WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — It’s been a busy start to what Gov. Kim Reynolds is calling a “big and bold” legislative session. The first bill the Republican signed into law was the Students First Act, a historic universal school choice bill allowing parents and guardians to tap into publicly funded education savings accounts to help cover the cost of private school tuition. Reynolds then signed a major medical malpractice tort reform bill capping noneconomic damages, a bill hated by personal injury lawyers but heralded by health care providers, hospitals, insurers and others who say costly litigation has helped push up health care costs. Now, Reynolds has her eye on big government. “We’re fighting hard every day to make government smaller,” the governor said at a recent Iowa campaign stop for Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Reynolds’ mission: Trim Iowa’s 37 executive branch cabinet-level departments from 37 to 16. The plan calls for reducing state government office space footprint to “align with industry standards and generate cost savings” and consolidating technology systems and services. Reynolds also wants to align regionally operated community-based corrections programs within the Iowa Department of Corrections. The aim, the governor says, is to strengthen the corrections…
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