Special session, NYT/Siena poll, first IA-02 and IA-04 debates

And with no amendments, lawmakers passed a bill that changes the state's mega program that stands for Major Economic Growth Attraction to allow larger tax incentives for big projects involving more than a billion dollars in investments.

The law needed to be changed for the state to negotiate a deal with Masabi Metallics, which wants to build a steel mill in Lee County.

The old mega program, which was passed a couple of years ago, allowed for up to two projects to qualify for up to a 5% tax credit if they qualified, and that could be spread out over five years.

And so they wanted to do one project that could be up to 10% spread out over 10 years.

And to call it a tax credit, it's going to be transferable or refundable.

is another way to say that.

And State Senator Herman Kornbach, who represents this area in Ames, said that it's almost misleading to call it a tax credit because these refundable tax credits are more like a grant.

If this company gets awarded this project and if they owe no taxes at all, the state is going to write them a check for the amount.

So the fiscal note indicated that this could cost between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion, between the up to 10% of the refundable tax credit, and then also other existing state sales tax and other tax credits that already were part of the mega program that are not being changed.

The bill sailed through the Iowa House by 75 votes to 17, but for hours on Friday, its passage in the Senate was in doubt.

In fact, Republicans didn't initially have the votes to get the bill through the Ways and Means Committees.

They had to make a last minute change on that committee.

Two members were replaced.

One of them, Dawn Driscoll, supported the bill.

She apparently asked to be replaced because she wasn't sure she would be in Des Moines on time for the committee meeting on Friday morning.

But Jeff Taylor was one of the Republicans who opposed the bill.

He was replaced and it only passed by a single vote.

So if they had not taken him off the committee, the bill would have stalled there.

And this is also different because for the last five or six years, it's been the Iowa Senate that has been lockstep with the governor on almost all of her major initiatives.

And if there was ever a problem getting something the governor wanted, either through committee or or out on the floor.

It was in the Iowa House in that Republican caucus.

So this was just so striking to me, and I wasn't expecting it going into that special session last Friday.

In the Senate, the final vote on Friday evening was 28 to 19, with six Republicans voting against the bill and two Democrats in favor of it.

And the Republicans, they have 32 seats right now in the Senate.

There's that one vacancy since Julian Garrett passed away.

And with no amendments, lawmakers passed a bill that changes the state's mega program that stands for Major Economic Growth Attraction to allow larger tax incentives for big projects involving more than a billion dollars in investments.

The law needed to be changed for the state to negotiate a deal with Masabi Metallics, which wants to build a steel mill in Lee County.

The old mega program, which was passed a couple of years ago, allowed for up to two projects to qualify for up to a 5% tax credit if they qualified, and that could be spread out over five years.

And so they wanted to do one project that could be up to 10% spread out over 10 years.

And to call it a tax credit, it's going to be transferable or refundable.

is another way to say that.

And State Senator Herman Kornbach, who represents this area in Ames, said that it's almost misleading to call it a tax credit because these refundable tax credits are more like a grant.

If this company gets awarded this project and if they owe no taxes at all, the state is going to write them a check for the amount.

So the fiscal note indicated that this could cost between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion, between the up to 10% of the refundable tax credit, and then also other existing state sales tax and other tax credits that already were part of the mega program that are not being changed.

The bill sailed through the Iowa House by 75 votes to 17, but for hours on Friday, its passage in the Senate was in doubt.

In fact, Republicans didn't initially have the votes to get the bill through the Ways and Means Committees.

They had to make a last minute change on that committee.

Two members were replaced.

One of them, Dawn Driscoll, supported the bill.

She apparently asked to be replaced because she wasn't sure she would be in Des Moines on time for the committee meeting on Friday morning.

But Jeff Taylor was one of the Republicans who opposed the bill.

He was replaced and it only passed by a single vote.

So if they had not taken him off the committee, the bill would have stalled there.

And this is also different because for the last five or six years, it's been the Iowa Senate that has been lockstep with the governor on almost all of her major initiatives.

And if there was ever a problem getting something the governor wanted, either through committee or or out on the floor.

It was in the Iowa House in that Republican caucus.

So this was just so striking to me, and I wasn't expecting it going into that special session last Friday.

In the Senate, the final vote on Friday evening was 28 to 19, with six Republicans voting against the bill and two Democrats in favor of it.

And the Republicans, they have 32 seats right now in the Senate.

There's that one vacancy since Julian Garrett passed away.