State Senator Jesse Green, Legislative Review, February 13, 2026

on our program today we're visiting with the state senator jesse greene senator thanks for taking time visiting with us they are always a pleasure i know that uh...

again the session we're getting up to our for first final week we've had a lot of things that have been going on the jesse i gotta say right out of the right out of the shoot we were going to try to get something done with carbon pipelines in imminent domain still waiting are you still not so what yeah i you know it's it can be i have no idea when it's going to come up in session at it out of committee now in the senate of the senate's version which is to widen the court or in and uh...

as i've mentioned before one of the states that have a court or so uh... you know there's just a handful of people on the field to pipeline route of the current route that uh... do not want to be a part of this and do not want imminent main using their land so uh...

so if we get rid of that court or uh... the idea is that most of people will uh... you know the although they'll be a major or something that would want to be a part of the project so uh... we'll see if we can get uh... marry that idea with uh... the elimination of uh...

in the domain but uh... at what point session that's gonna happen i have no idea maybe it's going to last week or maybe it's going to next week so i know both you have both you and chad what now we expect this one to come out right away but uh...

it is one of those it is still there's a lot of is still divisive i mean you there's still some separation again different groups what absolutely nothing for carbon pipelines in then on the other side we've got those groups that want the carbon pipelines so yeah i know it's uh...

it's a tough issue and but we've i mean for this for the bill to come out of the house and through the senate uh... uh... commerce committee and it's quickly to shows that is uh...

such a top priority but will we come to some sort of resolution who knows and baby such a thing that uh... nothing happens this year and if nothing happens and uh... you know i guess uh...

i guess some old prices do what they were originally planning so will go back to what what they were doing uh... until this week uh... you had your marriage bill the i know you had talked about this earlier that uh... this is a bill that you wanted to uh...

bring forward you did get it uh... in committee and and the uh... did have a lot of people making comments about it yes so uh... i mean everybody uh... has a different opinion about uh... uh... what their view of government uh...

and marriage should be what that relationship should be no pun intended but uh... the reality is uh... and most of all his country's government does have a lot to say about marriage because at the end of the day uh... if marriage falls apart uh...

then government left picking up the pieces and so uh... a lot of people say that government should be involved in marriage and if that's the case uh... uh... file the bill and have a conversation but nobody ever files a bill so uh... so my uh... theory is always been uh...

let's have a conversation and see if there's ways that we can improve uh... our marriage laws in iowa power one of seventeen states that do not allow any other option besides no fault of course uh... there's four states that allow uh... traditional marriage uh... which is uh...

you know they might require premarital counseling but then also waving no fault of the worst and in those states uh... it's it tends to be about two percent of the marriages that she was that option uh...

some will be like what one two percent is not a lot of people want it but my pushback is well that's still two percent of our population wants it i mean we we should uh... we should provide these options for that that people regardless of the world view is respected uh...

i know a lot of christians uh... written you know really like the idea of signing a prenuptial agreement uh... you know you're getting ready to stand before god in your community and and says they told that this part the right before that uh...

you want to have a conversation about prenuptial agreements and the possibility divorce like that uh... that just doesn't feel right to a lot of people and so i might there is a few to wave no fault of course uh...

there there would be quite a couple judges have some if if the bill is to move forward is gonna have to change quite a bit uh... and with this uh... uh... being a short session i i don't want to have a bigger fight i need on this but uh... uh...

i think there's a lot of people i do agree that there should be an option away no fault of course at the end of marriage uh... so uh... an example of somebody i might use that is if they have a felon for us bowels or an abusive spouse and and uh...

they might want to use this route to i have a little bit more leverage within those final conversations about what custody and assets should look like so anyway will feel happened to be a good did provoke a lot of conversation but it is it is a really good conversation well that's and that's what you were hoping to do really is uh...

get this started in and i'd i'd i'd believe you've already heard from some that had uh... had some ideas on how to refine it a little and and nothing uh... major changes but just uh...

change some of the language and do things like that so again it's one of those were work in progress right yeah and and you know part of the beauty of this process is as a legislator is uh... i get access to a lot of different uh...

information down here and the way you get information is sometimes a file bill and it brings everybody to the table and so i've learned a lot about this issue and i am very convinced that regardless what happens in the future i want to answer incentivize premarrow counseling somehow maybe maybe have some sort of discount on a america to get if you can prove that or or uh...

uh... maybe tax credits uh... who knows but i'll continue to work on this as time goes forward sure uh... let's talk a little bit about property taxes and and i know that's that that it's a monster always tell people i said in and uh...

