House Journal: Page 1930: Thursday, May 1, 2003
was ready to adjourn returned and reported it had performed its
duty.
COMMUNICATION FROM THE GOVERNOR
May 1, 2003
The Honorable Mary Kramer
President of the Senate
State Capitol
L O C A L
The Honorable Christopher Rants
Speaker of the House
State Capitol
L O C A L
Dear President Kramer and Speaker Rants:
Throughout our state’s history, Iowans have valued education, hard work, self-
reliance, community involvement, generosity to our neighbors, and responsible
stewardship of the land, air, and water. Challenging times give us an opportunity to
assess our values, and to make changes that will support those values.
This, the first session of the Eightieth General Assembly, gave us the opportunity
to address these shared Iowa values. Even in these difficult economic times that have
most states reeling from budget cuts and shortfalls, we have a unique opportunity to
make the bold changes necessary to grow Iowa, preserve our values, and strengthen
the quality of life that has long sustained our state.
Developing and drafting consensus language that creates the Iowa Values Fund has
been a historic achievement accomplished by both the majority and minority members
of the House of Representatives during the regular session. I look forward to working
with the State Senate to act on the Iowa Values Fund.
Two pieces of significant legislation that were accomplished during the regular
session were to lower the level of alcohol needed in a person’s blood to be presumed
drunk, from .10 to .08 BAC and the proposal to reorganize and streamline state
government.
This was the third consecutive legislative session that I have called for a bill to
lower the blood alcohol rate to .08. The tougher standard corresponds with a projected
10-16 lives saved in Iowa per year. This has always been an issue of safety.
I had called on the legislature to create the Department of Administrative Services
(DAS) last session and am pleased that this session DAS was sent to me. DAS will
streamline services, improve services to customers, enhance resource flexibility, and to
save money.
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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Last update: Tue Aug 19 10:25:00 CDT 2003
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