):

You had people who were opposing the legislation calling the

Kathie Obradovich (00:15:13):

The supporters,

Kathie Obradovich (00:15:14):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:15:16):

naive and,

Kathie Obradovich (00:15:17):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:15:18):

essentially calling names to your fellow Republicans.

Kathie Obradovich (00:15:24):

And it was it really surprised me that they took it to that level in public.

Dave Price (00:15:33):

Yeah,

Dave Price (00:15:34):

there were so many things I feel like we've seen the last couple of weeks that

Dave Price (00:15:38):

maybe don't surprise you when things really blow up like in a private caucus

Dave Price (00:15:42):

meeting,

Dave Price (00:15:42):

you know,

Dave Price (00:15:43):

which is always why we wish we could be,

Dave Price (00:15:45):

you know,

Dave Price (00:15:46):

like a hidden camera on the wall to witness these caucus meetings,

Dave Price (00:15:49):

because you always hear secondhand about,

Dave Price (00:15:51):

oh,

Dave Price (00:15:51):

so-and-so is yelling at so-and-so and whatever.

Dave Price (00:15:53):

And it's like they get it out of their system,

Dave Price (00:15:55):

then they go out on the floor,

Dave Price (00:15:56):

and for the most part,

Dave Price (00:15:57):

they get along and whatever,

Dave Price (00:15:58):

whatever.

Dave Price (00:16:00):

You know,

Dave Price (00:16:00):

it started a couple of weeks ago where you had a few of them kind of stand up on

Dave Price (00:16:03):

the Senate floor and essentially call out their leadership.

Dave Price (00:16:06):

And that was so unusual to begin with.

Dave Price (00:16:09):

But it seems like it just keeps going up and up and up and up and up.

Dave Price (00:16:13):

And that was in my head.

Dave Price (00:16:15):

almost the whole time,

Dave Price (00:16:16):

Wednesday,

Dave Price (00:16:17):

especially overnight when you're just sitting there questioning your life choices

Dave Price (00:16:21):

about why you're sitting there in the middle of the night instead of home.

Dave Price (00:16:24):

And as I joked to a few of the other media members there,

Dave Price (00:16:28):

I said,

Dave Price (00:16:28):

do you realize in the time we've just been sitting here wasting and waiting and

Dave Price (00:16:33):

waiting and waiting,

Dave Price (00:16:33):

we literally could have gone home and had a full night's sleep

Dave Price (00:16:38):

And come back in here with a cup of coffee and been there for this six o'clock

Dave Price (00:16:43):

final vote on this,

Dave Price (00:16:45):

which really didn't feel very good.

Kathie Obradovich (00:16:47):

Yeah, it's just and, you know, a shout out to the House Republican Caucus staff.

Kathie Obradovich (00:16:56):

They do.

Kathie Obradovich (00:16:57):

They did a really good job and they have done.

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:00):

a really good job of trying to keep us in the media posted about what their plans

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:07):

are and what bills are coming up and when they're coming back to the floor and

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:11):

those kinds of things.

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:13):

I would kill to have that kind of communication from the Senate Republican caucus staff.

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:21):

You know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:22):

and even that sort of fell off,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:25):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:25):

sort of after midnight,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:27):

everything kind of just went dark and you didn't know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:30):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:31):

and there was one there was an email like,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:33):

I don't know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:34):

about 1130.

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:34):

And,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:35):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:36):

this is absolutely no knock on the caucus staff because they,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:39):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:39):

they have to work with what they've got.

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:40):

But, you know, there was an email saying that they're been told to come to the floor.

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:46):

And then there was nothing more until they came back and adjourned at like 6 in the

Kathie Obradovich (00:17:52):

morning or whatever.

Dave Price (00:17:54):

I feel like we should,

Dave Price (00:17:56):

and I totally appreciate you saying that and couldn't second it any stronger

Dave Price (00:18:01):

because it's so helpful.

Dave Price (00:18:02):

But we also need to point out that one of the key people involved in that,

Dave Price (00:18:07):

and she usually is the only one to provide those frequent updates,

Dave Price (00:18:11):

she was also super pregnant and passed her due date.

