For years, the Legislature has set state support for local schools well in advance. The practice helps school districts plan wisely, and, to echo Governor Branstad, helps make budgeting more predictable, stable and sustainable.

Iowa’s state budget has recovered from the national recession to the point that we have a billion dollars in the bank. After several tough years, it is time to ensure our local schools recover as well.

Several school superintendents from Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency met with their legislators to discuss educational. Pictured are Senator Brian Schoenjahn, chair of the Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Daryl Beall, Tim Christensen, superintendent of the Jefferson-Scranton School District, Senator Herman Quirmbach, chair of the Senate Education Committee, and Mike Sherwood, superintendent of Webster City School District.

The 4 percent increase approved by the Senate equals the 40-year average increase (see chart at http://tinyurl.com/iowaschoolsfunding).

More support for local schools is the first of several initiatives the Senate is working on to improve educational opportunity for Iowa students. As we consider various ways to increase student achievement, we’ve got to make sure state government is a reliable, predictable partner.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluff will be the guest on Iowa Press this week.  The program will be broadcast Friday February 10 at 7:30 PM.  The show will be rebroadcast on Saturday February 11 at 8:30 AM on IPTV World and again on February 12 at 12:00 PM.  The full episode  will also be available online.

The transcript and video can be found here.

An online open house on February 13 will be the first opportunity for the public to participate in the study, which is intended to determine a preferred Chicago to Omaha route, evaluate levels of service and ridership, and analyze environmental impacts.

Comments can be submitted at the online open house. Meeting materials and a comment form can also be downloaded at www.iowadot.gov/chicagotoomaha/ and mailed to Tamara Nicholson, Office of Rail Transportation, Iowa Department of Transportation, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010.

State Senator Joe Bolkcom spoke at a weekly leaders news conferance in Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal's office on Febuary 9. He addressed school funding and a continued commitment to student achievements .

This year, the state budget must help Iowa workers and businesses recovering from the national recession. That means doing all we can to encourage new jobs.

The plan we’re working on in the Senate balances the state budget without raising taxes. It includes:

• A commercial property tax cut that is especially helpful to Iowa’s small businesses and communities.
• New workforce training opportunities to help Iowans fill skilled job openings.
• Strengthening our commitment to student achievement through increased support for local schools.
• A pro-family, pro-work tax cut that also boosts local economies.

These ideas will help create jobs, expand educational opportunity and make Iowa a more attractive place to do business. Do you have ideas for growing the Iowa economy? Please send them my way!

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SSB 3116 increases the amount of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Currently, the credit is 7 percent of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. The bill increases the amount to 13 percent of the federal credit and the Iowa EITC remains a refundable credit. The credit helps working families by giving them money back that they can use for housing, gas, childcare, groceries and other necessities. Research shows that EITC is one of the best anti-poverty programs in the nation. [2/8: short form]

SF 2141 – ‘Hire a Hero’ employer tax credit

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2138 (SSB 3127) makes appropriations from the Veterans Trust Fund (VTF) to the Commission of Veterans Affairs (CVA) to be used for the provision of veterans services. Currently, the interest and earnings from the VTF are used for certain services for eligible veterans in need (e.g., emergency home or vehicle repair, dental emergencies). Nationwide, interest has been low or nil on savings and investments, and as a result the VTF has little expendable money to help but has seen an increase in requests. The legislation would allow the first $300,000 transferred to the VTF from the proceeds of Iowa Lottery sales of Veterans scratch-off and pull-tab tickets each fiscal year to be used by the CVA to help meet the need. Moneys appropriated to the CVA that remain unobligated or unexpended at the end of each fiscal year revert to the VTF. SF 2138 also provides for a one-time appropriation of $300,000 from the VTF to the CVA for the current fiscal year (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012) to help the immediate need to provide the specific services for eligible veterans, effective upon enactment. The bill was referred to Appropriations Committee for further consideration. [2/6: short form]

SF 2142 (SSB 3068) creates the “Hire a Hero” tax credit for state individual and corporate income taxes and the franchise tax, available for employers in the amount of $1,000 per eligible employee for the year in which the eligible employee is hired, $500 for each year of employment subsequent to the year of hiring, and $500 for each year an eligible employee is called to at least 30 days of military service. Eligible employees are Iowa residents who are members of the National Guard, Reserve or Regular component of the U.S. Armed Forces who are employed full-time or at least 30 hours per week permanent part-time. A servicemember is not an eligible employee if he or she was hired to replace a servicemember whose employment was terminated in the previous 12 months unless the servicemember being replaced left voluntarily or was discharged for misconduct. The annual credits for initial and continued employment will be prorated based on the number of weeks the employee worked if the employment does not extend through an entire tax year. The tax credit applies retroactively to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2012. [2/6: short form]

SSB 3115 – Extending the Commercial Industrial Network

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SSB 3109, as amended, is the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) omnibus bill, which makes changes to:

** Driver Services -

>> Iowa law allows certificates of deposit to be filed and used to show proof of financial responsibility. This proposal would transfer administration of this provision from the treasurer of state’s office to the DOT.

