State Representative Bobby Kaufmann (R) paid West Liberty a visit Saturday morning, March 2, where he talked with local constituents in the WeLead building.
“This is my first full year representing West Liberty, which I greatly enjoy,” he said. Due to redistricting, the Wilton native technically no longer represents Wilton, though he continues to do so.
He also represents Atalissa, Moscow, West Liberty, West Branch, Durant, Walcott, Bennett and more; basically most of Cedar County, some of Muscatine County, with a chunk of Scott County.
Opening Remarks
Before opening up discussion, Representative Kaufmann brought up several bills he believed to be of particular importance.
The first is aimed at preventing foreign companies, or “adversaries” as Kaufmann called them, from buying up large amounts of farmland in Iowa.
“We had pretty strong foreign land ownership laws already in place, but like any good bureaucracy they find ways to wiggle around,” he said.
The bill was signed into law by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. It does two things:
It gives Iowa’s attorney general prosecution powers against those trying to get around the law using shell companies.
It requires foreign landowners to provide details to the state about their holdings in other states that exceed 250 acres.
Kaufmann mentioned he cosponsored a capital investments bill, which will empower the Iowa Economic Development Authority to put together incentive packages to bring businesses into Iowa.
He then explained his opposition to a bill that reorganizes the funding and oversight of Iowa’s area education agencies (AEA), known to many as the AEA Bill.
“I love our governor, but she did a terrible job rolling the bill out,” said Kaufmann. “I was opposed to it and the House killed it.”
However, he says that when the actual AEAs got involved, he was willing to make amendments to the bill and vote in favor of it. From the beginning, he wanted them involved.
“The amendment that passed was helped written by the AEA’s,” he said. “I was very clear I would vote for something if the AEAs got involved.”
Support of Immigration Bills
As discussion moved from proposed bill to bill, the 36-year-old congressman and farmer wanted to clarify that all bills go through several changes before they’re passed.
“People fixate on the original drafted bill, but most bills change 10 times if not more, and the changes are dramatic,” he said.
Kaufmann made this point after he was questioned about of series of bills in the Iowa House and Senate that target illegal immigration and undocumented workers.
Those bills include:
SF 2340: Allows state officials to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants
HF 2320: Prevents undocumented immigrants from being eligible for in-state tuition
HF 2112: Requires noncitizens to submit documentation to prove their legal residency in the U.S. to be eligible for public assistance.
“You know who I’ve had the most contact from on these immigration bills, particularly here in West Liberty?” he asked, “Legal immigrants.”
Kaufmann tried to distinguish between immigrants that are actively working to become citizens versus those that are not.
“There’s a difference between someone who’s on the pathway to becoming [a citizen], and someone that’s here illegally and wishes to remain in the shadows,” he said.
Accordingly, he plans to vote in favor of the three bills if and when they make the rounds in the State House, saying that many Independents and Democrats are in favor of the bills.
The Role of Libraries
Representative Kaufmann stated that bill HSB 678, which would have allowed city councils to override decisions made by library boards, is dead.
“The bill died. I helped killed it,” said Kaufmann “It was a terrible bill. The bill passed a subcommittee, but then a group of representatives said they wouldn’t vote for it.”
Currently, local library boards of trustees set policy and oversee what books are in the library's collection. Boards are appointed by mayors and approved by city councils.
We need to fix Hwy 30
Kaufmann said he is openly fighting against major improvements to Interstate 80 until the state focuses on fixing issues with Highway 30, the longest highway in the state.
“They promised they’d do it back in 2017,” he said of the Iowa Transportation Commission. “But the director got excited about I-80 and said we’re not doing Hwy 30.”
He said his constituents have already used their taxes to fix Hwy 20, Hwy 64, an overpass in Coralville and putting six lanes in I-80.
“My folks are sick of paying for everybody else’s stuff and not getting their own,” stated Kaufmann. “That was a big deal; we haven’t passed a dictation on highway dollars in, I think, 50 years.”
The proposed bill will require the Iowa Transportation Commission to include plans to make the entire length of Highway 30 four lanes in its long-range planning.
This includes a 40-mile stretch between DeWitt and Lisbon, just east of Cedar Rapids, and between Carroll and Ogden in western Iowa.
Removing Income Tax in Iowa
Kaufmann has filed bills that will eventually eliminate Iowa’s income tax. The key is to reduce the taxes over time, rather than just attempting to completely cut them in one go.
“We’re in such a good financial position, because of all the good decisions made in the last 10 years, that we could reduce income taxes slowly, predictably, methodically, and pay for it using the interest,” he said.
Eliminating income tax in this way would be the first of its kind for any state in the United States, something that Kaufmann is proud to spearhead.
The rate at which the income tax is reduced in stages over several years will be dependent on the economy and inflation, a process that would take more than 20 years to complete.
“Do I think that bill will become law this year? I absolutely do not,” he said. Right now, he just wants input from both parties and all constituents. Basically, he wants everyone to vet it.
“I won’t even give it a committee vote this year, I’ll give it a subcommittee vote so that the experts can come and talk about it,” concluded Kaufmann.