New Faces in Legislature

In less than a month, the 150 members of the Iowa Legislature will convene in Des Moines. January 14, 2019 is the start of the scheduled 110-day first session of the 88th General Assembly. The annual ABI Legislative Briefing and Reception will be January 16, 2019. Although the date seems later than usual, the reception is once again the first Wednesday the Legislature is in session.

There will be several new faces to meet at the annual legislative event—twenty-nine to be exact. The new legislators are from metro and rural areas, represent both Democrats and Republicans, and are both female and male. The legislative reception is an excellent opportunity for you to meet the new legislators in a casual setting and to start building relationships that will continue throughout the year. In addition to the new faces in the Iowa Legislature, newly elected state officials and appointed state agency heads have been invited to attend the event.

I hope you have already added the evening event on Jan. 16 to your calendar. If not, I encourage you to take advantage of the early-bird registration discount and register today at www.iowaabi.org. The new venue, Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, is bigger with ample room for networking with legislators and ABI members.

As we look to 2019, there are other opportunities for you to get engaged with ABI’s public policy efforts and meet your elected officials.

The first way to get involved is to host a legislator and other business leaders in the area for coffee or lunch at your place of business. Let them know the economic impact your business has on the state economy and specifically their legislative district. The ABI public policy team is willing to help coordinate with legislators and ABI members in the area to make the visit a success. Please contact one of us for more information.

Secondly, we hope you will register for the Iowa Business Day on the Hill, which will be held on March 13 in Des Moines. On this day, Iowa business leaders will hear a legislative update from lobbyists and then have the opportunity to visit the state capitol and meet with elected officials about issues that are priorities for your company and the association.

If you are looking for more ways to get engaged with ABI and with public policy, please let me know. We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event!