Iowa lawmakers will convene Jan. 13 for 2025 session

 STATEWIDE  — Iowa lawmakers will reconvene January 13 for the 2025 session, and the 91st Iowa General Assembly will bring new lawmakers to the Capitol. The Republicans have a supermajority in both the Senate and the House.
 Steven Holt (R, Denison), who has served as Iowa State Representative for the 12th District since 2015, said while it’s hard to know what the priorities will be this session, he believes the focus will be on property tax relief. “We’re hearing from our constituents that property taxes are really hurting them, so we are going to take a hard look at that. It’s going to be one of the major issues.”
 Rep. Holt is one of more than 40 lawmakers who filed a state and federal lawsuit against the Iowa Utilities Commission for granting eminent domain rights to Summit Carbon Solutions for a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline. “We’re going continue to look into the eminent domain situation. We don’t think they have the authority to grant eminent domain for the CO2 pipeline. That’s a big issue in this legislative district, and in Harlan, so we’re going continue to work on that,” Rep. Holt said.
 Holt will remain the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and will continue to serve on the committee for Government Oversight. In addition, he is on the newly formed committee for higher education.
    “We will look at how higher education works and if it’s functioning in the best interest of the taxpayer,” Holt said. “We have eliminated the diversity, equity, and inclusion programs because they are wasting taxpayer money and are divisive. The name sounds great, but they’re actually not doing the things the name says, it is more like adversity and equity and exclusion,” Holt said.
 Rep. Holt will again be attending the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s upcoming legislative coffees, and he is looking forward to hearing from his Shelby County constituents. “It’s incredibly important, that’s why I do so much door knocking during the campaign season,” Holt said. “I love to hear from people, and those forums are an excellent opportunity to hear what we are doing right or if we need to focus on other things. It’s extremely important.”
 The first Legislative Coffee is planned for Saturday, January 18 from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. in the party room at Milk & Honey, 919 7th St., Harlan.