Rep. Cindy Golding (R-Palo) provided updates on some of the bills passed in the legislature during the past session that impacted constituents in House District 83.

One of the bills that was passed by the legislature was one that impacts stormwater and water quality.

“I worked too hard with several administrators to make the impact the lowest it could be to small cities like Lisbon,” Golding said.

Mount Vernon and Lisbon were impacted by the bill due to their proximity to Cedar Rapids. In Golding’s view, the bill, which will be implemented statewide, was too broad.

“Our soils are different here in the southeast compared to the soils in the northwest portion of the state,” Golding said. “If I’m elected again, I hope to do whatever I can to make sure this bill has the least negative impact. Our issues in rural Iowa are different than those in larger cities.”

The other bill that impacted her constituents was the property tax reform bill passed in 2023.

That bill, Golding explained, was one that was changed from what the House passed on to the Senate. “When that bill came back to us, it was a complete mess,” Golding said.

Golding said she proposes to freeze assessments on property valuations until the language in the bill is cleaned up. Golding said that this bill was her first experience in how things can come back from the Senate. The revised bill came back in a ways and means bill.

She put her trust in the work of her colleagues in the Senate that year, and that bill is why she has now become a no vote on any bill she doesn’t have a chance to read.

“The devil is in the details that change between what we passed and what was amended,” Golding said. “If I can’t read the bill and subsequent amendments before it comes through for a vote, I’m now a no vote.”

Golding recommended that council members from the City of Lisbon pass along any other bills they need help with.