Welcome to the official Patrick J. Murphy Website

Thanks for visiting my web page. As the State Representative from Dubuque and Speaker of the Iowa House, my goal is to connect Iowans with their government by listening to them and engaging them to help us make our state a better place to live.

We finished the 2010 legislative session in March and I’m proud of our work helping middle class families and small businesses get through these tough economic times. We balanced the budget without raising taxes and left nearly $400 million in our state savings accounts. We also made government more efficient, accountable, and transparent with our state government reorganization bill that saves taxpayers $265 million next year.

We ensured the success of the next generation by improving schools as well as creating jobs and strengthening the economy. We continued our support of small businesses by allowing more to qualify for low-interest loans and created a new $5 million loan fund to help small businesses create jobs. Fifteen small business development centers also received continued support this session to help small businesses and entrepreneurs.

We also took action to help veterans and to bring quality, affordable health care to more Iowans. The legislature enacted several bills to protect Iowans, including restricting texting for Iowans and keeping guns out of the hands of convicted domestic abusers. Iowans will be better prepared for future flooding with $30 million in Disaster Prevention Grants and will continue to rebuild from the floods of 2008 with an additional $34 million for rebuilding efforts, paid for by state gaming revenues.

The 84th Iowa General Assembly will convene January 10, 2011, and I encourage you to be an active participant in your state government. From health care to good jobs to education, your input can make a difference. I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter and contact me with your ideas, comments and suggestions.

I look forward to hearing from you.