In her Condition of the State message earlier this month, Gov. Kim Reynolds asked the legislature to make a water quality bill the first one on her desk this year. She got her wish Tuesday-although not all of the members of either party were happy about it.
The Iowa House sent an Iowa Senate water quality bill to the governor, after removing a comprehensive piece of water quality legislation the Iowa House approved last year with a wide bi-partisan vote. Since the Senate passed the bill last session, the House passage Tuesday forwards the bill to the governor.
The bi-partisan plan the House approved was engineered by Republican Rep. Chip Baltimore of Boone. In his first public speech since being arrested last week for OWI, Baltimore said he didn't approve of the Senate legislation. He says he was told last year the Iowa Senate "really didn't want to deal with water quality". Baltimore says the Senate bill lays the problem...and the solution for Iowa's water quality "squarely at the feet of Iowa's farmers. That is a disservice to them."
Democratic Rep. Sharon Steckman of Mason City called the legislation a "watered-down water quality bill."
The legislation passed with mostly Republican votes. Baltimore was joined by fellow Republicans Jake Highfill of Johnston and Guy VanderLinden of Oskaloosa in voting "no", along with most Democrats.
There were four Democrats who voted for the bill, Reps. Bruce Bearinger of Oelwein, Helen Miller of Fort Dodge, Scott Ourth of Ackworth and Todd Prichard of Charles City.
The final vote was 59 to 41.