Five days before the 4th of July, Iowan…

By Sen./Rep.

Letter to editor: Urge no vote on Constitutional Amendment

Five days before the 4th of July, Iowans will be given the opportunity to vote against amendments to the Iowa constitution that are anti-democratic, unwise, unnecessary, and could raise property taxes.

We encourage you to join us by voting “No!” on two proposed constitutional amendments on June 29.

There are two major problems with these amendments: (1) They purport to fix a problem that doesn’t really exist; and (2) their impact would be detrimental for many Iowans.

When was the last time you heard any mention of any potential increase in your state taxes?

For the fifth straight year, the Legislature has provided tax relief for Iowans. These targeted tax cuts have included a 10% across-the-board income tax cut and raising the personal and dependent exemptions. More important we have moved form a gigantic state deficit of millions of dollars to a budget that has produced a surplus that allows us to give back to Iowa citizens. This has been done with discipline by legislators, not constitutional mandates.

With the passage of these amendments, we fear that the Legislators will not be able to provide targeted tax relief and renege on their commitments to improve our schools, children, roads, elderly and local governments - leaving school boards, city councils and county supervisors with no choice but to raise our local property taxes.

So what’s the rush? We really don’t know. But we do that supporters are betting on most Iowans not going to the polls for a special election during the 4th of July holiday week. We think that’s a sneaky way of doing business.

We hope you’ll join us by voting against two constitutional amendments that are anti-democratic, unwise, unnecessary, and could raise property taxes.

Sen. Bob Dvorsky

Rep. Mary Mascher

Sen. Joe Bolkcom

Rep. Dick Myers

Rep. Ro Foege

Rep. Minnette Doderer