State Agencies: No Green-Cleaning Products for Schools

The Green Cleaning Bill HF823 – also one of McCarthy’s leadership bills – will not be going forward this year. State Agencies (Department of Public Health, Department of Education, and Department of Administrative Services) that would be responsible for overseeing the use green-cleaning products in public schools expressed concerns about money and resources required to implement the initiative.

The cost-benefit ratio would have been very high. School children and school staff across Iowa would no longer be subjected to toxic cleaning products, while State Agencies would merely be required the publish a list of green cleaning products on a state website.

While this bill was considered towards the end of the session, it is particularly unsettling that some in the Culver administration (which is supposed to be GREEN) did not embrace what is clearly a positive public policy goal.

We expect that this issue will be one of the first debated and passed next year.

Adjournment Update:

Democrat Leaders are indicating that they want to go home, but will struggle to do so without passing Governor Culver’s $750 million bonding bill.

Another impediment to session adjournment is Barack Obama’s visit to Newton on Wednesday which will inevitably take many Democrats away from the Statehouse.

It will come down to Thursday night when leaders will look at the what’s left on the schedule and determine if they can finish up over the weekend. If not, we’ll be back for more next week.