The impact of the tragic shooting in Perry will be reflected in many of the bills local lawmakers expect to see introduced in the 2024 legislative session that begins Monday.

State Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, and state representatives Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, and Mike Sexton, R-Rockwell City, indicated Friday that they expect bills regarding mental health and school safety will be coming.

Meyer said there are no gun laws that would have prevented the Perry shooting. She said the emphasis should instead be on improving mental health care, an issue she has been passionate about since first taking office in 2019.

“We do need to work more on mental health,” she said. “There is no doubt about it.”

She said she would like to see more mental health counselors in schools. She described that as “an investment that needs to be made.”

Meyer said she also wants to help school districts make their buildings more secure. She said the state government should make money available to help them improve security.

Sexton said the Perry shooting has confronted Iowans with a problem many of them thought would never happen in their state.

“People who have kids in school are concerned,” he said. “They expect that when they send their kids to school in the morning, they will come back in the afternoon having learned something and that didn’t happen for that boy in Perry.”

He said he is sure there will be bills introduced on mental health and school safety.

“I don’t know what the answer is,” Sexton said. “I think there will be a lot of discussion and a lot of work on these issues, which I think is our responsibility.”

Kraayenbrink said he also is certain that bills will be introduced in response to the shooting.

“I think a lot of people want to react in ways that make us feel like we accomplished something,” he said.

Income taxes

The Iowa income tax rate is gradually being ratcheted down to 3.9 percent, a level it is set to reach in 2026.

Kraayenbrink said state revenues are actually growing, so he would like to change the law so that the 3.9 percent rate is reached in 2025 or perhaps even this year.

He said state revenue for the month of December 2023 was expected to drop .4 percent from the December 2022 level.

Instead, it went up 1.1 percent compared to December 2022, he said.

“As soon as I saw that, I was pretty happy,” he said.

He said the increase is “true revenue” without any pandemic relief money included.

He added that the state hasn’t taxed retirement income in a full year, and the revenues still went up.

While the Senate may move to speed up the income tax rate reduction, such legislation may have an uncertain future in the House of Representatives.

“The Senate is pretty wound up on expediting that 3.9 percent flat income tax rate,” Sexton said.”It seems like the House members aren’t as excited about it as the senators.”

Distracted driving

Meyer has repeatedly introduced a bill that would prohibit people from using an electronic device while driving unless it is in hands-free mode. All of her bills failed to advance very far. On at least one occasion, House Republican leaders said they would not bring the bill up because they didn’t think the Senate would consider it.

But last year, the state Senate passed a version of it. That means the measure can be considered by the House this year.

Meyer said she believes the chances of it finally passing are “pretty good.”

“I think this is our year,” she said.

“People want it,” she said of the bill. “Law enforcement wants it.”