The 2001 legislative session began this week with Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate. However, legislators said both parties are committed to increasing state funding for the biotechnology and high-tech industries to make the state attractive to both Iowans and visitors to the state.”I appreciate the statements Gov. Tom Vilsack said about the new economy,” said Rep. Jane Greimann, D-Ames. “Iowa State is leading the state in new technology, and I support them on that.”The ISU Plant Science Project is high on the agenda for both Vilsack and the Democratic legislators, said Sen. Johnie Hammond, D-Ames. She said Vilsack is fully backing the $5 million requested by Iowa State for the project.”The new economy will be led by biotechnology and the high-tech industry,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City. “We need to continue to fund the Plant Science Project.”The Legislature also will consider Gov. Vilsack’s proposal for a $1 increase in the minimum wage, raising it from $5.15 to $6.15 an hour.”[The minimum wage] is an issue passed at the federal level,” said Speaker of the House Rep. Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs. “Most jobs in Iowa already start out at about six bucks.”Siegrist said the Republicans will consider the new plan, but it isn’t a high priority. He said most states abide by the federal rules instead of mandating their own.”It is time to increase the minimum wage,” Greimann said. “People can’t live on $10,000 a year. They still get welfare relief. We need to be a little proactive.”Greimann said she doesn’t believe President-elect George W. Bush’s administration will act on this issue, which would leave it up to the states.However, Rant said there is a labor shortage in Iowa and few jobs start out at minimum wage.Also high on the priority list for both Republicans and the Democrats is a proposal to improve the child-protection system.Hammond said the interest in fixing the system came after the January 2000 beating of 2-year-old Shelby Duis of Spirit Lake.”[The Duis case] was so outrageous because the efforts of so many people were brought to the attention of officials, and she still ended up dead,” Hammond said. “We spent a lot of time last session trying to find out ways to fix the problem without spending money.”However, parties may disagree on how to best improve the department.”I believe families have lost confidence in [the Department of Human Services],” Rants said. “The governor wants to throw a lot of money at the issue, but first we need to fix the department. We need to retrain mandatory reporters.”Rants said mandatory reporters are people, such as teachers, who are trained to report instances of abuse. He said mandatory reporters have declared the training the state offers is inadequate.A bottle-recycling initiative bill also will be considered by legislators. Greimann said the bill would increase the reward for recycling cans and bottles from 1 cent to 2 cents. She said there also is a proposal to expand the bottle refund from carbonated beverages only to include bottled water, juices and sports drinks that were not out on the market when the bill was first enacted into law.Although the 2001 session has just begun, many legislators said they are happy with the way it started.”[We had a] pretty good opening session,” Siegrist said.