Rep. Dustin Hite promised to help NFIB get high speed internet to small business owners across Iowa.
On August 1st, Iowa NFIB members from across the state gathered in Pella to discuss issues that are important to small business owners. At the roundtable discussion was Rep. Dustin Hite of New Sharon, a freshman state representative who is also the vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Hite started off the meeting by discussing one of his top priorities next legislative session: expanding broadband to rural areas across the state that have been overlooked by big providers. Rep. Hite spoke about using the networks that are already in place to increase access to folks who need high-speed internet to run their small business.
If you live in the city, it’s probably not something you think about. However, outside big cities, it’s a real problem: 39% of rural Americans, or 35 million people, lack access to broadband internet. Those are numbers from the Federal Communications Commission. Compare that to only 4% of urban Americans who don’t have access to high-speed internet. In a recent NFIB poll, 7% of NFIB members said that access to high-speed internet is a critical problem for them.
Rep. Hite promised to help NFIB members with legislation that would increase internet access across Iowa. As of last year, 22 states had introduced 31 bills relating to rural broadband, but Iowa was not one of those states. That information is from the National Conference of State Legislators. Rep. Hite told Iowa’s NFIB members that he understands the problem: as a resident of New Sharon, population 1200, he wants high-speed internet so that New Sharon can not only keep its small businesses: but attract new small business owners to bring jobs to and live in the small rural town.
Rep. Hite helped pass the historic property tax transparency bill last year that will limit annual property tax growth to 2 percent. NFIB Iowa State Director Matt Everson credits the bill with helping to curb the egregious property tax growth that has been on the rise for over two decades. He also says the bill will help stop small business owners from fleeing Iowa to neighboring states that have a more small-business friendly tax code. Last session, Rep. Hite was on the House floor working the bill and helping it pass until the vote happened at 3 a.m. He promised to work just as hard this session for issues important to small business owners.
Also at the meeting: Kevin Jacobson of Central Iowa Televising in McCallsburg and Ben Rempe of Lender Close in West Des Moines were voted in as the newest Leadership Council Members. Jacobson started his small business in 2006 at the end of his 23-year stint as Story City’s Water and Waste Waster Superintendent. Jacobson was running cameras through sewers as a favor to a friend when he realized how profitable the side hustle could be. He now has 13 employees and has clients in six states. Rempe is a new NFIB member, having just joined last year. His business, Lender Close, streamlines the lending process for more than 150 credit unions and banks across Iowa. His business has grown exponentially in the past year and a half: after an investment, the business went from 3 to 30 employees and they are looking to hire more. Welcome Ben and Kevin to the Leadership Council!