thirty plus years of covering the legislature there's always been some sort of it uh... we need to do tax reform we need to do something on property taxes and stuff it's a beast it's big it's complicated and uh... uh...

you changes come slowly i'm sorry it's it's pretty big and uh... so there's a lot of different things you guys are working on yeah high uh... and a lot of local governments are nervous uh... i've i've i'd have to say probably about ten percent of my emails have been from uh...

local government officials that are concerned about uh... getting rid of townships you know what that well yeah what that would do to local government and so that conversation happening in them i still hear from recorders and treasures about uh...

wanting to keep things the same with that but i still firmly believe that a treasure and recorders spot is different than auditor spot i don't think they and those are administrative rules not political roles uh...

so i i i still lean on that side of of having that conversation but small rural communities are really concerned about these these bills and and i i feel firm uh... and uh... what will see what happens yet i i think uh... who knows uh...

you got three different ideas out there and there is some overlap with them but uh...

you know maybe at the end of session we won't come down agreement well again there's there's a lot to yeah that's it's that's the one thing people are a lot of times will just say well we've got this were proposing this proposing that that again the work that the legislature does is it doesn't just all come out automatically uh...

there's a lot of background work that has to go into a lot of these a lot of discussions between you and other senators and uh... then even counterparts in the house yes it uh... you know i think for example everybody's want to talk about citizens uh...

exemptions and relief and it's like well uh... i'm sorry but you can tell me that doesn't dress a clean negatively impact uh... rule iowa when uh...

and and local government's budget rule iowa when they have a higher portion of population of senior citizens and so every little tweak you make uh...

changes some portion of the state in a different way than another and you just gotta be so careful but i do appreciate the the senate side where uh... we we you know we we try to uh... uh...

get a system to where local officials can't hide behind the assessments and claim that they're cutting taxes are uh... lowering people's burdens and taxpayers aren't aren't stupid they and they know that uh...

their tax bills are going up and i want to create a system that's a little bit more accountable to the taxpayers that's all i care about well we've got that i know uh... the uh... let's talk about school fight uh... funding uh... cuz on the senate side they you did uh...

have that rolled out that what one one seven five one point seven five uh... the governor had talked about to i think i'm not sure where the house is on there's now but uh... you're gonna have the three different uh...

entities coming together you have to work something out yeah this is a prayer and another disappointing thing that uh... you're up here uh... you think that uh... you know before session leadership and and and what you know what kind of hammered out before and but but uh...

here we are again the house uh... hasn't released their number but i think next monday they will be having our first committee about it so i'm i'm looking forward to see what that number is uh... but at the end of the day it will be around two percent uh...

but with the senate's proposal uh... you know it's it's still a hundred million dollars uh... uh... new dollars and for seven thousand less students and so that's uh... uh... you know this is a significant moment drop in public schools that we're seeing naturally affects uh...

that new dollars are going to public schools so uh... we had a very lively debate on the floor and uh... you know some of the opposition blame the essay is a stuff like that but uh... reality is that uh... we have forty brand new private schools in the state uh... uh...

private schools uh... people lost about four uh... public schools and so you know that that the the supply and demand is shifting but uh... uh... i do you even if we do see a one point seven five percent i there's things within my budget that i can control to help uh...

are my role public schools uh... in different ways whether that's the teacher loan forgiveness program i just made a cyber security bill today uh... that would uh... uh...

create a state fund out pay for cyber security i think that's an increased risk and most large schools already have cyber security protections but there's a lot of rural schools that don't and if you have a hack uh... or uh... some sort of intrusion uh...

that could be anywhere from three to five million dollars to to fix that you don't have a small in as a small rural school that's that's vulnerable to that uh...

so my mind is continually on that there's there's more ways that i can help other schools than just the one point seven five s s m i know i did the governor has uh... talked about the charter schools uh... we see uh...

cia a few of those starting to show up now again same kind of theory on that uh... another option other alternative sure hi i mean charter schools uh... whether so republican states are democrat states uh... uh... they and uh...

they're beneficial because they're they're more specific in our mission and uh... provides more autonomy to the local community uh... and she had more buy-in from the private uh... sector and that community so take for example a place like pain tredan uh...

there's a large manufacturing base over there when surprise me if someday they look at a manufacturing charter school uh... you know that each kids uh... you know either how to well there how to uh... you know maybe be more prepared for that uh...

