Clarke County Democrats adopted the following platform for 2018 at the county convention on March 24.

AGRICULTURE, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT

1. Enact a [3/8%] sales tax to fund conservation and water quality.

2. Enact legislation to ensure public utility rate structures that encourage customers to install solar and/or wind power on their own properties.

3. Enact legislation to require trash collection services to provide curbside pickup of recycling materials.

EDUCATION

4. Require credentialed supervision for all home schooled students.

5. Enact a ten-year tuition freeze on public higher education with increased state funding.

GOVERNMENT, LAW, MILITARY, AND VETERANS

6. Amend the Iowa Constitution to limit the time in office of a governor to two consecutive 4-year terms.

7. Restore voting rights to citizens convicted of felonies who have served their prison sentences.

8. Legalize and regulate all forms of marijuana and its derivatives for medical purposes to be determined by the regulatory board, and reduce the penalty for possession of all forms of marijuana less than or equal to one ounce, and of paraphernalia, to an infraction with a maximum $100 fine.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
None proposed at this time.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

9. Revert back to state-run Medicaid, adopt the full Medicaid expansion rules established by the Affordable Care Act, and allow all Iowans to buy into Medicaid as recently proposed in the state of Nevada.

10. Provide full funding and financial stability for the mental health services plans currently being developed by MHDS (Mental Health and Disability Services) .

11. Reinstate rights for all people, including the elderly and their caregivers and LGBTQ persons, to have access to public restrooms consistent with dignity and respect for all.

LABOR, ECONOMY, AND COMMERCE

12. Restore full collective bargaining rights to Iowa public employees and enact legislation to expand the rights of workers to organize unions without undue interference from their employers.

13. Protect IPERS: maintain its status as a public pension fund without converting any of IPERS funding to 401k , 457b, or similar types of retirement plans.

14. Enact legislation with funding to ensure accessibility to rural broadband internet at prices competitive with urban areas.

15. Repeal the state prohibition on municipal minimum wage ordinances, and enact legislation to restore the minimum wage to its 1968 level adjusted for inflation.

ADDITIONAL

16. All children in foster care and adopted from foster care are required to have wellness checks every 6 months up to the age of 18.

17. State legislature is required to fund all mandates.

18. Fully fund the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

19. Ensure that existing laws regarding in-home visits are enforced with proper funding.