House Journal: Page 34: Tuesday, January 13, 1998

of Iowa families to pass on their farm or business to the next
generation.  But I think we should ask ourselves if it is really
fair to make families wait until a death to transfer their
assets without the burden of excessive taxation.  The current
capital gains tax exclusion should be increased to 100 percent
and expanded to include the assets of family farms and
businesses sold or transferred to lineal descendents.
We can also make our state safer.  The opening of the Clarinda,
Newton and Fort Dodge prisons gives us greatly needed prison
space to keep dangerous criminals where they should be - behind
bars.
The budget I am recommending will continue to increase our
prison capacity by adding 500 beds at our existing prisons in
Mitchellville, Mount Pleasant and Fort Madison.
The shocking rise in crimes by sexual predators is of grave
concern to me and all Iowans.  Let us have the courage this year
to take steps to prevent these crimes by authorizing the use of
temporary hormonal treatment of sex offenders, something that
has been proven effective in those places bold enough to take
this action.  We must also improve the monitoring of sexual
offenders as well as make it easier for Iowans to know if one is
living in their midst.
A few years ago, most Iowans had no idea what methamphetamines
were.  All too quickly that has changed because too many lives
have been lost to this horrible drug.  In just four years, we
have seen a twelve-fold increase in the number of Iowans seeking
treatment for addiction to methamphetamine.
With tougher penalties, a strong anti-drug education campaign
and a coordinated enforcement effort, we are determined to win
the war against this deadly killer.
Drug use in the workplace is a great concern of Iowa workers,
who are put at risk everyday because we have one of the weakest
drug testing laws in the country.  Iowans seeking treatment for
drug abuse tell us that workplace drug testing would have helped
them avoid drugs.  
As I travel the state, I sense there is a growing consensus that
drugs are definitely affecting the quality of Iowa's workforce. 
We cannot afford to wait any longer.  This year, we must
strengthen our workplace drug testing law.
I am also asking you to pass a strong Crime Victims' Bill of
Rights.  And, we need the possibility of the death penalty for
multiple killings and the cold-blooded murder of rape and kidnap
victims.
We should also take action to ban the heinous procedure of
partial birth abortion.
Whether it be the victims of crime or our next-door neighbors,
Iowans have always been willing to lend a helping hand.  I
remember President Reagan saying that "the success story of
America is neighbor helping neighbor."  
Community service and volunteerism are important chapters in
Iowa's success story.   Over the past couple of years, I have
spent considerable time volunteering with Iowans.  From painting
a school in Waterloo to serving meals to seniors in Bedford,
I've seen volunteers truly making a difference in the lives of
others.
As we build Iowa's foundation for the future, we can never
forget the importance of volunteerism.  I am proclaiming 1998 as
the Year of the Volunteer in Iowa.  

Iowa General Assembly

Index: House Journal (77th General Assembly: Session 2)

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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