January 29-February 4, 2015

WEEKLY BILL TRACKING

HOUSE DEMOCRATIC RESEARCH STAFF

Administration and Rules

HR 4 House Rules. These are the rules that govern legislative business in the House of Representatives.

The rules are the same as last year. An amendment was considered to change rule 29 moving

the date for individual bill requests back to the fifth week of session instead of the fourth

week, as originally proposed by the committee. (passed House by voice vote)

HCR 6 Joint Rules. These are the rules that govern legislative business between the House and the Senate.

These rules are the same as last year, with one change related to rule 20 which relates to

bills exempt from the funnel deadlines. The new rule includes bills sponsored by a standing

committee relating to an administrative rule where the effective date has been delayed or where

the applicability has been suspended until the adjournment of the next regular session of the

General Assembly. (passed House and Senate by voice vote)

Commerce

HSB 70 Electronic Documents Available for Competitive Bids for Public Improvement Contracts. Prohibits

governmental entities from charging a fee to obtain electronic or digital documents made

available for public improvement contracts. (passed Committee 22‐0) to House Calendar

Education

HF 139 School Funding Every Other Year. Strikes the current 30 day time line to set school funding, and

establishes that the percentage increase for school funding and categorical funding would be set

only in the first session of the General Assembly. The Legislature would set two years of school

funding within the same session with two different time lines. The bill also changes deadlines for

the Modified Allowable Growth program deadlines to apply for the program. (passed Committee

13‐9) to House Calendar

HF 156 Preschool Administration. Allows for transportation of preschool children with other children,

and administrative costs can cover rent and outreach activities. Of the dollars passed on to preschool

providers, the bill changes the amount that can be used for administration costs from 5%

to 10%. (passed Committee 22‐0) to House Calendar

Ethics

HR 5 House Ethics Rules. These rules establish the Code of Ethics for the Iowa House of Representatives.

There are no changes to the rules from last session. (passed House by voice vote)

HCR 7 Joint Rules Governing Lobbyist. These are the joint rules governing lobbyists of the Senate and

House of Representatives. There are no changes to the rules from last session. (passed House

and Senate by voice vote)

Human Resources

HSB 83 Public Health Omnibus Bill. The bill changes the term “hearing aid dispensers” to “hearing aid

specialists.” In addition, the bill makes changes to Medical Residency Training Grants program

under the Iowa Department of Public Health. The bill fixes an error from last year so that the

programs will continue by reinstating the repealed language in 2014. In the last part of the bill,

the newly reinstated language is amended in an effort to make the program more attractive to

Thurs. Jan 29, 2015 – Wed. Feb 4, 2015

potential bidders, especially those who may wish to establish new residency programs. (passed

Committee 21‐0) to House Calendar

Judiciary

HSB 21 Statute of Repose. Reduces the statute of repose for nonresidential construction from 15 years

to 10 years. (passed Committee 13‐8) to House Calendar

HSB 29 Equalization Order Notifications. Requires that individual notices be mailed to each taxpayer

where the valuation of the taxpayers property would be increased by the equalization order and

changes the dates for notifications and appeals by property owners. (passed Committee 20‐1) to

House Calendar

HSB 33 Strip Searches ‐ Simple Misdemeanor and Scheduled Violations. Allows a visual strip search of

anyone arrested for a scheduled violation or simple misdemeanor who is housed in the general

population of a jail or facility. (passed Committee 21‐0) to House Calendar

HSB 52 Model Nonprofit Corporation Act Update. Updates Iowa Code to reflect changes to the Model

Nonprofit Corporation Act. (passed Committee 21‐0) to House Calendar

State Government

HSB 45 Creation of Volunteer Dentist and Dental Hygienist License. Creates a volunteer license for dentists

and dental hygienist who have retired in good standing. The volunteer dentist will be under

the same guidelines governing the practice of dentistry and dental hygienists except those relating

to fees, license renewal, and continuing education requirements. A volunteer dentist is not

allowed to charge a fee or receive any form of compensation for dental work. (Passed Committee

22‐1) to House Calendar

HSB 75 Sleep Tech Licensure. This bill creates a license for sleep techs or by their technical term polysomnographic

technologists. This bill sets minimum standards required to be a sleep techs and

allows for respiratory therapists to be licensed under certain circumstances. (Passed Committee

20‐3) to House Calendar

HF 131 Definition of Beer. Changes the definition of beer for the purposes of brewers and wholesalers to

include high alcohol beer. High alcohol beer is defined in Chapter 123 to include any beer from 5

to 12 percent ABW. (Passed Committee 22‐0) to House Calendar

HF 146 Creating a Scale for Gambling Penalties. Currently any person caught making a bet after knowing

the outcome of a game which is not available to all players is a Class “D” felony which leads to

very few prosecutions. HF 146 creates a range of penalties based on potential winnings. It also

bans anyone from a casino if convicted of the offense of unlawful betting. (Passed Committee 21‐

1) to House Calendar.

Veterans Affairs

HSB 5 Veteran Reporting Requirements for Colleges and Universities. Currently, they are required to

file annual reports with the Governor and the Legislature relating to the award of educational

credits to veterans for military education, training, and experience. The bill amends the definition

of veteran to include members of the reserve forces of the United States and of the National

Guard who have served at least one year of the service commitment and are eligible for, or have

exhausted, federal education benefits for veterans. (passed Committee 15‐0) to House Calendar

3

HSB 40 Disabled Veterans Homestead Property Tax Exemption ‐ Fix. The bill is intended to fix an error

from last year. The bill amends the eligibility criteria for the credit to include a veteran that has a

permanent and total disability rating based on individual unemployability, which is compensated

at the 100% disability rate, as certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The

bill also removes the provision that terminates eligibility for the credit for a surviving spouse receiving

dependency and indemnity compensation when the surviving spouse remarries. The bill

takes effect upon enactment and applies retroactively to May 26, 2014, for applications for the

homestead credit filed on or after that date. (passed Committee 15‐0) to House Calendar