On March 10, the Senate passed legislation to make the laws clearer and to provide Iowans better access to government meetings and public records.

The legislation helps secure compliance with and enforcement of Iowa’s open meetings and open records laws through a five-member Iowa Public Information Board.

A person with a complaint about compliance with Iowa’s open meetings and open records laws may seek enforcement by either filing an action or by filing a timely complaint with the board. The board will seek resolution of complaints through informal assistance or mediation and settlement; formally investigate complaints; and decide whether there is probable cause that a violation has occurred.

Governor Chet Culver signs legislation to improve conditions in Iowa pet breeding facilities, surrounded by legislators, a number of children who supported the legislation, and his dog, Buck. Standing behind Governor Culver, from left to right, Representative Wes Whitead, Senator Staci Appel, Senator Pam Jochum, Representative Jim Lykam, Senator Matt McCoy and Senator Joe Seng.

On March 9, Governor Chet Culver signed House File 2280, which allows the state of Iowa to make sure animals raised as pets are treated humanely at breeding facilities.

Under the new law, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) will issue certificates of registration for breeding facilities and will be able to enforce the terms of the certification. If there is a complaint about a federally licensed breeding facility, IDALS has the authority to ensure the health and welfare of the animals.

The vast majority of animal shelters, pet shops, kennels and breeders obey the existing animal protection laws. This legislation will not affect them, but instead targets “puppy mills” and facilities that raise companion animals in unhygienic and inhumane settings.

The new protections will be implemented with limited expense to shelters, commercial kennels, and pet stores, while better guaranteeing quality animal care. Commercial establishments, including breeders, dealers and pet shops, will pay a fee of $175 per year, which will help fund state inspectors.

In recent years, we’ve seen some serious problems in our state. For example, a closing agent in Emmetsburg told home owners that she was acting on their behalf to refinance their home. Instead, she changed the home owners’ address to her own post office box and funneled the pay-off funds to her personal account. Although previously convicted of theft, she was able to operate a real estate closing company.

In Polk County, the Wolford Group’s closing agents were involved in a complex mortgage scheme that deceived more than 200 homeowners. Wolford was charged with multiple counts of fraud. 

A closing agent in central Iowa failed to pay off the seller’s mortgage as required and did not pay all of the bills associated with that closing and several others. The lender was ultimately forced to pay off the seller’s mortgage.

Senate File 2348, which passed unanimously, will combat these types of abuses by requiring independent companies that offer real estate closing services to third parties to be licensed and regulated similar to mortgage bankers and brokers. 

The Iowa Division of Banking and the Iowa Finance Authority worked with lawmakers to craft this legislation to better protect consumers and reinforce mortgage regulation efforts. The bill has the support of the Iowa Attorney General, Iowa State Bar Association, the Iowa Bankers Association and others.

All taxpayers making less than $57,000 can visit www.freefile.irs.gov/ and use the industry’s top tax preparation software for free. Users get the step-by-step help they need to prepare, complete and file federal tax returns online – at no cost.

Additionally, taxpayers who use Free File with direct deposit may receive refunds in as little as 10 days.

You can watch the video here:

Please note that any ads in the video are inserted by Ustream and the Senate Democrats neither profit from nor endorse them.

SF 2103 – Blended Biodiesel Fuel Excise Taxes

SF 2369 – Reporting of School Infrastructure Expenditures

SF 2371 – Royalty Fees for Sand and Gravel Removal for Flood Prevention

SF 2375 – Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement

SF 2380 – Tax Credit Review and Reform

HF 816 – Department of Revenue Subpoenas

HF 2370 – Enterprise Zone Application Extension

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2369 requires school districts to include information on how they spend statewide school infrastructure funding in the annual report they provide to the state Department of Education. The Department of Education will then submit the information to the General Assembly each February 1. [3/15: 48-0 (Fraise, Hogg excused)]

SF 2371 requires the Natural Resource Commission to issue written permits with a royalty fee of 10 cents per ton (reduced from 25 cents) for the removal of sand and gravel for the purposes of flood control on the Cedar River. This provision sunsets on June 30, 2015. [3/15: 48-0 (Fraise, Hogg excused)]

SF 2375 conforms Iowa Code to the requirements of the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement. [3/15: 48-0 (Fraise, Hogg excused)]

FLOOR AND COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2380 is the Tax Credit Review and Reform bill that is based on the recommendations of a joint House/Senate workgroup.

