The 2020 Iowa Legislative session adjourned last weekend, and lawmakers have had a chance to reflect on this past year.

District 47 State Representative Phil Thompson of Jefferson remarks on how the session went overall, including COVID-19 disruptions.

“I’m proud of the work of our caucus, I’m proud of the work of both chambers, and of both (political) parties. We really came together – I think – on a lot of our budget conversations. We were focused on doing our work and getting home (due to COVID-19).”

Thompson points out one aspect that he’s disappointed with is not having his emergency medical services bill pass the Senate. He says the bill passed the House overwhelmingly with 99-1 vote and it would’ve allowed counties to declare EMS an essential service and make them eligible for additional state funding.

“I learned a lot in the past week about how to negotiate with the Senate. I’m really hopeful that in the interim that with the help of our governor and a lot of good people that care about this issue, I’m confident that we’ll be able to come back and drive our point home to the Senate.”  

Thompson adds that he was able to appropriate $1.1 million to EMS from the state’s budget, which he says is a significant increase.