Minute with Mike
This week, I signed on to a House Joint Resolution which calls for a Constitutional Convention as
described in Article V of the Constitution. Article V of the United States Constitution describes the
process whereby the Constitution may be altered. Altering the Constitution consists of proposing an
amendment or amendments and subsequent ratification.
Amendments may be adopted and sent to the states for ratification by either:
Two-thirds (supermajority) of both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States
Congress;
OR
By a national convention assembled at the request of the legislatures of at least two-thirds (at present
34) of the states.
To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by either (as determined by
Congress):
The request of legislatures of three-fourths (at present 38) of the states;
OR
State ratifying conventions in three-fourths (at present 38) of the states
We will be using the underlined option listed above.
Here is the stated purpose of the convention. “For ratification of an amendment to the Constitution of
the United States which imposes fiscal restraints on the federal government and limits the federal
government’s power and jurisdiction.” Many of you already know how frustrated I get when the federal
government blackmails states into doing things. We need to take back the power from the federal
government and give it back to the states.
School Funding
The school funding discussion continues to move forward this week, although hampered by the actions
of the Senate. The House Education Committee approved Senate Files 171 and 172 on Wednesday on
party-line votes after amending the bills from a 4% Supplemental State Aid amount to a 1.25% amount,
as previously passed by the House.
The House passed school aid bills over 3 weeks ago, passing House File 80 and 81 which both set school
aid growth at 1.25%. The Senate not only refused to act on those bills but waited nearly 3 weeks to
create their own and send them over, forcing the House to go through the subcommittee, committee,
and Floor debate process again, slowing down any agreement by at least another week. Had the Senate
acted on the House bills and amended them to their preferred language, the legislature could be in
conference committee negotiating an agreement today. Having been on the school board for the past
10 years, I know how important it is we give this number to the schools so they can get their
negotiations process started.
The House continues to support a 1.25% proposal, which provides an additional $100 million in state
dollars going to the K-12 education system next year. In this figure, is included $50 million for the
state’s new Teacher Leadership.
Minimum Wage
The Senate passed a bill raising the minimum wage out of committee this week.
Instead of focusing on policies that pit one group of Iowans against another, the legislature needs to
focus on policies that benefit ALL Iowans. An increase in the minimum wage might poll well and it’s
famous for its political value, but we can’t forget about those in the middle who make more than the
minimum wage and still have much of their paychecks taken by government.
Everyone knows that an increase in the minimum wage has a jobs penalty. The extent of the jobs
penalty is unknown. However, the Employment Policies Institute released a study that says Iowa would
lose between 5,229 and 15,687 jobs if the minimum wage went to $10.10/hour. Last year the
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a report regarding the jobs penalty with a $9.00
minimum wage. The most likely jobs penalty resulting from a $9.00 minimum wage is a loss of about
100,000 jobs nationally. According to Iowa State University professor Peter Orazem, the assumption that
an increase in the minimum wage will help workers and benefit the economy is rarely true.
We have created a Facebook page that I will be using this page to add comments about what is going on
in the Capitol and the House floor. This page will also be used to make comments as bills are being
debated on the floor. Please go to https://www.facebook.com/citizensforsexton or search for State
Representative Mike Sexton on Facebook and like it so you can stay informed about legislation we are
working on.
While we are in session, please remember that Senator Kraayenbrink and I will be on the Devine
Intervention Radio Show with Mike Devine on KVFD 1400 every Friday morning from 7:30 to 8:30. This is
a call in show so use this opportunity to talk to both of us and let us know your feelings on the current
issues facing Iowa citizens.
Please let me know what you are thinking! Feel free to contact me at my legislative email at
[email protected]