Dave Price (00:18:15):

so she kept put pushing is the wrong choice here but she kept pushing her way

Dave Price (00:18:21):

through this and we kept joking about man just like stop like you know like don't

Dave Price (00:18:27):

worry about your baby you know don't don't do that and to her credit she had it

Dave Price (00:18:31):

totally set up so somebody else took over the updates and yes it was hard to do

Dave Price (00:18:36):

those updates overnight because nobody knew what the heck was going on his

Dave Price (00:18:39):

leadership was bad hashing all this out behind the scenes but

Dave Price (00:18:42):

I felt like that made it even more impressive, that commitment to it.

Dave Price (00:18:47):

But the only place where we didn't get everything was that Pat Grassley didn't do

Dave Price (00:18:52):

an avail with the media when the session was finished at 6.30 in the morning.

Dave Price (00:18:57):

But other than that,

Dave Price (00:18:58):

throughout the session,

Dave Price (00:18:59):

really,

Dave Price (00:18:59):

it was much appreciated that House Republicans did so much to kind of keep us up to

Dave Price (00:19:04):

date and in the loop about what to expect of things.

Kathie Obradovich (00:19:08):

I refrained from joking to this particular staffer.

Kathie Obradovich (00:19:12):

uh in an email that sign and die would be a really lovely baby name yeah uh yeah

Dave Price (00:19:19):

maybe not the second part of the name how about um so what do you make about was

Dave Price (00:19:25):

there anything that surprised you down the stretch i mean if you know we had rumors

Dave Price (00:19:28):

about things that might pipe pop up that you already mentioned um the one thing

Dave Price (00:19:33):

that surprised me a bunch was that the senate ended up going along with the paid

Dave Price (00:19:38):

leave for state workers

Dave Price (00:19:40):

i thought there was the support in the house but didn't think the senate would go

Dave Price (00:19:44):

for that and then that ended up coming through on the final day yeah it made me

Kathie Obradovich (00:19:48):

wonder if that was one of the governor's um you know musts that you know because

Kathie Obradovich (00:19:54):

they you know we talk about the negotiations between the house and senate and

Kathie Obradovich (00:19:57):

that's what we see play out on the floor but who we the person that we don't see

Kathie Obradovich (00:20:02):

who's equally important in these budget negotiations is the governor and

Kathie Obradovich (00:20:06):

And so we did see a couple of her priorities move at the very last minute.

Kathie Obradovich (00:20:13):

There were a couple of her priorities that were left behind.

Kathie Obradovich (00:20:16):

But I thought that maybe the paid leave thing was one that she I mean,

Kathie Obradovich (00:20:21):

she did announce that in her condition of the state.

Kathie Obradovich (00:20:24):

So clearly a priority for her.

Kathie Obradovich (00:20:26):

And I figured that she was the one who was pushing for that at the end.

Dave Price (00:20:30):

The thing that never came through,

Dave Price (00:20:32):

despite there being rumors about it,

Dave Price (00:20:34):

would be the property tax.

Dave Price (00:20:36):

Bill,

Dave Price (00:20:36):

and we knew all along,

Dave Price (00:20:37):

and I felt like if you listened early in this session,

Dave Price (00:20:41):

it was the Senate Republicans with,

Dave Price (00:20:44):

we're going to get this done this year,

Dave Price (00:20:45):

we're going to get this done.

Dave Price (00:20:46):

And while Speaker Grassley did talk about it,

Dave Price (00:20:49):

I think in his opening day remarks about it,

Dave Price (00:20:52):

he never seemed to have the same...

Dave Price (00:20:54):

time frame and nor did he feel at least in his comments to all of us that this had

Dave Price (00:21:00):

to be done this year and his preference was this is super complicated we are going

Dave Price (00:21:05):

to work not to screw over the the local communities by doing something too fast

Dave Price (00:21:12):

just to do it and we want to make sure that everybody's involved in the process etc

Dave Price (00:21:17):

but didn't seem to have that same

Dave Price (00:21:20):

demand that this gets done in one year and maybe it's something they needed to

Dave Price (00:21:24):

finish up next year.