• Establishes a Tax Expenditure Review Committee under the Legislative Council made up of 10 legislators and establishes a review schedule for tax credit programs. The Committee will evaluate the effectiveness of programs and report to the Governor and General Assembly. 
• The bill requests Interim Study Committees on Enterprise Zones and 260E Job Training Programs. 
• The cap on certain tax credits awarded by the Department of Economic Development is lowered from $185 million to $120 million. 
• Several tax credits are repealed:�
  • Venture Capitol Fund Investment Tax Credit;
  • Value Added Agriculture Credit;
  • Economic Development Revolving Loan Program. 
• The film tax credit is suspended for two years. 
• The Supplemental Research Activities Credit is altered. The credit for large companies is lowered from 6.5 percent to 3 percent and the credit is raised for small businesses from 6.5 percent to 10 percent. 
• The Fund of Funds Contingent Liability is lowered from $100 million to $60 million. 
• Reenacts the Estate Tax to the extent that a federal “Pick Up” Tax is allowed in the future.
• Other credit spending is trimmed by 10 percent including:�
  • Accelerated Career Education (ACE) Withholding Tax Credit;
  • Endow Iowa Tax Credit;
  • School Tuition Organization Tax Credit;
  • Historic Preservation and Cultural and Entertainment District Tax Credit.
• The Ag Asset Transfer Credit cap is lowered from $6 million to $3 million. [Floor 3/17: 32-18 (party-line); Committee 3/15: 10-6 (Bartz, Feenstra, Hamerlinck, Houser, Ward, Zaun “no”; Hogg excused)]

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2103 relates to the calculation of excise taxes imposed on biodiesel fuel. This bill changes how the gallonage is calculated at the meter by requiring that the excise tax be assessed after adjusting the biodiesel’s fuel temperature to 60 degrees. [3/17: short form (Dandekar “no”)]

HF 816 allows the Department of Revenue, as allowed by state and federal law, to subpoena certain cell phone records of persons who have a debt or obligation with the Centralized Collection Unit at the Department of Revenue. [3/17: 14-3 (Dandekar, Hamerlinck, McCoy “no”)]

HF 2370 extends the Enterprise Zone program application deadline to July 1, 2012, instead of July 1, 2010. [3/17: short form]

SJR 2007 – USS Iowa battleship preservation

SF 2274 – Education benefits for veterans, families

SF 2318 – Employment benefits, professional licensure, interest rates

HF 2321 – Notification of veteran services to incarcerated veterans

HF 2384 – Tax issue information to deployed members overseas

HF 2414 – Expands recognized honor guard units to include Coast Guard auxiliary

FLOOR ACTION:

SJR 2007 creates a 10-member committee to raise funds to support efforts to relocate and preserve BB-61, the Battleship Iowa, which was decommissioned in 1990 and currently is berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay near San Francisco, California. The committee members will not receive any compensation or reimbursement. Staff support will be provided by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA). SJR 2007 also creates a BB-61 Fund in the State Treasury, administered by the DCA, which can be used to finance committee operations and the relocation and preservation of the Battleship Iowa. Adoption of SJR 2007 formally expresses the State of Iowa’s support for the preservation of the USS Iowa. The U.S. Department of the Navy has declared its desire to turn the vessel over to a non-profit organization and preserve the USS Iowa as a museum and memorial. The House amended the resolution so that it did not specify a state or region as a preferred site. [3/16: concur, 49-0]

