House Journal: Page 2250: Tuesday, June 3, 2003
Although I am supportive of charter governments in theory and agree that some
local government mergers could reduce bureaucracy, streamline services, and save
significant taxpayer dollars, I am unable to approve Senate File 390.
Current law allows for the formation of new relationships between local
governments. Government at any level should adhere to the American ideal of, for and
by the people. Senate File 390 seeks to fundamentally change the way elections may be
held at the local level without securing first the consent of the governed. For this most
basic respect the bill is fatally flawed.
This act also limits the creation of a local government organization review
committee to only counties with a population in excess of 100,000. Creating one
process for large urban counties and not allowing small rural counties to form
committees unnecessarily discriminates between local governments located in urban
and rural areas. We are and should always be one Iowa. This important value is
compromised in Senate File 390.
For the above reasons, I hereby disapprove Senate File 390.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Vilsack
Governor
GOVERNOR'S ITEM VETO MESSAGES
May 30, 2003
The Honorable Chester Culver
Secretary of State
State Capitol Building
L O C A L
Dear Mr. Secretary:
I hereby transmit House File 549, an Act relating to the duties and operations of
the Department of Education, the Board of Educational Examiners, the State Board of
Regents and its universities, and school boards, and to property tax school
reorganization incentives; requiring the establishment of a reading instruction pilot
program; and including effective and retroactive applicability date provisions.
House File 549 is vitally important for education in Iowa. This bill expands the
current data management system to meet the federal requirements of the No Child
Left Behind initiative. It also extends the K-3 Class Size reduction program for an
additional fiscal year. While this falls short of my recommendation, it allows us to
continue working toward the goal of reducing K-3 class sizes to 17 students per
teacher. House File 549 expands reorganization incentives for K-12 school districts
and makes several changes to clarify the reorganization process for AEAs. It also
makes necessary Code changes to the teacher quality program.
House File 549 is approved on this date, with the following exceptions, which I
hereby disapprove.
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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