House Resolution 57 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 57 BY PAULSEN , BRANDENBURG , DRAKE , FORRISTALL , GARRETT , LOFGREN , SCHULTE , WORTHAN , JORGENSEN , SODERBERG , ANDERSON , SANDS , COWNIE , PAUSTIAN , S. OLSON , MOORE , HAGER , WINDSCHITL , DOLECHECK , DEYOE , J. SMITH , BALTIMORE , HEIN , VANDER LINDEN , UPMEYER , TJEPKES , PETTENGILL , RAYHONS , DE BOEF , SWEENEY , CHAMBERS , HUSEMAN , WATTS , BAUDLER , KOESTER , IVERSON , ARNOLD , RASMUSSEN , HANUSA , HAGENOW , FRY , J. TAYLOR , ROGERS , ALONS , SCHULTZ , SHAW , and PEARSON A Resolution related to the naming of public buildings 1 and institutions. 2 WHEREAS, Iowa has a long tradition of naming public 3 buildings and institutions to honor the life, public 4 service, and memory of distinguished political leaders 5 or notable Iowans; and 6 WHEREAS, the Hoover, Grimes, Wallace, and Ola 7 Babcock Miller state office buildings, and Jack Trice 8 Stadium provide examples of this long-established 9 precedent; and 10 WHEREAS, traditionally, this honor comes as the 11 final capstone to a distinguished career and is often 12 accorded as a posthumous honor; and 13 WHEREAS, the Board of Regents has departed from 14 this principle by naming an Iowa State University 15 public policy institute after United States Senator Tom 16 Harkin; and 17 WHEREAS, while a public official may be 18 well-deserving of this honor, it is a departure from 19 this state’s tradition while the official is serving in 20 -1- LSB 2812HH (2) 84 jr/nh 1/ 2

H.R. 57 a state or federal elected position; and 1 WHEREAS, this honor could provide an unfair 2 political advantage to an active political leader 3 who could use the honor as part of future political 4 campaigns; and 5 WHEREAS, this departure from past practice may usher 6 in a new paradigm where buildings and institutions are 7 named based on what funding a particular name might 8 generate; NOW THEREFORE, 9 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 10 the House of Representatives respectfully requests that 11 the Board of Regents reconsider and reverse its action 12 naming an Iowa State University public policy institute 13 after United States Senator Tom Harkin, and reserve 14 that honor until the Senator has retired from public 15 office; and 16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of 17 Representatives affirms that no public building or 18 institution should be named after a state or federal 19 elected official until that official has retired from 20 public life. 21 -2- LSB 2812HH (2) 84 jr/nh 2/ 2