‘2010 Session Information’ Archives

High School Students Encouraged to be a Legislative Page

Area high school students are encouraged to apply to be a legislative page to learn more about the legislative process in the Iowa House of Representatives for the 2011 Legislative Session.

Pages provide invaluable assistance to Representatives and House staff by running errands, delivering messages, and distributing bills and amendments. Pages also “staff” committee meetings and help the chairperson by handing out materials during the meetings. Some Pages will be assigned to work with the House Journal, Legal Counsel and Caucus staffs.

Pages are actually hired as employees of the Iowa House of Representatives. They receive $8.57 per hour and are expected to work from 8 a.m. until the House adjourns for the day. Pages will be able to apply to be full or half session pages. Uniforms are provided. Work begins on January 11 and goes to the end of the session, which usually runs until the end of April.

Students interested in serving as Pages must submit their application by Friday, October 1, 2010. Students will also be interviewed as part of the selection process. Applications must be filed with the Chief Clerk of the Iowa House.

Students who are interested in becoming a Page can apply by downloading an application from the General Assembly’s web site at www.legis.state.ia.us/PageInfo. Parental permission is required to participate in this program.

Tags: iowa high school students, legislative page, page
Category 2010 Session Information, Featured, Recent News |

New Laws Go Into Effect on July 1

A number of new laws will go into effect on July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year. Several changes were made during the 2010 legislative session that will affect Iowans, including new seat belt requirements for kids in the back seat, a ban on text messaging while driving, and new protections for victims of domestic abuse.

Some of the changes taking effect on July 1 include:

Support for Small Businesses – Focuses state job creation efforts on small Iowa businesses instead of large Wall Street companies by increasing the Research Activities Credit available for small businesses. (Senate File 2380)

Domestic Abuse – Forfeiture of Guns – If a person is convicted of domestic abuse or is the subject of a permanent protective order, the person will lose the ability to own guns. (Senate File 2357)

Texting Ban – Drivers under the age of 18 years cannot use an electronic device while driving, unless it is installed in the vehicle or operated through permanently installed equipment. Drivers over 18 cannot use a hand-held communication device to read, write, or send a text message, but can use the device to make a phone call. The penalty for all ages is a $30 fine, with harsher penalties if in an accident with serious injury or death. Warning citations begin on July 1, 2010, and fines begin on July 1, 2011. (House File 2456)

Seat Belts – Requires all persons under the age of 18 years to use either a safety seat or seat belt unless all seat belts are already being used. If a person age 14 years or older is not using a seat belt, they will get the ticket, not the driver of the vehicle. (Senate File 2381)

Military Spouse Benefits – Allows unemployment benefits for an individual who left employment because of the relocation of the individual’s spouse due to a military assignment in another area. (House File 2110)

Grain Weight Limit for Farmers – Allows commercial motor vehicles, other than special trucks, on non-interstate highways, to haul up to 90,000 lbs. on six axles and 96,000 lbs. on seven axles. Currently allowed for livestock or construction vehicles, this allows farmers to haul heavier grain on trucks with more axles. (House File 2512)

Health Insurance & Cancer Trials – Insurers say they pay for routine care for cancer patients in clinical trials, but many patients are reluctant to participate fearing they will lose their health insurance. This bill makes it easier for patients to participate in these trials by assuring them that routine care will continue to be covered. (House File 2075)

Mental Health Hospitalization Notification (Ed Thomas Bill) – Assures that law enforcement are notified when individuals hospitalized for a serious mental impairment are released from care if there is an arrest warrant or pending charges against the individual. (House File 2352)

Smart Growth and Comprehensive Planning – Establishes a set of ten comprehensive planning principles that state and local governments should use in preparing for future growth. These principles are guides and are not mandates. (Senate File 2389)

Tags: domestic abuse, Health Insurance, Mental Health, New Laws, Public Safety, small businesses, smart growth, texting ban
Category 2010 Session Information |

Governor Culver Signs Five Bills

Senate File 2356
Directs DHS to amend the extension proposal for the IowaCare program to provide expansion population services through a phased in approach, utilizing the 14 Federally Qualified Health Centers statewide. Creates a mechanism to expand the IowaCare provider network to include private providers, and hospitals designated by the Department subject to availability of funds. Eestablishes a mechanism to leverage additional federal monies through certified public expenditures to compensate University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for a portion of the costs associated with physician care. Directs DHS to develop this plan in a phased in approach and to consult with the Medical Assistance and Projections Council and receive their approval prior to implementation. Establishes a payment mechanism for the regional provider network to receive payment for primary care services to IowaCare members. Directs the Department to adopt rules in collaboration with the Medical Home Advisory Council specifying the requirements and certification of a medical home. Directs the Department of Public Health to work with the appropriate entities to develop a plan for coordination of care for individuals with diabetes receiving care through members of the Iowa Collaborative Safety Net Provider Network.

Division II of SF2356 creates an insurance exchange in Iowa, the purpose of which is to establish an information clearinghouse where all Iowans can obtain information about health care coverage that is available in this state including availability of care delivered by safety-net providers and comparisons of benefits, premiums, and out-of-pocket costs. The bill specifies the nature of the information to be provided to consumers in making decisions about purchasing or acquiring health care coverage. The bill also establishes that the commissioner is to make recommendations to the Legislative Health Care Commission at each meeting of the Commission including those related to the promotion of greater transparency in providing quality data on health care providers and health care coverage plans and in providing data on the cost of medical care that is easily accessible to the public, statutory options that improve seamlessness in the health care system in this state and funding opportunities to increase health care coverage in the state, particularly for individuals who have been denied access to health insurance coverage.

