Thanks to everyone who came out to Eggs and Issues on Jan. 31. We had a good turnout and great conversations.

Our first legislative funnel is in two weeks, Feb. 20. This means that any legislation that originated in the House needs to pass a full committee by this date or it dies. This excludes appropriations (spending) bills and ways and means (tax) bills. This process is the same for the Senate.

A bill I have received a lot of emails about is HF 2171, a bill that would remove vaccination requirements for K-12 students. This is a bill that went through the Education Committee, not Health and Human Services. I do not support this bill. There are exemptions available for those that have religious or medical issues. As a health care professional, I firmly believe childhood vaccines protect the community from devastating diseases.

On Thursday, the HHS Budget Committee had a presentation on Iowa’s behavioral health system.

It was extremely informative. I think the biggest takeaway from the presentation was the system navigation information. Anyone can access the system, patients or family providers. There are two ways to access the system, 988, which uses text, chat or voice, and YourLifeIowa.org. Both of these front doors will get you to a system navigator and direct you to the services you need. There is no wrong way.

We have had many visitors from Webster County in the past few weeks. If you are planning to visit the Capitol, please let me know. I’d love to meet with you. It is truly my honor to represent Webster County in Des Moines.

State Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, represents Fort Dodge and eastern Webster County.