Gov. Reynolds gives her Condition of the State address

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - Governor Kim Reynolds delivered her 6th Condition of the State Tuesday night. In the yearly speech, the governor laid out her top priorities she’s looking to tackle this year.

One of the big topics was her school voucher program. She introduced it last session, but it never got passed.

Governor Reynolds appears in a commercial that started airing today, promoting those school vouchers. The ad is running state-wide from the ‘Priorities for Iowa’... an organization that furthers conservative causes. The group’s treasurer is a former Chief of Staff for Governor Reynolds.

She calls it “school choice.” The state would contribute $7,598 to pay for private schooling. That’s the same amount the state provides for each student attending a public school.

Critics say this takes needed dollars from public education - which is where more than 90% of Iowa’s children learn.

“Our first priority in this legislative session and what I will be focusing on over the next four years is making sure that every child is provided with a quality education. And in three years every family will have a choice in education and no child will be limited by income or zip code,” said Governor Reynolds.

The Governor also proposed making changes to Iowa’s laws regarding medical malpractice. She believes that the current situation is making it harder for Iowans to find maternity care.

‘This is the year that we must enact common sense tort reform to stop the out-of-control verdicts that are driving our OB/GYN clinics out of business and medical school graduates out of our state,” she said.

Senator Zach Wahls gave the democratic response following the address.

He criticized the voucher plan calling it harmful to small towns, especially rural communities. He added it would only help people who can *already afford to send their students to private schools.