to meet the the local communities needs but uh... so we're currently right now it's just i think it's amazing within two years we now have a jewish school a muslim school a method of school uh... secular schools and uh...

to me that's a beautiful thing that you you have this diversity with an education and and i firmly believe that innovation happens in the private sector not the public and as education evolves and new technology comes and i think it's the private sector and i supply uh...

these these great options where some of the other things that you've been uh... working on that you want folks to know about that uh... again you've been trying to work it work your way through yeah i just uh... mentioned uh... uh... no fault of worst bill but uh...

i've also ran a couple of civics bills uh... next week out of full committee uh... i'm gonna one of my bills is to have a department education and create a civics seal program which honors and provides a uh...

awards to those that excel civics education others and other states have done that i want to encourage more civics education uh... just told you about cyber security uh... for schools but uh... uh... for the most uh... controversial one would be the uh...

sexual orientation gender identification getting it completely out of uh... k-12 schools as far as uh... formal instruction and curriculum uh... we recently and a couple years ago uh...

banded out of k-6 i look back at the debate and i'm just like why why do we have this at all like now that we have school choice uh...

shouldn't every parent in iowa when they send their kid to a public school be certain on what that education is going to look like whether it's curriculum or or the instruction and so that's going to be interesting how that conversation unfolds uh...

part of me is thinking about narrowing that back down to kate rate instead of kate through twelve because think about debate class or some of those ideas uh... or some of those classes that might have uh... i think a high school kid should be uh...

old enough to to be able to talk about those things and those theories and and freely be able to debate that maybe the teacher should be okay to facilitate that but i i just think kate rate that there's just no place for it and those vulnerable years but we'll see how that debate goes uh...

the other uh... the other thing that uh... i've been getting a lot of emails about is uh... the sports wagering uh... tax uh... i hear a lot of constituents that are worried about us raising that tax and i a a highly on the side of uh... raising because uh...

like with the governor's proposal because we rank in uh...

the lowest in the nation along with nevada when we're talking about these major prop up property tax or income tax reforms i i think we need when we see these taxes that are so low we always want to be average and the nation when it comes to some of the syntax is your tobacco taxes of that that way we can generate the revenue needed to accomplish those bigger picture items of uh...

property tax reformer cut in the income tax a little bit more so uh... lastly uh... what i've been hearing from my district uh... on unique bills is uh... that i've kind of been a part of this is uh... have a direct to consumer bill on auto and tesla and and he be uh...

right now in iowa you cannot sell directly to consumers with those car manufacturers and so i've been hearing from some state but when i look around the region there's quite a few states that do allow that and uh...

so i'm kind of torn on that topic a little bit you know for example tesla uh... very heavily compete with ford on their e b options because they don't have a overhead afford has with all the four dealerships and and so uh... uh...

i think if this was allowed i think you would see a drastic amount of new e bs around the state because they they don't have as much overhead is for dealerships and so i am sensitive about that uh...

at the end of the day i i want to see free market as possible and certain all areas and at the end of the day uh... whatever's best for the consumer to me is is what we need to put forth final coming up in the then will uh...

get to work on what's coming over from the house in still getting down a long ways to go yet think you get that early all right since i've been here i think we have gone out early so that i don't expect it this year but um...

it is a a record amount of bills i think again this year which is just mind boggling to me that uh... we have so many bills but uh... no it's been fun i think it's been a smooth uh...

start to session and i can't wait to happen so i know a lot of people and we touched on this before a lot of people don't see lot of regular bills that you guys put through or go through the the legislature uh... a lot of our either corrections or little fixes from uh...

previous years and they go through unanimously they just yet got to take care of it and do it so that people don't see those i get to see cuz i see the sheets and all the stuff that you guys have been doing uh... the units ones that uh... come out and uh... have a lot of uh...

lot of debate and discussion about to and get emotional people get emotional i do okay i do agree uh... i know you had a nice turnout at your uh... event here in voon uh... and uh... you continue to do those you can have another one come up here in march understand yeah uh...

we won't be and it's going to be an hour and a half and seven hours so it seems like an hour and a half is the sweet spot there you know it and i was by yet weekend i have one and we're on jefferson as well on on that side of the district and and uh...

i love the conversations are always lively and and generally respectful so i will go so i know you've been keeping tabs on what's happening on the house side by visits with chad but you keep in touch with carter to or do you know you know i mean that the way to ensure that also uh...

so if i need some model on that side i have a good contact there and and uh... it works out well for me alright appreciate you taking time to see with us again that for travel safely and uh... have a good week next week okay thank you too