Terms of use agreement Best viewed with Netscape Communicator . Today marks the end of the Iowa legislative session's second funnel, which requires that to remain eligible all House bills must have been reported out of Senate committees and all Senate bills must have been reported out of House committees. Before the measures get to committee, however, they must also have been approved by at least one house of the Legislature. Committees worked throughout the day considering bills and passing most of them out. Most of the bills considered important by leadership have been done or are still alive, said Senate Majority Leader Stewart Iverson Jr., R-Dows.
Bills involving appropriations, ways and means or leadership measures are immune from the funnel.
Iverson said the Senate Republicans still haven't reached final decisions on what tax cuts, if any, might be approved this year. House Republicans have already approved several possible tax cuts including a sales tax freedom weekend. There are still some other stumbling blocks between Republicans in the House and those in the Senate, however. Senate Republicans instead want to shift that to property taxes. House Speaker Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, said there are increases in all areas of education from elementary through college.