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March 18, 2016 | Week 10 Summary
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Week 10 of the 2016 Session Completed.
The 2016 legislature has now completed week 10 and it was a fairly slow week at the Capitol but there is considerable talk among lawmakers that it appears that the session may actually adjourn on or around the April 19th deadline. It appears that some of the most contentious issues are starting to get some agreement by both sides of the aisle.
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Tax Coupling Sent to Governor.
The legislature has passed legislation which will couple Iowa's tax code with the internal revenue code thus allowing Iowa taxpayers the ability to expense, rather than depreciate over a period of time, the first $500,000 of equipment costs.
The provision only allows the coupling for the 2015 tax year. This is a major victory for the Iowa business community. The Senate passed the provision 50-0 and the House passed the bill 79-18. A special thanks to all the IMTA members that got involved with this issue and made calls to their respective legislators as well as the Governor's office.
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Focus on Appropriation.
With the April 19 adjournment date closing in, the legislature now begins to focus on the budget items.
The revenue estimates provided to the legislature this week follow earlier estimates of approximately 3 percent revenue growth in the state's revenue. It is these numbers the legislature must base the state's $7 plus billion budget around.
It appears both the House and the Senate are close to agreement on K-12 funding, which is always a contentious part of the budget. If this is true, the legislature may actually be able to come close to the April 19 adjournment date.
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National News.
F4A Provision NOT Included in Aviation Bill
An important trucking related provision addressing meal and rest breaks for drivers was not added to the aviation bill that The Senate Commerce Committee took up yesterday. At this point, the priority is to reauthorize the funding of the Federal Aviation Administration through the end of fiscal year 2017. The purpose of the F4A provision relative to the trucking industry was to reassert the uniform and consistent set of work rules that Congress had previously determined made sense for the interstate movement of freight. The FAA bill was one of the legislative vehicles that could do that. At this time, similar to the highway bill, it seems as though the FAA bill will merely get an extension to July 15th.
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2016 IMTA Platinum Sponsors
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IMTA Lobbyist
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IMTA President
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