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Week 5 –
Committee Reports NATURAL
RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT STAFF CONTACT: Sue Monahan SF
2004 – Removal of E10 Decals on Motor Fuel Pumps SF
2018 – Equine Commission and Equine Promotional Fund SSB
3041 – COMMITTEE ACTION: SF 2004 provides that a retail dealer of motor fuel no longer needs to have an E10 (mixture gasoline with 10 percent ethanol) sticker on the motor fuel pump. An amendment was adopted in committee which replaced all of the bill language. As amended, the bill allows a retail dealer to decide whether to use an E10 decal on their motor fuel pumps. All other renewable fuels are required to have a decal indentifying the name of any renewable fuel dispensed from the pump. In addition, the amendment added language changing the octane level from 87 to 85. [2/7: short form] SF 2018 establishes an equine industry promotional commission within the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS). The purpose of the commission is to promote the collective interests of the state’s equine industry. The bill establishes an equine industry promotional fund under the control of the commission. The bill appropriates moneys from the general fund for deposit into the equine industry promotional fund and one full-time employee at IDALS. [2/7: short form] SSB 3041 amends Code chapter 177, which provides for the
establishment of the Iowa Crop Improvement Association. The bill amends the
Code sections relating to the Association’s recognition, its duties and
objectives, and its management by a board of directors and employees. An amendment was adopted in committee which
allows the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to provide rules
which allow the Association to act as the official seed certifying agency for
STAFF CONTACT: Julie T. Simon SF
2116 – IFA certificate of release SF
2117 – IFA closing protection letters in real estate transactions FLOOR ACTION SF 2116 is an Iowa
Finance Authority proposal that modifies the standard for
imposing liability on its title guaranty division. Currently the division is liable to a mortgagee and mortgage servicer for actual damages s SF 2117, a
departmental proposal from Iowa Finance Authority (IFA), adds
"closer" to the participants who may be covered by a closing protection letter in real estate
transactions. A closing
protection letter protects against loss of settlement funds
due to the acts of the division's named participating attorney or
participating abstractor. Through its
title guaranty division, IFA may issue a closing protection letter that conforms to the terms of coverage and form of the instrument and may indemnify a person to whom a proposed title guaranty is to be issued. The bill takes effect upon enactment. [2/13: 46-0] STAFF CONTACT: Sue Monahan SF 2063 – Enterprise Zone Program and
Population Loss Criteria SSB 3064 – Real Estate Broker Trust
Accounts SSB 3091 - Housing Enterprise Zone Green Development Standards COMMITTEE
ACTION: SF 2063 relates to certain county distress
criteria under the enterprise zone program.
The bill qualifies the population loss criterion by providing that the
county’s prison population cannot be used in calculating the population. The
bill provides that ethanol and biodiesel businesses in the county are not
eligible for the enterprise zone assistance if the county qualifies for the
enterprise zone program only when its prison population is excluded from the
calculation. The bill only affects SSB 3064 transfers the
interest of the real estate broker trust account to the Iowa Finance
Authority (IFA) for deposit in the housing trust fund established in Code
section 16.181. Under current law the interest is transferred to the
Department of Economic Development for deposit in the local housing
assistance program fund. The local
housing assistance program fund is not currently active and IDED and IFA have
a 28E agreement to transfer the interest into the housing trust fund. In committee, an amendment was adopted
which eliminated the local housing assistance program from the Code since it
is no longer in use. In addition, the amendment allows interest from the
title guarantee fund to be deposited into the housing trust fund. Also, all
remaining funds in the local housing assistance fund will be transferred into
the housing trust fund at IFA. The
bill eliminates IDED’s and IFA’s
need for a 28E agreement. [2/7: short
form] SSB 3091 provides for an increased tax credit for enterprise zone housing projects which meet certain energy efficiency standards. Currently, an eligible housing business may claim a tax credit up to a maximum of 10 percent of the business’ new investment which is directly related to the building or rehabilitating of a specified form of hosing located in a part of a city or county where there is a designated enterprise zone. The bill increases the tax credit to 12 percent. The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies retroactively to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2008. An amendment was adopted in committee clarified the energy star rating system. [2/12: short form] STAFF CONTACT: Bridget Godes SF 2111 – Lead/dental screening clean-up SF 2101 – Entrepreneurs with disabilities