>> Allow the DOT to waive the vision exam for certain persons, in accordance with rules adopted by the department, in order to allow for electronic (online) renewal of driver’s licenses. The department proposes to limit this waiver option to persons who are 18 to 65 years of age and are safe drivers.

>> Provide that a person who operates a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) or operates a noncommercial motor vehicle while holding a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and is convicted of texting shall be disqualified from operating a CMV in certain circumstances. In accordance with federal law, states must be in compliance with this requirement by October 28, 2013. State and federal regulations will disqualify a person from operating a CMV if the person receives convictions for committing within any three-year period two or more of certain types of offenses (including texting) while operating a CMV or while operating a noncommercial motor vehicle and holding a CDL if the convictions result in the revocation, cancellation, or suspension of the person’s CDL or noncommercial driver’s license.

>> Strike a standing Road Use Tax Fund (RUTF) appropriation for personal delivery of service of a driver’s license suspension notice and opportunity for hearing. This standing appropriation is not used and is simply transferred back, in full, to the RUTF.

>> Include reference to the flashing yellow arrow signal and the steady red arrow signal in Iowa Code.  The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) includes both of these traffic signal indicators and they are used in Iowa but they are not referenced in Iowa Code.

** Vehicle Enforcement -

>> Update the motor vehicle salvage theft exam process by moving responsibility from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy to the DOT and requiring the use of electronic records and payment. These changes will address known flaws in the current process.

>> Prior to Code changes that transferred the motor vehicle use tax to a fee for new registration, Iowa law addressed the avoidance of paying tax on motor vehicle purchases. This provision did not carry over to the fee for new registration. The DOT has been advised that, under current law, the fee for new registration is only required when a vehicle title is obtained. The proposed amendment would provide a penalty if a person willfully attempts to avoid the fee for new registration.

>> Simplify and improve the process for the public to file a complaint if a conviction for a scheduled violation is based on fraud, and for the DOT to investigate the complaint and provide information to the courts. Legislation adopted during the 2009 session established a simple process for the public to use if a conviction for a scheduled violation was based on fraud. The proposed changes clarify the process and terminology, remove the requirement that copies of a DOT investigative report of a complaint that are forwarded to the court be certified, and make technical corrective amendments.

>> Provide consistent penalties for violations of Iowa recycler licensing law and Iowa dealer licensing laws. Penalties for violations of Iowa dealer licensing law were reduced several years ago and the changes to recycler law mirror those changes.

** Vehicle and Motor Carrier Services -

>> Eliminate the requirement to print the title on a vehicle registration renewal receipt. The title number is no longer needed because of changes in systems and processes.

>> Repeal the reduced vehicle registration fee for electric vehicles and register electric vehicles based on weight and value using the same formula that applies to most passenger vehicles. Currently, the annual motor vehicle registration fee for electric vehicles is $25 and, if the vehicle is more than five model years old, the annual fee is $15.

>> The Legislature, during the 2011 session, struck the requirement that the word “special” be displayed on special truck registration plates. These plates are available to certain farm trucks for a reduced annual registration fee. As allowed by the 2011 legislation, the DOT will place a sticker on special truck plates.

>> Require new applicants for used motor vehicle dealer’s licenses to complete the Code required education class during the 24 month period immediately prior to the application. This would be consistent with but tighten the current education requirement.

** Report Requirements - Eliminate selected annual reports that do not currently provide value to the General Assembly or to the general public. Two reports are: the biodiesel fuel revolving fund expenditures report and the recycled-content products and soybean-based inks report.