SF 2274 provides education-related benefits for military persons and veterans, and their spouses, and directs the Iowa Department of Education to explore the possibility of participating in a federal program with the goal of building a broad pool of internationally competent individuals who are available for recruitment into the federal national security community. It directs community college Boards of Directors and the State Board of Regents to provide students who are spouses of members of the Iowa National Guard or the Reserve who are ordered to state military service or federal service or duty, with the same options currently offered to the members, which are to withdraw and receive a full refund of tuition and mandatory fees or to make arrangements for some or all course grades or incompletes, with refunds only paid for courses for which arrangements could not be made for grades or incompletes. It directs the Board of Educational Examiners to assign a consultant to be the single point of contact for an applicant who is licensed by another state or country and who is the spouse of a military person who is on duty or in active state duty. The Department of Education, in collaboration with the State Board of Regents, will convene a working group that includes representatives of the business community, to explore the possibility of securing the cooperation and assistance of the United States Department of  Defense, the National Defense University and the National  Security Education Board to participate in the federal National Security Education Program and establish a foreign language road map, flagship program and timeline in Iowa for K-16 and graduate-level students. The working group must submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by January 15, 2011.

The bill also directs the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA) to conduct a study, in collaboration with the State Board of Regents, the Department of Education and other postsecondary stakeholders, as determined by the IDVA, of the need to offer more postsecondary undergraduate education benefits for veterans and their dependent children, including dependents of service-connected disabled veterans. The study will include a review of current federal education benefits for veterans and their dependents, cost and participation estimates, and a review of educational benefits currently provided to veterans and their dependents by other states. The IDVA will submit findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by December 31, 2010. The Senate amended the House version of the bill by reinstating language that provides for in-state tuition for military personnel stationed in Iowa and for veterans who have resided in Iowa at least one year. [3/17: amend and concur, 50-0]

SF 2318 instructs the Department of Administrative Services to establish programs to inform state employees who are military members, as well as their families, of their rights and benefits while the servicemember is deployed; allows an active member of the Peace Officers’ Retirement System to purchase service credit (at actuarial cost) for military service that is not otherwise required to be recognized at the federal level; adds a provision to the Iowa National Guard Civil Relief Act to require that a servicemember’s obligation or liability to pay a premium for professional liability insurance coverage be stayed during military service and that the servicemember must be allowed to continue coverage and resume payment upon completion of military service without penalty; establishes a Department of Workforce Development and Department of Veterans Affairs workgroup to identify licensing requirements for workforce shortage areas and to study, in conjunction with the relevant licensing entities, whether comparable military training could substitute for current licensing requirements (a report on any  recommendations is due by January 1, 2011); and authorizes the Superintendent of Banking and Superintendent of Credit Unions to enforce the percentage rate limitation imposed as a restriction or safeguard for military personnel under federal law. The House added a technical amendment to the bill, which passed the bill 97-0. [3/16: concur, 50-0]

HF 2321 requires city and county jail personnel to notify a prisoner within 24 hours that if a prisoner is a U.S. Armed Forces, Guard or Reserve veteran who has been discharged within the past five years, the veteran is entitled to a visit from a veterans’ service officer (VSO) to determine if veteran services are required or available. Within 72 hours of determining a prisoner is a veteran, personnel will provide the prisoner with the contact information for the county commission of veteran affairs of the county where the jail or facility is located, and the prisoner must be allowed to contact that office to request a visit from a VSO. The bill passed the House 95-0. [3/17: 50-0]

HF 2384 directs the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA), in coordination with the Military Division of the Department of Public Defense, to advise servicemembers about tax issues (e.g., filing returns, tax payment) prior to and after returning from active-duty deployment outside of the United States. The IDVA must also encourage any servicemember who has not filed a return or who owes taxes to contact the Department of Revenue prior to deployment. The bill passed the House 100-0. [3/17: 50-0]