program oversight HF 2140 – FY 2010 allowable growth SSB 3068 – Preschool clean-up bill FLOOR ACTION:SF 2101 transfers administration of the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities program from the Iowa Finance Authority to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in the Department of Education. The purpose of the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities program is to provide technical assistance, business development grants and financial assistance grants to qualified Iowans with disabilities. [2/12: 47-0 (Lundby, McKibben, Houser— absent)] SF 2111 changes legislation passed last session to allow the enrollment of students, with or without a lead or dental screening. The Code section regulating dental screening takes effect July 1, 2008. The bill permits a child to be enrolled in school, rather than provisionally enrolled, if the child's parent or guardian consents to have the child receive a blood lead test as rapidly as is feasible. Currently, the Code requires that, as a condition of the provisional enrollment, a parent or guardian must consent to have the child receive the test not later than 60 days after the school calendar commences. The bill requires school districts and schools, not later than the school start date, to give notice of the blood lead testing and dental screening requirements to parents and guardians of children who are enrolled or are to be enrolled in school. Under the bill, school districts must provide the evidence as soon as feasible after October 1, rather than within 60 days after the school calendar start date, to the Department of Education that each child enrolled in elementary school has had a blood lead test or received a waiver on religious grounds, as well as evidence that each person enrolled in a school has met the dental screening requirement. [2/13: 45-0 (Danielson, Hatch, Houser, Lundby, McKibben— absent)] HF 2140 is the FY 2010 “allowable growth” legislation. Allowable growth, otherwise known as the school foundation formula, is based on a district’s basic enrollment, state aid determined by a foundation level, and an amount generated by the uniform property tax levy. One percent of allowable growth is equal to approximately $28 million in state aid. Allowable growth is set two years in advance so that school boards will have reliable information as they put together their budgets. We are setting funding for the 2009-2010 school year (FY 2010) in the 2008 session. The bill sets allowable growth for FY 2010 at 4 percent, which is an increase of $222 per pupil and establishes a total state cost per pupil of $5,768. There is a total estimated state increase of $112 million compared to the last year, just for the state portion of 4 percent. [2/7: 48-1 (Warnstadt—no)] COMMITTEE ACTION:
SSB 3068 is a preschool clean-up bill that makes some simple adjustments to the programs that include adjustment language on eligibility to match other parts of the law, clarification on types of contracting allowable, and removal of grant proration language. There was an amendment passed that is different from the House version of this bill as it removes all reference to professional development dollars and instead saying that if money is appropriated (through the education budget) then those dollars shall be used in the following ways. The amendment also provides a remedy for some private providers that had concerns about the amount of money districts were withholding on the per pupil funding by allowing the Department of Education to extend the initial grant year status to districts with concerning fiscal management. [2/11: Short Form (Zaun—no)] STAFF CONTACT: Kris Bell SF
2092 – Dependent Adult Abuse Information SSB
3001 – Dental Homes SSB
3013 – Case Permanency Plans, Consent Decrees, Notification in SSB
3052 – Council on Homelessness SSB
3136 – Emergency Mental Health Crisis Services SSB
3137 – Iowa Department of Public Health Omnibus Bill FLOOR ACTION:SF 2092 provides for control over dependent adult abuse information. It will expedite hiring processes for agencies that do not have access to the Dependent Adult Abuse Registry and want to complete background checks on prospective employees. [2/12: 47-0 (Houser, Lundby, McKibben, excused)] COMMITTEE ACTION: SSB 3001 (as amended) specifies that
children with a dental home shall be provided with dental screenings,
preventive services, diagnostic services, treatment services, and emergency
services as defined under the early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and
treatment program. [2/12: short form ( SSB 3013 provides that a child who