** An amendment adopted in committee expands the opportunity for dealers to display vehicles for sale and to negotiate sales of new motor vehicles at fair events, vehicle shows and vehicle exhibitions held anywhere within the motor vehicle dealer’s “community.” The term “community” refers to a motor vehicle “franchisee’s area of responsibility as stipulated in the franchise agreement.” Current law authorizes the issuance of a temporary permit to allow motor vehicle dealers to display, offer for sale and negotiate sales of new motor vehicles at fair events, vehicle shows, and vehicle exhibitions held in the same county as the motor vehicle dealer’s place of business. Under the legislation, the temporary permit could be issued for these events as long as they occur within the dealer’s area of responsibility. [2/8: short form]

SSB 3115 would extend the Commercial Industrial Network, the designated road system of primary highways that connect the state’s regional growth areas and carry a significant amount of the state’s commercial traffic; the CIN does not include the interstate system. Under current law, the Iowa Transportation Commission has established a network of commercial and industrial highways within the primary road system, consisting of interconnected routes that provide long distance route continuity. The network is limited to 2,500 miles, including municipal extensions of the designated highways. Establishing a cap was important at the time the network was established to create legislative intent and define what constitutes a high volume of total traffic. The 2,500 mile limit has served the state for approximately 20 years, and in that time, the network has become fairly well established. In order to accommodate some roadways that may still be eligible for the network, this bill raises the limit to 2,600 miles, including municipal extensions. [2/8: short form]

SSB 3022 – Naturopathic Licensing

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2011 adds an emergency manager who is a representative of the Iowa Emergency Management Association to the Interoperable Communications Board. The Governor appoints the member after consideration of recommendations from professional or volunteer organization. The appointee serves a three-year term. [2/7: 14-0; Bertrand excused]

SSB 3022 adds Naturopathic Physician to the list of licensed or certified professionals and adds Naturopathic Medicine to the list of stated professions. Naturopathic Medicine (ND) is added to the list of professions governed by the Board of Medicine along with Medicine and Surgery (MD), Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (DO) and Acupuncture (LAC). Naturopathic Physicians are added to the current list of health care providers who are licensed to prescribe medications.

The Naturopathic Advisory Council is established to assist the Board of Medicine in its duties. This Council has been formed in the same manner as an advisory council established in Minnesota in 2008. The Council will be comprised of four licensable Naturopathic Physicians, one MD/DO licensed in Iowa with experience in integrative medicine, one pharmacist licensed in Iowa and one member of the general public. These are unpaid positions with no per diem expenses. A chair will be selected from these members and the term shall be two years.

The Scope of Practice for a Naturopathic Physician is consistent with the U.S. Department of Labor definition. The scope is similar to that of any primary care practitioner, including performance of physical examinations and the ordering of laboratory testing and diagnostic imaging consistent with Naturopathic Medical  training and education. Duties include the ability to dispense, prescribe, order and administer natural substances, foods, botanical remedies, homeopathic remedies, prescribe therapeutic exercises and prescription drugs not excluded by the Board, perform hot/cold hydrotherapy, therapeutic manipulation of the musculoskeletal system and minor office procedures, and provide counseling and health education.

Naturopathic Physicians will not induce or perform abortions, perform major surgery or procedures involving eyes, ears, nerves, veins or arteries extending beyond superficial tissue, use general or spinal anesthesia, administer radiation or chemotherapy.

The Board of Medicine is directed to apply for available funding to make the necessary changes to the electronic licensure system and allow for licensure of naturopathic physicians until such time as those changes are implemented. It also restricts the Board from increasing fees on MD/DO physicians to pay for the implementation of the changes. [2/7: 19-5 (Dearden, Dix, Horn, McCoy, Smith, “no”); Bertrand excused]

SSB 3051 – Combination hunting and fishing licenses
COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2068 establishes a $1,500 civil penalty for the killing of bald eagles. Currently, there is not a state fine for killing bald eagles. There was a fine when bald eagles were listed on the endangered and threatened species list, but that fine went away when they were removed from the list. [2/7: short form]

SSB 3051 establishes new combination licenses for hunting and fishing. The new licenses allow an individual to purchase a three-year hunting license, a three-year fishing license, or a combination hunting and fishing license. These combination licenses would represent a savings over the standard annual hunting or fishing license. The bill also allows a fisher the opportunity to pay $10 for a third fishing line. Current law restricts fishers to no more than two lines. The committee adopted an amendment that would combine the existing wildlife habitat fee into the cost of a hunting license that requires the purchase of the wildlife habitat fee. This will save the license buyer a $2 administrative fee that they would have had to pay on the purchase of a separate wildlife habitat fee. [2/7: short form (Hamerlinck, Hancock, Kapucian, and Sorenson “no”)]