Nothing good comes after midnight

The 91st session of the Iowa Legislature closed Sunday after approximately 34 hours of deliberation from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon. I usually rejoice when the session is complete and there are no more decisions being made under the Golden Dome in Des Moines. The normal ending of the session is in the middle of the night when lobbyists and citizens have exited the building. I guess that wasn’t enough drama for the final year of Governor Reynolds’ career.

When I was a teenager and wanted to stay out after curfew, Mom said, “Pat, nothing good happens after midnight.” Those words were wise then and now, equally applicable to teenagers and the legislative process.

Who can function for 34 hours with no sleep? Most of us have difficulty functioning with less than four hours. The Iowa Legislature chose to force through important legislation in the waning hours of the session fueled by sleep deprivation, end of per diem allocation, and being 12 days past the intended end of the session.

Were some of them in a hurry to get home and campaign prior to the June 2 primary? Did majority party leaders force an “all-nighter” to wear down reluctant legislators into saying “uncle” and bending to the will of party leadership?

The Iowa Legislature spent precious time earlier in the session forcing debate on culture war issues and items with little constituent support. The Chicago Bears were not going to relocate to the Quad Cities. Drag queens weren’t victimizing children. ESAs (vouchers) were extended to charter schools without oversight. They expanded the number of homeschooled children taught in one location without a licensed teacher. Eminent domain disappeared from the agenda.

Legislators had time to limit the governor’s emergency powers in the dark of night. Are they worried about the governor’s race this fall?

Iowans lobbied on important concerns. The majority party turned deaf ears. Their message was loud and clear. Legislators acted like Iowans knew nothing and that they were experts on everything. Who cares about facts?

Big issues with constituent support were left unresolved or addressed. The legislature ignored increasing cancer rates, eminent domain, adequate public education funding for the majority of Iowa’s students, budget shortfall, depletion of the “rainy day fund”, increasing farm foreclosures, Iowa’s health care deserts, aging infrastructure, economic development, children’s cancer research, job creation and exodus of Iowa’s college graduates. Iowa is headed to a fiscal crisis in 2030. Too busy to address it.

According to Iowa Capitol Dispatch, the Iowa House finally passed Sunday Joint Senate Resolution 11 which contains language expected to be see on Nov. 3 general election ballot. Voters will be asked to support an amendment to the state constitution requiring approval from a supermajority of the Iowa Legislature to enact any future increases to the state’s individual and corporate income tax rates.

To make it onto the 2026 general election ballot, the resolution had to be passed by two consecutive general assemblies. Both chambers passed the measure in the 2024 session, and the Senate passed it again in 2025. The House passed it Sunday afternoon.

If it was so important, why did the Iowa House delay discussion until one of the last items addressed after lawmakers had been awake for 34 hours? Was it intended to hamstring future legislators when Iowa isn’t governed by a Republican trifecta?

The legislature and governor sidelined voters. For 10 years, each session has become more conservative with state legislators limiting contact with citizens outside the majority party.

The outcome of the 91st legislative session will take time. Impact on public schools, health care systems, water quality, cancer rates and rising costs from gas to grocery stores has been disturbing.

It’s time for a change. It’s time to organize and vote. Choices are minimal in our immediate area for state legislature, but there are choices for all statewide and federal races.

I’m tired of getting to the end of a legislative session and “whoops they did it again” is the theme. It’s poor leadership to delay important legislation to a marathon session on the last day legislators meet. It’s not fair to them or to the electorate. Tough issues deserve deliberation in light of day not cloak of night.

Mom said, “Nothing good happens after midnight.” She was right.