The Rozenboom Report by Senator Ken Rozenboom For January 22nd, 2021
We have completed the second week of the 2021 legislative session. While this week was shortened because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, the schedule was full of subcommittee meetings as we start going through the legislative process.
Subcommittees are the first step in the legislative process and are one of the ways Iowans can be involved in the lawmaking process. Subcommittees have been different than usual this year because of health precautions. All Senate subcommittee meetings are virtual for the legislative session due to the pandemic. Instead of large groups of people gathering in rooms throughout the Capitol, subcommittees are meeting on-line via Zoom. Generally, the Republican members of the subcommittee will be in one room while the Democrat member is in another, or is off-site. The Senate pages who are usually busy with work around the chamber, bringing in notes from visitors or phone messages from the Senate switchboard, now are helping us manage and run our meetings online. While this is not how we usually meet, it does have some advantages; now Iowans who normally don’t have the time to drive to Des Moines to voice their opinion on a bill can now do so from the comfort of their home.