Public Policy: Looking Back, Looking Forward – Get Involved!

July 15, 2022 | The State of Play for the Food Manufacturing Industry JD Davis, Vice President, Public Policy, ABI, jddavis@iowaabi.org

At the writing of this article, the 30 day window for Governor Reynolds to take final action on legislation sent to her at the end of the 2022 Legislative Session has closed, and has cocluded. The Governor approved many pieces of legislation that were ABI priorities. The ABI policy process groups priorities into five committees - Employment and Workforce, Tax, Environment, Economic Growth, and Workplace and Product Safety. The 2022 Session was a success across the board, and below are the highlights for just two of our policy areas:

IN WORKFORCE

  • The unemployment system is reformed to become a re-employment system with caseworkers assigned to displaced workforce participants in the first week of their unemployment to keep them connected to job opportunities. Benefit duration was reduced from 26 to 16 weeks to recognize the typical time needed to re-enter the workforce and to encourage job-seeking.
  • Work-Based Learning programs that expose high school students to job opportunities in their hometowns while earning school credit are now easier to administer, and more participation is expected.
  • Childcare availability in the workforce was addressed through business incentive grants for onsite childcare and to secure additional slots from available childcare to match with workforce.
  • The Workforce Housing Tax Credit program funding is continued at the high levels established in 2021.
  • Last Dollar Scholarship funding for needed worker training and the registered apprenticeships programs were reauthorized.

IN TAXES

  • Individual tax brackets were reduced to a single rate that will drop to 3.9% by 2026.
  • Corporate tax brackets were reduced to a single rate that will drop to 5.5% over time.
  • All taxes on retirement income are eliminated by 2023.
  • Bank franchise taxes were reduced to 3.5% to better align with state tax levels for other lending institutions.
  • New rules for the application of taxes on the production of foods for human consumption could have exposed more products to taxation. The legislature acted to ensure that the new rule would not lead to new tax exposure.

The Legislature and the Governor are to be commended for being responsive to the needs of Iowa employers and specifically the members of ABI. None of this would have been possible without the strong leadership of ABI members in setting clear public policy goals. 

Now it is time for members of the association to look ahead and plan for 2023. Each August the five public policy committees meet to develop priorities for the upcoming year. Subject matter experts and other interested parties from ABI member companies are encouraged to attend and guide this process and to be a resource throughout the policy-making process.

To become involved, or for details on how to become a committee member simply visit www.iowaabi.org/events. For questions on this or any of the policy successes listed above contact JD Davis at 515-979-1212 or jddavis@iowaabi.org.