Friday, May 9, 2008
Governor Culver Signs Legislation To Protect Communities, Improve Education
Governor signs four bills during tour of Eastern Iowa
Fort Madison – Today, Governor Chet Culver traveled to Fort Madison to sign legislation designed to protect Iowa’s communities. During his stop, the Governor signed into law Senate File 2432, the Rebuild Iowa’s Infrastructure Fund Bill, and House File 2660, the Justice Appropriations bill.
“In my Condition of the State address in January, I asked the Legislature, and all Iowans, to join with me in support of a major, quarter-billion dollar investment in our correctional system, including replacing our prison here in Fort Madison,” said Governor Culver. “I asked for this because I believe replacing this prison is first and foremost a matter of public safety. And today, with my signature, a new prison will be a reality.”
Senate File 2432 is also known as the Rebuild Iowa’s Infrastructure Fund. The bill includes more than $130 million to build a new state-of-the-art prison in Fort Madison, which will help make our communities safer while giving correctional staff a safe environment in which to work. Following the signing ceremony, Governor Culver toured the Iowa State Penitentiary, which has been in continual use since before the Civil War.
While in Fort Madison, the Governor also took action upon House File 2660, which funds community justice programs through the Department of Corrections and the Attorney General’s office.
Later in the day, the Governor traveled to the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in Bettendorf to sign House Fill 2679, the education appropriations bill. The legislation includes funding for Iowa’s schools, regents institutions, community colleges, and area education agencies.
“Today, we’re taking one more step to strengthen Iowa’s schools,” said Governor Culver. “Excellence in education is a top priority of the Culver-Judge administration, and the bill I’m signing today is about one thing: giving every student in Iowa a quality education!”
House File 2679 provides funding for several Culver/Judge agenda items, including another $15 million to move Iowa closer to giving all children access to a quality preschool, $75 million for teacher pay, $183 million for community colleges, $2.1 million to implement Iowa’s model core curriculum legislation, $1.9 million for the creation of the Senior Year Plus program to help high school students better prepare for college, and $4 million for the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship Program, which will help nearly 500 Iowa students achieve their dream of a college education.
Also included in the legislation is $4 million for the creation of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math program at the University of Northern Iowa, which will train new math and science teachers, and help prepare our students to fill the technical, highly-skilled jobs our economy demands.
The Governor’s last stop of the day took him to Dubuque, where he signed into law Senate File 2415. The new legislation creates a pilot project program in the state of Iowa designed to help streamline emergency response within a specified region.
Governor Culver also used his line item veto authority on Senate File 2432, House File 2660 and House File 2679. Attached are veto statements the Governor will submit to the Secretary of State.