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:25):

Yeah.

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:26):

So two things.

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:27):

And I actually, I think that was smart on Grassley's part for two reasons.

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:31):

One,

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:32):

I think he's probably I mean,

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:35):

he's been around long enough to know that and probably to experience some of the

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:41):

unintended consequences from property tax bills.

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:45):

You know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:46):

there have been situations where,

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:48):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:49):

you get you give a promise to local governments to get a bill passed.

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:53):

Then you have to renege on those promises, back bills, et cetera.

Kathie Obradovich (00:21:57):

So so I think that he knows that trying to work out what those unintended

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:02):

consequences are beforehand is a good use of your time.

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:07):

Secondly, when do you want to pass a tax cut?

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:12):

When do you really want to pass a tax cut?

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:15):

Not this year.

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:17):

You want to pass it next year in the election year.

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:19):

And I think that Pat Grassley knows that they're not going to be able to come back

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:23):

and pass another big income tax cut next year.

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:25):

They don't have the money to do it.

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:29):

Yes,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:29):

this property tax bill,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:30):

the way they're proposing it,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:32):

would cost money out of the state because they're talking about the state taking

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:37):

over more of the cost of K-12 education.

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:41):

But

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:43):

Frankly,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:43):

the big cost is in the future,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:47):

one,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:48):

and two,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:49):

not on state government,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:50):

but on local governments.

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:51):

So I think that in a lean budget year,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:56):

if you feel like you have to cut taxes,

Kathie Obradovich (00:22:59):

property taxes are the way to go.

Kathie Obradovich (00:23:01):

And I think that Grassley has figured that out.

Dave Price (00:23:05):

Yeah, I totally agree.

Dave Price (00:23:06):

And regardless of whether he decides to run for governor or not run for governor,

Dave Price (00:23:11):

maybe he just stays where he is next year.

Dave Price (00:23:13):

But that would seem to give them something because it's hard to see what they're

Dave Price (00:23:17):

going to come up with for next year for priorities,

Dave Price (00:23:20):

since they've done a lot of the stuff that they've talked about.

Dave Price (00:23:23):

And property taxes, in theory, could be the big signature one of the session.

Dave Price (00:23:26):

And as you start kind of game playing out here, they're going to have to look at this revenue.

Dave Price (00:23:31):

So it's going to be $900 million deficit this year to start tapping that $6 billion in reserves.

Dave Price (00:23:39):

can start doing that for a few years but then you know and they've already warned

Dave Price (00:23:43):

about you know is federal support going to going to shrink in the future here is

Dave Price (00:23:48):

whatever happens with doge i'm not sure doge is really on the federal level brought

Dave Price (00:23:53):

the extravagant savings that uh that they talked about at first but clearly they've

Dave Price (00:23:59):

they've worked to maybe restrict some spending and as we talk congress is

Dave Price (00:24:03):

I don't know what the heck's happening with the big, beautiful bill that Trump wanted.

Dave Price (00:24:07):

But regardless,

Dave Price (00:24:09):

they have to be realistic that we may not get as much from the feds as we have

Dave Price (00:24:13):

been.

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:14):

Just an aside here,

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:17):

I'm part of a national network of not-for-profit newsrooms called State's Newsroom.

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:22):

And every Friday I look through all of the,

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:25):

especially the Midwest outlets,

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:28):

because I do a little roundup in my newsletter.

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:30):

And there's actually a ballot issue now in Ohio that just got approved,

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:35):

not by voters yet,

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:37):

but approved to be a ballot issue to actually eliminate the property tax in Ohio.

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:43):

Oh, wow.

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:44):

Yeah, isn't that interesting?

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:47):

And one of the things I like to take note of is what's going on in these other

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:50):

states,

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:50):

because a lot of times some of those ideas end up in Iowa,

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:54):

especially red state ideas.

Kathie Obradovich (00:24:56):

So I thought that was kind of interesting that there's actually an effort.

