Saturday’s legislative briefing was held under the stained glass dome of the United Methodist Church in Washington, from left Rep. Dave Heaton (R), Sen. Rich Taylor (D), Sen. Kevin Kinney (D), and Rep. Jarad Klein (R) attended the event. Photo by Sally Y. Hart

Collective bargaining, education savings accounts, public safety, water quality, tax structures and voter fraud were all topics discussed at Saturday’s legislative briefing in Washington. Approximately 100 people attended the event at the United Methodist Church with Senators Kevin Kinney and Rich Taylor, and Representatives Jarad Klein and Dave Heaton present. Heaton explained he was in favor of making changes to Chapter 20 regarding collective bargaining, but not to the extent it was presented, so he voted no. Six House Republicans voted against the measure that was signed by Governor Terry Branstad Friday.

Klein said he believes there’s a silver-lining that now the legislation can be amended, “We finally broke down this barrier of the law has worked for 40 years, … we can’t touch it. The reality is, it’s tried to be adjusted many, many times over the years.” He added, “Every time you looked at a comma or a period, it was just slammed down no, no change.” Klein further explained they can go back and look to amend the legislation.

Washington’s next legislative briefing will be held March 18th at 10 a.m.