It lasted into the five o’clock hour Saturday afternoon, but the 2018 Iowa Legislative session ended on its 118th day. Republicans are using the word “historic” to describe the agenda Republican majorities in the Iowa House and Senate have enacted over the past two years.
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Senate President Charles Schneider, a Republican from West Des Moines, says the 2018 legislature’s premiere accomplishment is its “comprehensive” tax bill.
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Democrats like House Minority Leader Mark Smith of Marshalltown are offering a different assessment.
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It has been 20 years since Republicans held the majority of seats in the House and Senate at the same time a Republican held the governor’s office. Governor Kim Reynolds is praising the 2018 legislature’s passage of the tax bill as well as approval of a water improvement plan and bills to address the opioid epidemic and problems in the state’s mental health care system.