Capitol Letters: AEA reforms pass senate subcommittee last weekKeeping up with state buildings and major maintenance

We finished up the fourth week of this year’s session, and remained as busy as ever as we worked on several major priorities in the legislature.

It was a pleasure to meet with students from all across the district during FFA Day on the Hill on Tuesday. The FFA chapter from Sioux Central spent time with me and gave me information on some innovative agriculture classes that are being offered and how they should be also considered as part of the science curriculum for graduation requirements. They made some very compelling points!

I had the opportunity to meet JD Bumgarner and his family at the Capitol this week. JD is a very creative entrepreneur from Spencer. He is the owner and operator of JD’s Creations specializing in metal artwork. He got his start in metal artwork through the Bucket of Junk project in 4-H and supported by the Iowa State Extension Services. From there the dream of starting his own business was born. JD has an incredible life story. I encourage anyone ever in the Spencer area to stop in and see all of JD’s wonderful works.

Area Education Agencies reforms passed a Senate subcommittee this week. We appreciate the parents, educators, superintendents, administrators and all who came to voice their opinion and give us their perspective. This is how we can best find a solution and progress on this issue for the benefit of all Iowa students. This bill still needs considerable change in the language of the bill before there is any consideration to advance it further. The focus needs to be on improving student achievement and ensuring that the over $529 million of taxpayer funding for AEA services is getting to the classrooms to support student needs in an efficient and effective manner.

Another major education proposal that moved forward this week is Senate Study Bill 3069. SSB 3069 relates to the science of reading and ensures Iowa students are not only better prepared for their education and their careers later in life, but also makes sure they are being taught using reading instruction that is evidence-based.

Some pieces of legislation that I am proud to have drafted and has been moved through subcommittee:

SF 270: An act relating to the criminal offense of being found an accessory after the fact in the case of a murder. The bill increased the penalty from an aggravated misdemeanor to a class D felony.

SF 2075: This bill increases the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program from a minimum of 10 instructional hours per week to 20 instructional hours per week over a two-year period. Funding would also increase from the current 0.5 FTE per pupil funding to 1.0 FTE per pupil funding over a two year period. This would be targeted for students from families that meet 185% of the federal poverty limit.

SF 2105: An act to increase the cap on operational sharing funds from 21 FTE to 29 FTE with the increase of funding to support it. This encourages school districts to share positions that are often times difficult to fill or very expensive. School resource officers, guidance counselors and social workers and school psychologists were recently added to the list of eligible positions. Raising the cap gives schools the financial resources to provide a safe and orderly environment for their students.

HF 255: I am working with a House member on advancing this bill in the Senate. It is a bill that modifies the requirements for licensure through the teacher intern license program. This is to help get more teachers into the teaching field coming out of other professions in an effort to address teacher shortages.

It is an honor to serve Iowa Senate district 3 and to be a voice for rural Northwest Iowa at the Capitol. Please reach out anytime with questions or concerns at lynn.evans@ legis.iowa.gov

Keeping up with state buildings and major maintenance

Iowa’s state facilities have a continuing need for maintenance, according to the updated list of needed projects by the Department of Administrative Services. The latest list of major maintenance projects at state buildings encompasses 515 different projects across the state at 60 individual facilities. The total cost of addressing the identified needs is $473.5 million. This is an increase of nearly $20 million over the major maintenance list from last summer.

The list’s growth since last fall is primarily due to the adoption of the state government realignment bill. That piece of legislation moved community-based corrections to the Department of Corrections and the Iowa School for the Deaf from the Board of Regents to the Department of Education.  The upkeep of these facilities now falls to the Department of Administrative Services.

The Capitol Complex is home to many of the projects on the list, including the building with the largest amount of potential expenses — the State Historical Building. This building, constructed in the 1980’s, has had significant work done in recent years. Still, the Department of Administrative Services has identified an additional $75.5 million of work that still needs to be done to what some people have characterized as a “lemon” of a building.

Another facility with a significant maintenance price tag is the Hoover State Office Building. This facility, constructed as part of the state’s 1970’s building boom on the Capitol Complex, is slated for a number of major renovations. DAS’s requests are for $33.6 million of maintenance work, including an overhaul of the building HVAC systems which have not been replaced since construction.

The Wallace State Office Building remains a significant part of the major maintenance list even while many agencies are being moved to other quarters and some have suggested tearing down the 1970’s era building. DAS still has a number of maintenance projects proposed for the building. These would total $27.5 million if implemented.

Other buildings on the Capitol Complex with substantial maintenance needs are:

• Grimes State Office Building — $13.6 million

• Lucas State Office Building — $2.4 million

• Jessie Parker State Office Building — $12.3 million

• Iowa Workforce Development Building — $11.1 million

• Capitol Complex Energy Plant — $11.9 million

In addition to the buildings, there are a number of projects proposed for other parts of the Capitol Complex. A number of parking lots would be resurfaced and the Complex’s underground tunnel system would be overhauled. These projects and others would cost an additional $35.2 million.

As for the centerpiece of the Complex, the Iowa State Capitol’s major maintenance needs are relatively small. Thanks to the Legislative Branch’s responsible management of the building, the Capitol has just $1.8 million of projects. Most of that involves needed work on the Capitol’s west terrace.

Major maintenance needs go beyond the Capitol Complex. State facilities under the control of the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health & Human Services are included in the list. The state prison system has projects at every facility, covering needs from security systems and fences to roof replacements and new doorframes.

The total request for each prison is:

• Anamosa State Penitentiary — $24.6 million

• Clarinda correctional facility — $19.7 million

• Fort Dodge correctional facility — $11.3 million

• Mount Pleasant correctional facility —$14.7 million

• Newton correctional facility — $21.6 million

• North Central correctional facility (Rockwell City) — $1.8 million

• Iowa Correctional Institute for Women (Mitchellville) — $$370,000

• Iowa Medical & Classification Center (Oakdale) — $23.1 million

• Iowa State Penitentiary (Fort Madison) —$4.1 million

The facilities at Newton, Fort Dodge, and Clarinda were all constructed around the same time and used similar designs. Since these facilities are around 25 years old, a number of basic systems appear on the major maintenance list for their initial replacement. The addition of the community-based correction facilities to DOC’s table of organization has added additional maintenance projects throughout the state. Six of the eight CBC districts have projects that are now on the DAS, adding $10.8 million to the total maintenance need.

The Department of Health and Human Services also has a number of facilities around the state that also have maintenance needs. Leading this list is the Woodward Resource Center, which provides services to Iowans with intellectual disabilities.  Woodward has $35.6 million of maintenance needs, with most of it coming for a new campus-wide utility system. The Legislature appropriated funds for the first year of this five-year project in the FY 2024 Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund budget bill and Governor Reynolds has proposed funding the next two phases of the project in FY 2025.

Other DHHS facilities with major maintenance requests are:

• Cherokee Mental Health Institute & Civil Commitment Unit for Sex Offenders — $14.2 million

• Glenwood Resource Center — $10.4 million

• Independence Mental Health Institute —$4.6 million

• State Training School (Eldora) — $5.7 million

For the past five years, the legislature has committed to addressing major maintenance needs at state facilities. This commitment has resulted in $92 million going to fund major maintenance projects. For Fiscal Year 2025, Gov. Reynolds has proposed to increase the level of major maintenance funding to $35 million.