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:00):

And of course, we don't have that kind of

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:02):

ballot referendum issue where you can just,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:05):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:05):

get a petition together and put a referendum up to create a law.

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:10):

But yeah, this is what they want to do in Ohio is actually eliminate the property tax.

Dave Price (00:25:14):

I don't want to put you on the spot,

Dave Price (00:25:16):

but do you have any idea how they make up for the revenue there?

Dave Price (00:25:19):

No, no.

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:20):

And,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:20):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:21):

so,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:21):

I mean,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:22):

this is a citizen ballot issue,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:23):

so they don't have to,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:25):

they don't have to figure that out.

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:27):

And that's going to be the big,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:28):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:28):

the big downfall about getting that passed is,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:32):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:25:32):

so how do you make up for the revenue?

Dave Price (00:25:37):

I did briefly talk to the governor a couple of weeks ago about,

Dave Price (00:25:41):

you know,

Dave Price (00:25:41):

her decision and not run again and such.

Dave Price (00:25:43):

And I said, um,

Dave Price (00:25:46):

that she is not going to be able to reach her stated goal of,

Dave Price (00:25:49):

you know,

Dave Price (00:25:50):

getting the personal income tax down to zero by the end of this term.

Dave Price (00:25:54):

And then she kind of, she said, yeah, and then she kind of segued into something else.

Dave Price (00:25:58):

But it made me kind of think ahead,

Dave Price (00:26:02):

and I wonder what she's going to pitch in that final condition of the state

Dave Price (00:26:06):

address,

Dave Price (00:26:06):

you know,

Dave Price (00:26:07):

because

Dave Price (00:26:08):

taxes you just it's just going to be really hard to do much with taxes yeah what's

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:13):

your what's your legacy yeah you know what what will what will kim reynolds legacy

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:19):

be uh and you know i i would i have to think that she's thinking about that now um

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:26):

you know as she as she thinks about what she wants to bring to the legislature next

Dave Price (00:26:29):

year all right so speaking of the legislature what else what else piqued your

Dave Price (00:26:34):

interest those last couple days anything else stick out

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:38):

Oh, well, let's see.

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:41):

I mean,

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:43):

there were a couple of bills that they've been trying for years,

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:49):

literally years to get passed.

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:52):

And one of those,

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:54):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:55):

is really kind of inside baseball things,

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:58):

but the Grain Indemnity Fund,

Kathie Obradovich (00:26:59):

believe it or not,

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:00):

um that so if you're a farmer this is a big deal because if you're if you're

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:05):

selling your grain to an elevator or co-op and your buyer goes bankrupt um this is

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:11):

the fund where you can get money um get money back and this was sort of um

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:16):

something that happened after the farm crisis when a bunch of elevators went belly up.

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:23):

And so there was,

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:27):

what was it,

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:27):

two years ago that three of those big grain cooperatives or buyers went bankrupt.

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:34):

And so for the first time in a long, long time, the fund dropped below the

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:42):

where they had to actually start charging farmers more,

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:45):

because it's farmers who are paying into this fund.

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:48):

So, I mean, there's been a couple of years of going back and forth.

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:52):

The House wanted it structured one way, the Senate wanted it another way.

Kathie Obradovich (00:27:57):

And so they finally they finally came out and and finished that.

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:02):

So I thought that was interesting that there was that bill that they've been trying

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:06):

for years and years.

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:08):

You know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:08):

you obviously didn't happen on the final day,

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:11):

but eminent domain,

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:13):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:14):

which went on for years and years.

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:17):

And then the Opioid Settlement Fund.

Dave Price (00:28:19):

That's what I was going to say.

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:21):

Yeah.

Kathie Obradovich (00:28:21):

So if you want to if you want to explain what that one is, but.

Dave Price (00:28:25):

Yeah, and there was so much arguing.

Dave Price (00:28:27):

So it was 56,

Dave Price (00:28:30):

$57 million,

Dave Price (00:28:30):

whatever the settlement,

Dave Price (00:28:32):

56,

Dave Price (00:28:33):

that was sitting in there in this settlement from the pharmaceutical companies for

Dave Price (00:28:38):

opioid addiction,

Dave Price (00:28:41):

prescribing too much of this stuff.

