As the Iowa Legislative session is suspended due to the COVID-19 health emergency, many wonder what will happen to bills that await passage in the House and Senate, and what budget changes could occur.

The legislature is currently set to resume on April 15th, six days before what would have originally been the 100th calendar day of the session, when legislators stop getting paid for per diem expenses. This gives a short amount of time for legislators to finish up next fiscal year’s budget and pass remaining bills, including one to waive the school day requirement as schools across the state have closed for four weeks at Governor Kim Reynolds’ recommendation. House District 20 Representative Ray Sorensen says he’s not sure when that bill will be ready for Reynolds’ signature, “I know that there will be budget work, beyond that I don’t know what policy stuff will be scrapped, I don’t know what will be put in place, I don’t know how exactly it’s going to unfold. For me, especially this being my first term as a state legislator that’s new territory coupled with the new territory of facing a pandemic. So I have no idea how it’s going to all unfold but my guess is that yeah, some policy pieces will make it through but for the most part we’ll be focused on the budget any ways and means things that need to get shaped up before we session out.”

Sorensen adds his current priority is getting the economic development budget ready for when the session resumes. You can hear more from him during Monday’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County program on air at raccoonvalleyradio.com.