remains in foster care until the age of majority may receive the most recent
information regarding the child’s health and educational records prior to discharge
from juvenile court. [2/12: short form ( SSB 3052 (as amended) codifies the Council on Homelessness, which was created by Executive Order 33 and adds two members from the public, a representative from the Iowa League of Cities and a representative from the Iowa State Association of Counties. [2/11: short form] SSB 3136 (as amended) establishes an emergency mental health crisis services system through the Division of Mental Health and Disability Services at the Department of Human Services. The goal is to provide emergency mental health crisis services to Iowans in every county to reduce escalation of mental health crisis situations, relieve the immediate distress of individuals experiencing a crisis situation, reduce the risk of individuals in a crisis situation doing harm to themselves or others, and promote timely access to appropriate services for those who require ongoing mental health services. The initial implementation will be through competitive block grants. [2/11: short form] SSB 3137 (as amended) makes various
technical corrections, clarifications and updates to the Code. One policy change amends the Code section
dealing with minors and STD testing to clarify that prevention by vaccination
is allowable along with diagnosis and treatment. [2/12:
short form ( STAFF CONTACT: Cathy Engel SF 2036 – a bill relating to the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division. SF 2155/ SSB 1097/SF 522- relating to fees for copies of healthcare records SF 2132/ SF 2012-disposition of seized property FLOOR ACTION: SF 2036/SSB 3019 is a Department of Human Rights bill relating to the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Division. The bill: · Adds a representative from the Governor’s Office on Drug Control Policy to the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning (CJJP) Advisory Council. · Adds employment data from Iowa Workforce Development to the list of confidential information available to CJJP. · Permanently establishes a Sex Offender Research Council (formerly the Sex Offender Task Force). [2/12: 47-0, McKibben, Lundby, Houser absent] COMMITTEE ACTION: SF 2155/ SSB 1097/SF 522 does the following: · Attorneys for both parties must agree on mutually convenient times for conferences with medical providers, rather than one party setting the appointment without consulting the other. · Adds a provision that any party (not just the adverse party) or the deponent may request a fee to be paid to the medical provider for depositions or testimony. · Sets the maximum amount that can be charged for producing a patient’s medical records at workers’ compensation rates plus a retrieval fee of up to $25 for the first two requests (with no retrieval fee for third or more requests). · Allows the patient or the patient’s legal representative or attorney to have one free copy of the patient’s complete billing statement. The requester can ask for an affidavit certifying that the billing statements are “true and accurate copies.” A fee of $10 may be charged for the affidavit. · Fees charged are not subject to sales or use tax. · Provider may request payment in advance. · If a provider does not give the patient or the patient’s representative all of the records requested, the provider must give written notice to the requester that providing the denied records would violate HIPAA. · A patient or the patient’s representative or attorney is entitled to get medical records at the prescribed rates at any time, not just after a lawsuit has been filed. [2/7: 9-5, McKibben excused] SF 2132/ SF 2012 requires that all property seized by law enforcement officials that is no longer required as evidence must be returned to the owner unless there is a law that prohibits the owner from possessing the property. If the value of the property exceeds $500, the seizing agency must send by restricted certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice to any person who may have an ownership right in the property telling them that the property must be claimed within 30 days of receipt of the notice. If the value of the property is less than $500, the seizing agency shall send notice by regular mail to the last known address of any persons having an ownership right in the property that the property must be claimed within thirty days of receipt of the notice. [2/7: 15-0, McKibben excused] STAFF CONTACT: Jace Mikels SF
2002 – Waiving employer charges for certain unemployment benefits SF
2154 – Updated definitions regarding inclined or vertical wheelchair lifts SF
2157 – Removing authorization for private inspectors to conduct amusement
ride safety inspections SF
2160 – Employer participation during fact-finding portion of unemployment
insurance proceedings
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