The Progressive States Network ranked each state on the progressive policy gains they made in the past year.  Iowa received the top ranking as a Star state…

With Democratic leadership of both legislative chambers and the governorship for the first time in forty years, the result in Iowa was a series of landmark legislative achievements, with a promise of even greater achievement in 2008: 

·  One of the signature bills of the session was the creation of the Iowa Power Fund, a $100 million investment in the state's renewable energy industry.

 

·  Iowa approved Election Day Registration, a key reform to improve voter turnout in future elections.

 

·  Along with raising the state minimum wage in line with likely federal increases, the legislature approved an increase in the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit to 7% and made the credit refundable.

 

·  Iowa became the 18th state to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and the 11th state to ban discrimination based on gender identity.

 

·  Teacher salaries will advance to the national average, a $250 million teacher pay increase.

 

·  The legislature voted to end paperless electronic voting and move the state towards voter-marked paper ballots.

 

·  The Senate approved a resolution opposing the President's escalation in Iraq.

 

On health care, the state raised the cigarette tax by $1 per pack, allowed small businesses to band together in purchasing pools, and encouraged embryonic stem cell research by repealing a 2002 law that prohibited human cloning.  More comprehensive health care reforms were turned over to a committee to recommend changes for the 2008 legislature.

 

On the downside, the legislature failed to enact pro-union reforms of Iowa's “right to work for less” law and failed to enact a prevailing wage law to raise wages on public construction projects to match the wages paid in the private sector.

Here are the rest of the rankings…

• Star States who advanced progressive reforms on multiple fronts:

  Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington

   

• Policy Leaders who enacted important reforms but could have achieved far more:

  Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nevada

   

• Incremental Gainers who made solid if unspectacular progress this session:

  Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia

   

• Leadership Laggards who either accomplished little or balanced negative and positive policy changes:

  Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Lousiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming

   

• Bottom of the Barrel states which distinguished themselves by rightwing policies or particularly dysfunctional leadership:

  Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri