The Iowa Legislature officially gaveled in to start the session for 2020 this week. Representative Dustin Hite says this year brought change to the Iowa House, as the Republicans have chosen Representative Pat Grassley as the new Speaker of the House following the resignation of Speaker Linda Upmeyer from the position this past off-season. He says the first week of session includes a great deal of ceremony as lawmakers hear the Condition of the State address from Governor Reynolds, the Condition of the Judiciary address from acting Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court Justice Wiggins, and the Condition of the National Guard address from Major General of the Iowa National Guard Major General Benjamin Corell. One of Hite’s top priorities this year will be bringing broadband internet to rural Iowa.

“In the past, having a high-speed internet connection has been considered a luxury. However, in today’s world has become a necessity – much like electricity became a necessity close to 100 years ago,” Hite said in his weekly newsletter. “A few years ago, Iowa started to connect every Iowan to the internet by creating a broadband grant program. The governor has requested $15 million this year to fund broadband grants for broadband deployment in unserved areas of the state.”

In addition to funding the existing grant program, Hite says lawmakers have been working on a number of ideas to facilitate Iowan’s access – especially in rural areas – to high speed internet. Some of the major barriers include: money, lack of infrastructure, and regulations.

“To reduce the regulatory burden, one avenue is to look at strengthening Iowa’s “dig once” policy. A “dig once” policy requires the inclusion of broadband conduit (pipes which can be used to easily run fiber-optic communications cable) in the right of way during a road construction project. This would reduce the cost of getting internet to homes and businesses by up to 90%, according to the Federal Highway Administration,” Hite says.

Lawmakers return to more typical work when the session restarts Monday.