Dave Price (00:28:43):

So we're getting people hooked on this stuff all over the country with all the

Dave Price (00:28:46):

consequences that came from that.

Dave Price (00:28:48):

And so this has been, I think this was the third year they've been arguing about this, right?

Dave Price (00:28:53):

Yeah, the fund is three years old.

Dave Price (00:28:55):

Three years old, okay.

Dave Price (00:28:56):

And so it's kind of one of those things where,

Dave Price (00:29:00):

you know,

Dave Price (00:29:00):

you talk to these organizations that are part of drug treatment and prevention and

Dave Price (00:29:05):

recovery and all of this,

Dave Price (00:29:07):

and it's obviously mind-boggling to them that you've got all of this money right

Dave Price (00:29:12):

there.

Dave Price (00:29:14):

This is not trying to convince somebody to appropriate more money.

Dave Price (00:29:20):

It's just how to spend it.

Dave Price (00:29:23):

and in the end you know i there were clearly some that weren't thrilled with the

Dave Price (00:29:27):

way they're doing it but it's if i remember my numbers right 75 of the money will

Dave Price (00:29:33):

be doled out by the department of health and human services and another 25 by the

Dave Price (00:29:38):

attorney general's office and it it was uh i mean it was a compromise i don't know

Dave Price (00:29:43):

that people were jumping up and down with the way that it came out and i think

Dave Price (00:29:46):

these organizations are trying to figure out if

Dave Price (00:29:49):

if if these unnamed entities are already sort of figured out or how they're going

Dave Price (00:29:56):

to put this out because there was a lot of different there were a lot of different

Dave Price (00:30:00):

ideas about how this should be put out and they've talked about doing it kind of

Dave Price (00:30:04):

regionally but you've got some existing ones that would want to expand you've got

Dave Price (00:30:08):

some other ones you want to start something so it seems like there's a lot still in

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:11):

flux here yeah they it's house

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:14):

Democrats were the only ones who really got up and spoke against the bill,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:18):

even though even though they did vote for it,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:20):

but they say that they would have preferred more of a bottom up approach where it's

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:24):

actually the providers who,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:26):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:27):

say what they need and.

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:30):

as opposed to a top down approach from the department.

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:34):

But,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:34):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:35):

ultimately,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:36):

and,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:36):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:36):

I think this sort of people don't understand,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:39):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:39):

you've got the entire government controlled by Republicans that they should all

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:45):

agree on something.

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:46):

And this in this bill, I mean, it's really challenging.

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:50):

The goal is at least bipartisan.

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:53):

You know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:53):

they may not have all agreed on the details of it,

Kathie Obradovich (00:30:56):

but but to let that money just pile up for three years because they can't agree on

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:00):

the details of how you how you actually provide the money is it's kind of eye

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:06):

opening to people,

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:07):

I think.

Dave Price (00:31:08):

I think so.

Dave Price (00:31:08):

So maybe that's finally resolved.

Dave Price (00:31:10):

Now we'll see how these two government agencies decide to dole all this out.

Dave Price (00:31:15):

And I don't know that specifically enough.

Dave Price (00:31:17):

I don't know if that's already sort of determined or if they have a lot of

Dave Price (00:31:19):

flexibility on their own.

Dave Price (00:31:21):

I don't know about that.

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:23):

Yeah, well, we may have to wait for it.

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:26):

As often is said on the floor, well, that's why they have administrative rules.

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:31):

Once they pass these bills,

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:34):

then state agencies that have to administer them write rules about how that's done.

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:39):

And a lot of times,

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:40):

a lot of those rules,

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:42):

the legislature leaves things to the imagination and lets the agencies figure it

Kathie Obradovich (00:31:47):

out.

Dave Price (00:31:48):

As we kind of wrap up,

Dave Price (00:31:49):

I think the two things that I walked out of there very slowly Thursday morning.

Dave Price (00:31:55):

Stumbled.

