House and Senate bills have begun being pre-filed with the state’s legislative research council, and have now appeared on the LRC’s web site for review and dissection.
A few interesting ones are among the group, most notably House Bill 1006 – authorizing counties to impose sales and use taxes. Such an action would represent a sea change in how counties raise revenue, as they had been restricted from using sales tax proceeds in the past.
Fred Deutsch’s bill – House Bill 1008 – An act to restrict access to certain restrooms and locker rooms in public schools is sure to be one of the early and controversial measures, given the level of discussion the topic usually brings. The act is sponsored by Representatives Deutsch, Craig, Al Novstrup, Partridge, Russell, Schoenbeck, Verchio, and Zikmund and Senators Brock Greenfield, Haverly, Holien, Olson, and Ernie Otten.
If you think about the names on the list, this represents a fairly broad base among the ideological viewpoints of legislators. So it may carry far more weight than you might think.
The list of what’s been filed as of this writing is provided below. Click around, and let us know what you think.
House Bills
| Bill | Title |
| HB 1001 | repeal the Midwestern Regional Higher Education Compact. |
| HB 1002 | eliminate certain reporting requirements for the county general fund. |
| HB 1003 | revise certain administrative functions regarding county government. |
| HB 1004 | make form and style revisions to certain statutes regarding counties. |
| HB 1005 | revise and repeal certain fees that are established to compensate counties for services provided by county officials. |
| HB 1006 | authorize counties to impose sales and use taxes. |
| HB 1007 | make an appropriation to revise and update the values and methods used to determine the agricultural land production capacity and to declare an emergency. |
| HB 1008 | restrict access to certain restrooms and locker rooms in public schools. |
Senate Bills
| Bill | Title |
| SB 1 | revise certain provisions regarding the Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council. |
| SB 2 | revise the distribution of the revenue from the alcoholic beverage fund. |
| SB 3 | revise the income criteria for determining if property is classified as agricultural land for property tax purposes. |
| SB 4 | provide for the assessment of certain agricultural land as noncropland. |
| SB 5 | revise the procedure to initiate a school district boundary change. |