Here is Senate Republican President Jack Kibbie’s speech to open the 2012 legislative session as released by his staff.

Good morning and welcome to the beginning of the 2012 session. I have no doubt that we will be able to accomplish our work in a timely manner and adjourn with results that will benefit our fellow citizens.

I believe we should focus this session on building upon the initiatives we have already begun and addressing the needed investments that will ensure we have a workforce ready to fill the jobs our economy requires. if we do nothing else this session, we must continue to expand our production and use of renewable fuels; begin to repair our neglected infrastructure needs; make a substantial investment in training a skilled workforce; find a compromise that begins the reform of our commercial property tax system; and complete the redesign our mental health system.

We can accomplish all these desired goals because previous legislatures have been good stewards of the state’s financial resources. Almost any other state would be happy to trade places with Iowa because we have a healthy bottom line and our savings accounts are full. Our unemployment is going down and the cornerstone of our economy, agriculture, has never been in a stronger position.

The first area I mentioned for work this year was renewable fuels. We have built 41 ethanol plants and 14 biodiesel plants in the last 10 years under three administrations without barriers from our regulators. the economic benefit to Iowa from these efforts is $14 billion dollars annually. this does not include a very successful wind energy effort which is growing every day. these initiatives related to renewable energy have produced 100,000 good paying jobs and there is ample room for expansion and growth.

The second area of focus is to begin to repair the state’s infrastructure. according to a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers, we have 27% of our bridges either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete; 41% of our major roads are in poor or mediocre condition; 38% of our major urban highways are congested; traffic on our highways has increase 57% over a 15 year period; and, we face a $27 billion transportation funding shortage in the next two decades. No one disputes the extent of this problem and it is time for us to step up and have the courage to increase the gas tax so that we have dedicated funding to begin to address the backlog. I believe there is bipartisan support for this and close to a fifth of the money received will be from non-Iowans who use our roads. We are 34th in fuel tax rates and each penny generates $22 million. these funds will help generate badly need jobs in the construction industry and we cannot afford to delay or study any longer.

The third area of focus, and I believe the most important, is to begin to address our skilled workforce shortage. In the farm crisis of the 1980’s, Iowa lost population because there were no jobs for the unemployed. In this recession and recovery, we face a time where there are jobs, but where there are not workers with the skills to fill them. I believe we need to make a substantial investment in job training and retraining and the best way to do that is through our community college system. the Community Colleges serve 14% of our total population and 23% of our working population and while enrollment has increased by 71% over the last ten years, per pupil funding has decreased by 41%. State General Fund aid has fallen dramatically to only 28% of Community College revenue while student tuition and fees have almost doubled in the last decade. Our tuition rate is now the 8th highest in the country and the local tax contribution to the community colleges has been the same since 1967. In Iowa it has been estimated that by 2012, we will have in excess of 150,000 more jobs than workers to fill them. Stagnant population growth, retirements, and shortages of skilled workers are the key reason. Our skilled work force shortage is real. these skill shortages vary in different parts of the state.  We must develop regional work force plans that adopt programs and training in the skills needed in a particular region. Most applicants today lack the basic and occupational skills to fill open positions.  as a result, businesses are struggling to recruit skilled and technical workers. if we are to meet the ambitious goal set by the Governor to create 200,000 new jobs, this effort is crucial. I will be proposing legislation to set up a program, with dedicated long term funding, that will be administered by the College Student Aid Commission that is aimed at directly addressing this important job creation strategy. I know we will looking at proposals from the Governor regarding K-12 reform and I don’t think this initiative deters us from giving that proposal a full and fair hearing.

Fourth, we need to find common ground on the issue of commercial property tax relief. In the 2011 session, by a vote of 46-4, SF 522 passed the Senate in which four out of five (83% ) of all commercial property tax payers in the state of Iowa would receive a tax credit making the net taxation rate the SAME rate as residential property, which is about 55 percent of assessed value.  this will be a 45 percent CUT in current commercial property tax rates.  Because this is a state-funded tax credit, there would be no direct or indirect tax shift onto residential property taxpayers. the House amended that version and has sent it back to us. I am sure we will hear from Governor Branstad on this issue, and when we do we all need to sit down together and craft the appropriate solution which helps small business and does not penalize local government and school districts.

Lastly, I want to commend the bipartisan efforts that have occurred over the interim with legislative members, the Department of Human Services and all the stakeholders to present a proposal to change the Mental Health Delivery system. this is something long overdue and I am confident we can get it done. while this may seem like an ambitious agenda, I am sure much of the work we did last year sets up a scenario whereby we can move forward and make this a very successful session. the will be the last session for many of us so let’s make this second session of the 84th General Assembly one that historian’s will write about.

In closing, you all know I have said this is my last session. It has been a privilege to serve in this institution for the last 24 years and as President of the Senate for the last eight years. I have enjoyed my time here and wish all of you the very best in the future.

Tags: Jack Kibbie

Senate President: Raise the gas tax