Dave Price (00:31:56):

Stumbled down the stairs.

Dave Price (00:31:57):

It is really, there's always like a feeling to be outside, though, when you're seeing this.

Dave Price (00:32:02):

The sun had already come up.

Dave Price (00:32:04):

That's such an incredible sight with the Golden Dome and you've got the sun coming up.

Dave Price (00:32:09):

It's truly amazing.

Dave Price (00:32:10):

And maybe I was just so delirious at that point that I could have looked at a tree

Dave Price (00:32:14):

and found it amazing and just stared at it at that point.

Dave Price (00:32:16):

But I was kind of thinking about two things that,

Dave Price (00:32:19):

you know,

Dave Price (00:32:19):

what's the governor going to do with this eminent domain bill?

Dave Price (00:32:22):

And then,

Dave Price (00:32:22):

and I appreciate that they're talking about billions of dollars in spending and all

Dave Price (00:32:26):

these budget bills,

Dave Price (00:32:27):

but I just couldn't help think about what will the lingering...

Dave Price (00:32:33):

damage whatever the right word would be from this implosion especially on the

Dave Price (00:32:39):

senate republican side about eminent domain and to have things play out like that

Dave Price (00:32:44):

you know is it just that it's awkward it's uncomfortable it's a couple of weeks of

Dave Price (00:32:50):

this you know people going after each other but then the session ends everybody

Dave Price (00:32:54):

goes home do they kind of chill out and cool off a little bit

Dave Price (00:32:58):

and maybe either blow off steam or just kind of let the balloon empty,

Dave Price (00:33:03):

and then by the time they reconvene in January,

Dave Price (00:33:06):

maybe things aren't as bad?

Dave Price (00:33:07):

Or does this have some lasting impact?

Dave Price (00:33:11):

Yeah, and on leadership.

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:13):

Some of us carry grudges longer than others.

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:17):

But I think you're right.

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:18):

If that blow up had happened at the beginning of the legislative session,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:22):

it probably would have caused issues,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:26):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:26):

all the way to the end.

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:28):

Because, you know, you keep having those wounds reopen.

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:32):

And,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:33):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:34):

we talked about Mark Lofgren,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:35):

but I'm guessing that there might have been some people who said,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:40):

if he's running the bill,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:41):

I'm not going to vote for it.

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:43):

It may not have actually been a leadership issue.

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:46):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:47):

trying to be vindictive toward him,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:48):

but maybe more toward trying to get the bill passed and just kind of in a more

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:54):

pragmatic way than a diplomatic way.

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:57):

So,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:58):

yeah,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:58):

I mean,

Kathie Obradovich (00:33:58):

I think that you've got,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:02):

it's human nature and being in the legislature,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:05):

I have to assume

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:09):

is like just about everything else.

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:11):

It's about relationships.

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:13):

And,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:14):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:14):

they're going to,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:15):

I think part of leadership's task will be trying to figure out how to repair some

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:20):

of those relationships,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:23):

either before they come back next year or right away when they do come back,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:28):

if there's lingering hard feelings.

Dave Price (00:34:31):

So what's the transition?

Dave Price (00:34:32):

The session's finished.

Dave Price (00:34:33):

What's the transition at the Iowa Capitol Dispatch?

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:40):

The election has, as you've noticed, has already started.

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:44):

And with our small staff, we

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:46):

We have to kind of play catch up on some of this.

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:48):

But I mean, we are we're definitely sprinting right into election season.

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:54):

Also,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:54):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:34:55):

we always like to kind of start looking to about some of this legislation and and,

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:02):

you know,

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:02):

what the likely effect might be on some of those things.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:05):

We're also still sort of as a as a national organization.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:10):

We're also looking hard at what the federal fallout is.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:17):

We always like the alliteration of what's going on in Washington,

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:22):

the president's executive orders,

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:23):

et cetera,

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:24):

and how those are affecting Iowa.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:26):

So we've got a lot of things to do.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:29):

And people say, oh, what are you going to do now that the legislature is done?

