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FLOOR ACTION:
SJR 2002 – Amends the Constitution to conform voting age
SJR
2002 amends the Constitution of the State
of Iowa by reducing the voting age from 21 to 18. A person who will be 18 by
the next general election will be permitted to vote in a primary election.
Eighteen is the current voting age throughout the United States since adoption
of the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
[2/24: 50-0]
SF 2133– Repealing consumer protections regarding travel agencies
SF
2133 repeals the requirement that travel
agencies be registered with the Secretary of State’s Office (SOS). Annual cost
to register with the SOS is $15. It also repeals a requirement that a travel
agency prove they have a surety bond that offers consumer protection. The SOS
testified that their office is contacted by law enforcement multiple times a
year on behalf of customers who have lost money or were harmed by a travel
agency. The surety bond information on file at the SOS helps law enforcement
ensure that an aggrieved customer can recoup their losses.
[2/26: 32-17 (Excused: R. Taylor)]
SF 2201 – Nonresident deer and wild turkey hunting licenses
SF 2201 requires the Department of Natural Resources to give special nonresident deer and wild turkey hunting licenses to nonresident dignitaries and guests so that state officials and local development groups can promote the state and its natural resources. Currently, a committee made up of the Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House and the Economic Development Authority director, or their respective designees, may allocate up to 50 nonresident deer hunting licenses and up to 50 nonresident wild turkey hunting licenses to nonresident guests and dignitaries.
[2/25: 48-2 (No: R. Taylor, T. Taylor)]
SF 2300 – Real estate held in a trust
SF 2300 – Under current law, a trustee of a
trust is exempt from providing a written disclosure statement to a transferee
as part of a transfer of real estate. SF 2300 eliminates that exemption for a trust, in
which the trustee or beneficiary of the trust is alive, and is a former owner
of the real estate or was an occupant in possession of the real estate, at any
time within the 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the date of
transfer. The bill applies to the transfer of real estate held in a trust on or
after July 1, 2020.
[2/24: 50-0]
COMMITTEE ACTION:
SF 2080 – Prohibits paying of ransomware
SF 2080 prohibits the state or a city, county,
township or school district from expending public moneys for payment to those
responsible for ransomware attacks. A committee amendment was adopted that
would allow the OCIO to pay ransomware attack if OCIO and Homeland Security
agree there is a critical or emergency situation. The amendment also allows
information related to any political subdivision’s purchase of ransomware insurance
as a confidential record. There are still serious concerns about how this bill
ties the hands of municipals companies, public hospitals, etc.
[2/20: 10-5, party line]
SF 2243 – Public safety telecommunicators
SSF 2243
modifies the term “telecommunicator” to be “public safety telecommunicator” and
specifies that the term means a person who serves as a first responder by
receiving requests for, or by dispatching requests to, emergency response
agencies.
[2/20: Short Form]
SSB 3142 – Sunsets all state agencies and boards that license, register or certify a profession
SSB 3142 creates a process for the sunset of all boards that license, register or certify a profession in the state. Prior to the date on which a board is scheduled to sunset, the bill requires a newly created legislative committee to review the usefulness, performance and efficacy of the board. The bill requires all professional licensing boards and commissions to be sunset/eliminated on December 31, 2026, or five years after inception. Any individual may practice a profession previously licensed by the board without obtaining a license. This bill would also require this newly formed committee to review all state agencies and have a sunset process by December 31, 2026, for all state agencies. An agency may be prevented from sunsetting by passing a law to allow the continued existence of the agency.
Finally, the bill lays out broad criteria for any professional regulation. Iowa must now adopt the least restrictive regulation necessary, while encouraging economic opportunities and competition, providing guidance for determining what style of regulation is appropriate, and enforcing an occupational regulation against an individual only to the extent that it is explicitly provided for by a statute. The bill prohibits any other governmental entity or political subdivision from setting higher standards for regulating a profession.
A committee amendment was narrowly adopted
on a vote of 8-7, removing the sunset provision for all boards, commissions and
licensing agencies, and instead requiring a review of all boards, commissions,
councils and state agencies. This review will be done by the State Government
Efficiency Review Committee, and the committee will submit recommendations in
bill form by December 21 of each year. It maintains that political subdivisions
cannot license an occupation that is not licensed in the state.
[2/20: 10-5, party line]
SSB 3152 – Building/Plumber/Electrician/Fire board consolidation and inspection repeals
SSB 3152 eliminates seven boards and councils and has six divisions.
SSB 3153 – Construction manager at risk and elimination of design-build options
SSB 3153 has two main division. Division I amends
Chapter 26.4, relating
to architectural and engineering services, to prohibit fee-based selection of an architect, landscape architect or
engineer for a public improvement. The bill notably prohibits the state Board of Regents from
entering into a design-build contract to construct, repair, or improve
buildings or grounds. Division II
of the bill allows a governmental entity to use a “construction manager-at
risk” contract for purposes of public improvement contracts. The bill authorizes
a governmental entity to enter into a guaranteed maximum price contract for a
public improvement, notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary. The bill prohibits a governmental entity from entering
into a design-build contract for the construction of a public
improvement OR entering into a guaranteed
maximum price contract for public improvements relating to highway and bridge construction.
[2/20:
10-5, party line]
SSB 3156 – Barbering and cosmetology boards and practice
SSB 3156 sets the course of study for a license to practice cosmetology to 1,800 clock hours, or the equivalent, removes manicuring and pedicuring from the required curriculum, and adds razoring, shaving and eyelash technology to the required curriculum. The bill also sets the training requirements for a license to practice esthetics to 600 hours and the training requirements for a license to practice manicuring to 325 hours.
It removes the requirement that a
school award to a barber or to someone who applies to practice cosmetology at
least half credit for each course successfully completed. It requires the board
of barbering and cosmetology arts and sciences to grant an Iowa license to
practice a cosmetology art or science to a person who presents evidence of having
had an equivalent license in another state for at least 12 of the last 24
months.
[2/20: Short Form]
SSB 3187 – Honey bee as state insect
SSB 3187 is
joint resolution that designates the honeybee as the official state insect of
Iowa. The Iowa Official Register will include a picture of the state insect,
along with pictures of the state rock, state flower, state bird and state tree.
[2/20: Short Form]