State Government Committee Report – week 10, 2017

SF 410 – Disposition of body certificates
SF 411 – Contractor registration fees
SF 441 – Birth certificate corrections and requirements
SF 442 – Voluntarily exclusions from racetrack or gambling facility
SF 483 – Primary runoff election instead of conventions

 

FLOOR ACTION

SF 410 is a bill that deals with the disposition of someone’s remains after death and who has the authority to make those decisions. There was an incident in Iowa where a person’s latest will said something different than what the caregiver had in a health care power of attorney form. The bill says that a written declaration concerning the final disposition of a body after death and the ceremonies planned after death are not required to be contained in or attached to a durable power of attorney for health care. This allows the Disposition of Remains document and the Power of Attorney for health care decisions to be attached or stand alone. Either together or separate, they are valid, and one does not trump the other.
[3/9: 48-0 (Anderson, Bertrand excused)]

 

SF 411 relates to a unified licensure and registration system for plumbing and mechanical systems (HVAC) and contractors. Currently, plumbers and HVAC workers register with Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and contractors register with Iowa Workforce Development (IWD). Plumbers and HVAC technicians have a three-year license schedule, while a contractor’s registration happens every year. This bill sets up a one-stop shop for registration and fees under IDPH, and the appropriate money from contractor registrations will be transferred to IWD.
[3/14: 49-0 (Horn excused)]

 

SF 441 relates to the certified copy of a certificate of birth mailed to a parent by the state registrar following a child’s birth. During the time from May 1993 to October 2009, the IDPH issued a smaller version of a child’s birth certificate. These smaller copies did not contain all the required information found on a normal-sized birth certificate and impacted children’s ability to get a passport or provide proof of identification in other circumstances. The bill says that if a parent was issued a smaller birth certificate, the state must mail out, upon request, a normal-sized certified copy free of charge since the parent already paid the $20 fee for the smaller-sized version. As passed by the   Senate, the bill clarifies that all birth certificates issued in the future  must contain all the required information printed on the normal-sized birth certificate. The bill also requires the IDPH to post notice on this until June 30, 2022.
[3/14: 49-0 (Horn excused)]

 

SF 442 makes changes to the process by which a person can be voluntarily excluded from a racetrack or gambling facility. Under the bill, a person who is voluntarily excluded must be excluded only from the wagering area and gambling floor, as opposed to the whole facility. The bill also provides new timeframes: five years (which can be renewed upon request) or for life. Under current law, a request to be voluntarily excluded is for life. The bill also allows a person who has been voluntarily excluded for life under current law to apply for admittance under the new law/rules. A similar bill (SF 204) was vetoed by Governor Branstad is 2013.
[3/14: 47-2 (Quirmbach, Zaun “no”; Horn excused)]

 

SF 483 requires a primary runoff election be held to determine a party’s nominee in the case of an inconclusive primary election. Under current law, an inconclusive primary occurs when there are not a sufficient number of candidates who received at least 35 percent of the vote in the primary election to fill the necessary number of nominations for an office. Current law provides that nominations following an inconclusive primary are filled by the party’s state convention, congressional district convention, party precinct committee members, county convention delegates or county convention precinct delegates, as applicable. The bill requires primary runoff elections to be held eight weeks after the primary election, or the first Tuesday after the first Monday in August. They must also be conducted and canvassed in the same manner as primary elections.
[3/15: 49-0 (Horn excused)]