HF 2414 expands the recognized military veterans units allowed to perform honor guard services on public property to include the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Forces.  Currently, only the Iowa National Guard, Reserve Forces of the United States and Reserve Officers Training Corps are allowed to perform honor guard services on public property. The bill passed the house 93-0. [3/17: 50-0]

HF 2294 – Disaster Aid Individual Assistance Grant Fund

HF 2487 – Recovery Zone Bond Allocation

FLOOR ACTION:

HF 2294 relates to the distribution of moneys from the disaster aid individual assistance grant fund. A recipient of grant funding will receive reimbursement for expenses upon presenting a receipt for an eligible expense or will receive a voucher through a voucher system administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS). The voucher system is required to ensure sufficient data collection to discourage and prevent fraud. DHS is required to consult with long-term disaster recovery committees and disaster recovery case management committees in developing a voucher system. The Senate adopted an amendment for DHS to develop the voucher program, but the voucher program is administered locally within the designated disaster area. [3/11: 48-0]

HF 2487 requires the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) to provide written notice to each county and large municipality of the amount of the recovery zone bond allocation designated for each county and large municipality under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Each county or large municipality that issues recovery zone bonds is required to provide a written notice of each such issuance to IFA. IFA is required to track the amount of the recovery zone bond allocation used by each county and large municipality. A county or large municipality may, at any time prior to July 1, 2010, waive all or a portion of its recovery zone bond allocation. Any portion of a county or large municipality’s recovery zone bond allocation that remains unused on July 1, 2010 is deemed waived. IFA is required to recapture those waived portions of the allocations.

On or after March 1, 2010, any eligible issuer may apply to IFA requesting an allocation from the amount of waived recovery zone bond allocations recaptured by the authority. IFA is authorized, on or after April 1, 2010, to reallocate the amount recaptured. IFA is required to promulgate rules to implement the provisions of the bill. HF 2487 takes effect upon enactment. [3/16: 49-0 (Warnstadt absent)]

SF 2370 – Various conservation and recreation activities under DNR

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2370 makes various changes to conservation and recreation activities regulated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The bill:

• Clarifies regulations on the operation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles;
• Changes licenses for ATV and snowmobile dealers from one year to three years and adjusts the decal fee;
• Authorizes the State Forest Nursery to sell bare-root tree seedlings out of state;
• Authorizes online boating safety education classes;
• Adjusts fees for dog trial special events to be similar to those for other special events;
• Strikes a license requirement for nonresident falconers. This is covered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The bill also contains language banning the baiting and feeding of wildlife. The goal is to help prevent the spread of animal diseases, such avian influenza, chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis, which can be transmitted from wildlife to domestic livestock. The bill includes exemptions from the ban for:

• normal agricultural activity,
• feeding of waterfowl at parks,
• feeding within 50 yards of a residence,
• feed that is placed for normal agricultural, forest management, orchard management, wildlife food planting or other similar land management practices,
• feeding activities authorized by the director for wildlife management purposes or those practices carried out by other federal, state or local agencies in relation to their official duties,
• feed for the purposes of luring fur-bearing animals for hunting and trapping as permitted by law,

and feed placed within a licensed whitetail hunting preserve. [3/11: 29-20 (Republicans, Dandekar, Kreiman “no”; Heckroth absent)]

SF 2224 – Condominium notices/minutes

SF 2254 – County treasurer assessments

FLOOR ACTION:

SF 2224 provides a new requirement for bylaws that govern condominiums. Bylaws must allow board meetings to be open to all apartments if there is a board of directors. Notices of meetings must be mailed 48 hours in advance. Minutes must be maintained and printed within a reasonable time. A board’s records must be open to inspection. [3/15: 48-0 (Hogg, Fraise absent)]

SF 2254 requires county treasurers – rather than county auditors — to collect fines assessed from fence disputes. The bill also requires water district liens to be collected by the county treasurer and bonds to be collected by the county auditor. [3/15: 46-2 (Behn, Kettering “no;” Hogg, Fraise absent)]