Kim Reynolds picked this Legislature, and it steamrolled an extreme path for Iowa

The eight-year period since Republicans cemented control of Iowa’s executive and legislative branches is an often-used and useful shorthand for gauging how the state has changed.

But the two-year General Assembly that just wrapped up is at least as useful a measuring stick. It’s the first iteration of the Legislature that was literally shaped by Gov. Kim Reynolds and her world view, and she used her influence to change the state in ways that will be difficult to reverse. Iowans should take up that challenge, though, and begin to pull the state back from the extremist pivot on display the past two years.

How we get here: Reynolds helped oust incumbents who stalled her private school plan

The GOP has forcefully exerted its will, to be sure, since the first weeks of 2017, when lawmakers and Gov. Terry Branstad gutted public union bargaining rights. But in 2022, after Reynolds’ proposal for “scholarships” to bring public school funding to private schools fizzled, the governor raised the demand for fealty to new heights by campaigning against incumbent Republicans who she knew had opposed her proposal.

Four of them lost their primary elections that June, and other Reynolds-backed candidates won in that election and in November, too. The party picked up four seats in the House and two in the Senate. In the latter case, that gave the GOP a “supermajority” of over two-thirds of seats.

The ambitious new laws that followed in the 2023 and 2024 sessions have been remarkable not just for their scope but also their sheer number: Tax money pouring into private schools, soon without any income restriction on the families involved. Complicated new asset tests for eligibility for food benefits and other assistance. An abortion ban as strict and bereft of meaningful exceptions as almost any in the country. The end of dedicated funding streams that for decades paid for area education agencies to assist schools with special education and programming needs. Government reorganization that concentrates authority in the governor’s office. Strict limits on new spending by cities and counties. A flat income tax. Repeated instances of lawmakers substituting their judgment for that of professionals — librarians and teachers on what books and lessons to offer students, and doctors on what treatments to pursue for transgender children.

Of course, this is far from a comprehensive list.

Large majorities let Republicans pass bills over significant opposition within the party

Reynolds’ influence was most direct in securing passage of the “education savings accounts” for private schools, but the large majorities have allowed Republicans to enact policies even over the objections of their peers: Over the two years, 12 bills have become or are on track to become law despite at least five House Republicans voting against them. Five bills had eight or more GOP no votes.

Instead of tackling the difficult undertaking of working on problems that were apparent two years ago — worsening water quality, expiring COVID-19 aid, a labor shortage, an uncertain future for ethanol and the crops used to make it, inadequate nursing home care — the Republican agenda delivered some incomplete solutions, ignored many problems altogether, and created some new problems to boot.

Instead of pondering how to balance property tax burdens with higher costs for vital local services, the Reynolds Legislature just told cities and counties to spend less. Instead of truly regulating damaging farm-field runoff and spending big on cleaning public waters, the Reynolds Legislature declined even to allow watershed management authorities the symbolic step of adding soil health to their missions. Instead of working with public school districts to apply additional resources to help children close COVID-widened learning gaps, legislators started regulating what people can read at school; spent big on handouts to high-income families with children at religious schools; and turned the complex issue of chronic absenteeism into a judicial matter. Rather than do something about Iowa’s well-earned reputation as unwelcoming amid a worker shortage, the Reynolds Legislature slashed child labor restrictions, told police they can start arresting undocumented immigrants, and put all their eggs in the how-low-can-tax-rates-go basket.

Precious few Iowans benefit substantially from all of this. Many other Iowans might see little to no change in their daily lives. But far too many Iowans are left to regard the new policies with suspicion — and fear. People who have migrated from other countries or whose appearance suggests they may have done so. People in need of public assistance. People whose choices don’t align with conservative Christian views and now face potential exclusion under a “Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Reynolds and the Legislature can’t claim to be crafting bills to answer Iowa’s unique needs. Several of the most objectionable laws clearly came from think tanks’ model legislation, copied the actions of other conservative-run states, or both. On some of the most impactful bills, another effect of the Republicans’ supermajority is apparent: It’s easier to cut deals out of the public eye and then make a show of accepting public comment before pushing through the original plan. This was most evident with the end-of-session income tax bill, which passed both chambers within two days of being introduced, hours after an analysis showed it would cost the state treasury $1 billion over two years.

Even when the public’s pushback prompted more reflection, as with remaking special education and diminishing AEAs, the final product hewed closer to where Reynolds started the discussion than to the more modest idea that some House Republicans tried to champion.

We've seen enough to know this political makeup is not helping most Iowans

Iowa should wrap up its experiment with extremism. and return to state policy that's more broadly beneficial. This is not just because so many people and their futures are being overlooked under Iowa’s current leadership. It’s also because many of us, frankly, lack the imagination to know what Reynolds’ Legislature might try to do next. Who predicted this year’s attack on AEAs?

The Kim Reynolds-chosen Legislature has been bad for Iowa. The next election for governor is not until 2026, but voters this fall can elect a Legislature that won’t so often bend to her will.

Lucas Grundmeier, on behalf of the Register editorial board

This editorial is the opinion of the Des Moines Register's editorial board: Carol Hunter, executive editor; Lucas Grundmeier, opinion editor; and Richard Doak and Rox Laird, editorial board members.

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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kim Reynolds, Iowa Legislature set an extreme path. Time to pull back.