February 20 saw the passage of the first legislative funnel. This is a deadline lawmakers set to winnow down bills eligible for consideration for the remainder of the session. It doesn’t apply to spending bills, but does a good job of narrowing what lawmakers will focus on around the midpoint of their time spent under the Golden Dome in Des Moines.
I didn’t have high hopes for this legislative session. Considering the last handful of years, the bar had been set low. But I had a sneaking suspicion they could always go lower. So I’m kind of surprised they didn’t go even lower this year. But then again, it’s not a report card to pin to the refrigerator either.
It goes without saying anything introduced by House or Senate Democrats went nowhere. Bipartisanship is a word that has been unheard of at our statehouse for at least a decade now. So that means fully funding our public education is again a pipe dream. And it means even half-hearted measures introduced by Democrats to combat our water crisis died a quiet death…