After the derecho devasted Eastern Iowa forests, state lawmakers want to raise taxes on them
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WATERLOO, Iowa (KWWL) - State lawmakers are considering legislation that could send property tax costs soaring for privately owned forests throughout the state.
According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, of Iowa’s nearly 3 million acres of forest land, 85.5 percent are privately owned.
If passed, Senate File 352 would change the Forest and Fruit Tree Reservation law and decrease the property tax exemption from 100% to 75% of the reserved land s actual value.
For forest owners like John Zakrasek, who owns two acres in Linn County, the tax would be 100% of the property s value. Under the new rule, anyone who owns less than 10 acres would not be subject to any exemption. All forest reserve exemptions would expire after five years.
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Senate advances governor’s ‘Student First’ scholarships for private schooling
The Iowa Senate has approved Republican Governor Kim Reynolds’ plan to give the parents of a few hundred K-12 students state scholarships to attend a private school.
Republican Senator Amy Sinclair of Allerton said the eligible students are attending 34 public school buildings flagged for failing federal standards.
“Thirty-four schools that have gotten so bad that they need federal assistance to try and improve,” Sinclair said. “…We don’t have time to study it. These children are not being educated.”
All the Democrats in the Senate opposed the bill.