House File 2370
Enterprise Zones are designed to stimulate development by targeting economically distressed areas in Iowa. Through state and local tax incentives, businesses and developers are encouraged to make new investments, and create or retain jobs in these areas. The goal of the program is to revitalize these areas and make them competitive with other locations throughout the state. Under current law, certification of enterprise zones ends on July 1, 2010. This law extends the deadline for 2 years to July 1, 2012. In addition, the cap under the program is eliminated since the program will fall under the tax credit cap for economic development programs created last year and modified in SF 2380, the tax credit reform bill pending the Governor’s signature.

House File 2483
Relates to trusts and estates including provisions relating to state inheritance tax, uniform transfers to minors, and medical assistance claims. This bill specifies that retirement plans subject to federal income tax when paid to a beneficiary are not subject to state inheritance tax. Increases transfers to minors from $10,000 to $25,000 under Uniform Law provisions. Allows electronic notice to DHS on estates in order to let DHS decide whether to make a Medicaid claim. This bill allows for distribution of property by affidavit if the property does not exceed $25,000. It states that remedies for a trustee’s failure to inform and account are not available for trusts created prior to July, 2002. In addition, this bill allows a transfer agent to request certification of the existence of a trust and of the identity of a trustee. This bill also adds provisions that allow the consent of a person, who can represent another, binding unless the represented person objects before the consent becomes effective and only applicable to written consents prior to July, 2010.

Senate File 2388
Creates a program that assesses urban hospitals a fee that would generate $40 million that can be used as a match for the state’s Medicaid program, and those funds are deposited in the Hospital Health Care Access Trust Fund. Hospitals are limited in the funds they can receive by the federal Upper Payment Limit ($69.1 million). Hospitals would receive a $20.5 million appropriation from the Trust Fund for a provider rate increase. The $20.5 million is then matched to draw down $48.6 million to reach the federal Upper Payment Limit of $69.1 million. The state nets $19.4 million for Medicaid expenses. The legislation also includes funding for hospital re-basing at $4.5 million in FY 12 and $6 million in FY 13.

Senate File 2331
Adds chiropractic as a covered service for hawk-i enrollees. Chiropractic is not currently specifically listed as a covered service. The legislation also allows any chiropractor who is licensed in the state of Iowa to be a participating provider in the hawk-i program. This means that a hawk-i participating health plan cannot limit their network if chiropractors want to be a hawk-i provider.

Tags: Chet Culver, Enterprise Zones, Health Care, mark smith, Phyllis Thede, state inheritance tax
Category 2010 Session Information, Health Care |

Governor Signs Texting While Driving Ban

Iowa Governor Chet Culver Thursday signed a ban on text messaging while driving that was co-authored by State Representative Curt Hanson of Fairfield.

“After teaching students about responsibility and respect on our roadways for over 40 years, I’m proud that our plan to save lives and prevent accidents was signed by the Governor today,” said Hanson, who won approval of the bill in the Iowa House.  “The bi-partisan effort in the Legislature to craft this sensible compromise will protect young drivers and improve safety for everyone on Iowa’s roadways.”

House File 2456 prohibits the use of all electronic and mobile devices while driving for those under the age of 18.  Persons over 18 may not use a hand-held electronic device to read, write, or send a text message while driving. Violators will be charged with a simple misdemeanor and a $30 fine.  If texting is the cause of an accident that results in serious injury or death, penalties increase up to a $1000 fine and 180 day license suspension.
 

Law enforcement cannot stop or detain a person only for suspected violations of texting and local governments are not allowed to adopt their own ordinances.  When the new law takes effect on July 1, law enforcement will begin an education campaign and will only write warning citations for the first year before the enhanced penalties and fines begin to apply.

Tags: Culver, Curt Hanson, driving, texting
Category 2010 Session Information, Public Safety, Statehouse News |

Legislature responsibly balances budget without raising taxes while building groundwork for economic recovery

Legislative leaders yesterday said the shortened 2010 session of the Iowa Legislature succeeded in responsibly balancing the budget without raising taxes while laying the groundwork for Iowa’s economic recovery.

“The lingering national recession has put almost every state budget in the red. In Iowa, that’s not the case. We’ve balanced the budget without increasing taxes on Iowa families. We did it by making tough choices and by reorganizing state government for the first time in 25 years,” said Senate President Jack Kibbie of Emmetsburg. “Those changes will make the dollars we do spend go farther while saving hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years.”

“Times will be tough in Iowa until the national economy more fully recovers,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines. “But Iowa is positioned better now than most any other state to recover quicker and stronger because the Legislature kept focused on fiscal responsibility and protecting the key priorities of Iowans.”

“For the first time ever, this Legislature took a hard look at state spending on all tax credits. Our tax credit reform ended some tax credits, suspended others, and cut the state’s overall tax credit liability by $115 million. We increased incentives to help our local small businesses create jobs,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs. “We also expanded support for small businesses to encourage them to create good-paying jobs.”

“We made the cuts we had to make while keeping our commitments to educational opportunity, access to affordable health care, renewable energy, public safety and job creation,” said House Speaker Pat Murphy of Dubuque. “I’m proud of our efforts to make state government leaner and more effective, which allowed us to provide schools with an additional $147 million next year.”

Tags: End of Session, kibbie, McCarthy, Murphy
Category 2010 Session Information, Budget, Education, Health Care, Jobs & Economy |