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:33):

It's like, well, our to-do list is really, really long.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:36):

So...

Dave Price (00:35:37):

The difference is that hopefully it doesn't happen overnight as you're working on these things.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:42):

Yes, exactly.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:44):

No more overnighters.

Dave Price (00:35:45):

Amen to that.

Dave Price (00:35:47):

All right.

Dave Price (00:35:47):

Thank you, ma'am.

Dave Price (00:35:48):

Thanks for getting on this afternoon and enjoy a much deserved restful weekend, I hope.

Kathie Obradovich (00:35:54):

yes likewise and i hope that laura is having a margarita wherever she is indeed uh

Dave Price (00:35:59):

thank you all for joining us in what will be our final uh legislative focused iowa

Dave Price (00:36:05):

down ballot podcast and as kathy already brilliantly teed up clearly some of the

Dave Price (00:36:10):

things we'll discuss in the future it's you know how does this legislate has this

Dave Price (00:36:14):

legislation impact us all and of course we're going to have a lot of things to talk

Dave Price (00:36:18):

about with campaign season coming up because uh

Dave Price (00:36:22):

As we start looking at who is getting in,

Dave Price (00:36:23):

who is already in,

Dave Price (00:36:25):

who is not going to get in,

Dave Price (00:36:26):

there'll be a lot of things to kind of chew on as we look forward.

Kathie Obradovich (00:36:30):

One other thing, Dave, on a personal note, I will be learning how to stop looking at my phone.

Kathie Obradovich (00:36:41):

I'm going to have to start practicing.

Kathie Obradovich (00:36:43):

That will be a July 1st law that goes into effect.

Kathie Obradovich (00:36:47):

I'm glad you brought that up.

Kathie Obradovich (00:36:50):

Getting a hands-free setup, et cetera, in my car will be a priority.

Dave Price (00:36:56):

Amen to that.

Dave Price (00:36:57):

That would be wise for all of us.

Dave Price (00:36:58):

I think we don't get truly punished until January, I think, if we break that.

Dave Price (00:37:05):

I mean, and obviously you see a lot of people

Dave Price (00:37:08):

kind of sneak a peek,

Dave Price (00:37:09):

even just sitting at a red light or a stoplight or something,

Dave Price (00:37:11):

but you can't do that either.

Kathie Obradovich (00:37:12):

Oh, no, no more of that.

Kathie Obradovich (00:37:14):

And it's, it will all be safer for it.

Kathie Obradovich (00:37:16):

It's certainly a good thing.

Dave Price (00:37:17):

You and I have a very good friend who,

Dave Price (00:37:19):

uh,

Dave Price (00:37:20):

who went through a heck of an experience when he was cycling because somebody was

Dave Price (00:37:24):

on a phone.

Dave Price (00:37:25):

So,

Dave Price (00:37:26):

uh,

Dave Price (00:37:26):

you know,

Dave Price (00:37:26):

we,

Dave Price (00:37:27):

we know that this can be especially dangerous and this is big picture,

Dave Price (00:37:30):

a good thing for all of us.

Kathie Obradovich (00:37:31):

Yes.

Kathie Obradovich (00:37:32):

And I just bought a bike.

Kathie Obradovich (00:37:33):

So.

Dave Price (00:37:34):

put the phone down folks hey good for you uh all right let's let's wrap up for the

Dave Price (00:37:39):

week thank you all for joining us here on the podcast please check out the writers

Dave Price (00:37:44):

from the iowa writers collaborative about 65 70 people uh writing about all kinds

Dave Price (00:37:48):

of stuff support them if you can forward those columns to your friends and family

Dave Price (00:37:54):

and co-workers all your circles that's that's how this iowa writers collaborative

Dave Price (00:37:58):

grows it's already had some incredible growth but

Dave Price (00:38:01):

help us to continue to grow and thank you all very much for your support thank you

Dave Price (00:38:06):

to Spencer Dirks who is producing this week's podcast and our music by D'Artagnan

Dave Price (00:38:12):

Brown we will see you next week

Get full access to Iowa Down Ballot at iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com/subscribe