Photo: Walter Bibikow / DigitalVision / Getty Images
(Des Moines, IA) -- The 2025 legislative session begins three weeks from today, and legislators on both sides say finances are at the top of their list.
To Republicans, who will have a supermajority in both chambers, it starts with budgeting and limiting government spending. Rep. Pat Grassley (R-Butler County) will serve as the Speaker of the House.
"I expect us to continue that responsible budgeting, which helps lead to sound fiscal policy and sound tax policy," Grassley says. "To put us in the position to do some of the things that we've already done and we can build off of."
Democrats also say it begins with the budget. Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D-Polk County) will serve as the House Minority Leader.
"As we look at our state's budget for the next upcoming year, we want to make sure that we're looking at a lot of our expenses. All of our expenses," Konfrst says.
Republicans are focused in on taxation, particularly property taxes specifically, and Rep. Grassley says he wants to be aggressive in addressing them.
"I want us to be very aggressive in our approach to make sure that we're flipping the narrative," Grassley says. "Which currently in my opinion exists, and I think it's in Iowans' opinion, that the certainty lies within the taxing entities and not with the individual taxpayer."
For the Democrats, the overall goal is helping families feel more secure and lowering the cost of living as a whole. Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D-Polk County) will serve as the House Minority Leader.
"There's not one solution to lowering costs, but our goal is to make sure that families' budgets are a little looser by the end of the legislative session," Konfrst says. "What can we do to help with that at the state level? That certainly involves things like property taxes, but it also involves things like wages, ending wage theft and making sure that workers get a fair shot."
The session begins on January 13th.