2008 Significant LEGISLATIVE SESSION BILLS

Education

HF 2140, HF 2118 – Allowable Growth for the 2009-2010 School Year: Sets “allowable growth rate” at 4 percent to increase funding for K-12 schools public schools and will add nearly $3,529.3 million to Iowa schools in FY2010.

SF 2216 - Model Core Curriculum: Established a standard curriculum for all Iowa educators to follow in the areas of math, science, English and social studies.

SF 2279 - Healthy Kids Act: Establishes nutritional guidelines of food and beverages sold or provided on school grounds as well as requires a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity for every elementary school student.

Labor and business

HF 2645 – Chapter 20, Collective Bargaining: This bill destroys the balance in collective bargaining and tips it far in favor of labor unions. It also takes power away from local school boards in dealing with teacher termination and discipline.

SF 2160 – Unemployment Insurance: Forces employers to participate in fact-finding regarding unemployment insurance, or be forced to pay benefits even if it is determined that they should not have to.

SF 2221 – Worker Burial: Workers’ compensation burial expenses will now be set by formula rather than by the legislature, thus removing oversight.

SF 2344 – Compensation Benefits: Imposes additional workers’ compensation benefits for workers who were delayed, denied, or terminated. The commissioner already has the power to impose extra penalties if needed.

SF 2377 – Unemployment Insurance Benefits: increases benefits for training programs, medical leave, if your spouse moved and/or fled due to a domestic violence situation.

SF 2542 – Compensation Claims: Allows workers’ compensation claims to be made in this state for injuries suffered in another state.

Health AND Human services

HF 2539 - Health Care Reform: The Health Care Reform bill is a result of the Legislative Commission on Affordable Healthcare for Small Businesses and Families interim study. It is the intent of the legislation to cover all of the children in Iowa by health insurance. This coverage may be accomplished in three forms; private insurance, Medicaid or HAWK-I.

TRANSPORTATION

SF 2420 – TIME -21: This bill increases motor vehicle license and registration fees. The money would then be put into a road infrastructure repair fund.

HF 2651- Department of Transportation Policy bill: Among other transportation-related issues, this bill increases fines in a construction zone in the following manner (currently speeding fines are just doubled in a work zone):

· Less than 10 mph over- $150

· 11-20 mph over- $300

· 21-25 mph over- $500

· 26 mph or over- $1000

NATURAL RESOURCES

SF 2380 - Dam Program: Establishes a low head dam hazard program to protect lives from accidents involving low head dams.

SJR 2002 – DNR Funding: Provides sustainable funding for natural resources

HF 2400 - Water Resources Council: Helps pull together all of the water quality resources.

SF 2328 - Deer Depredation Management: Establishes a program to help control the crop damage from excessive deer populations.

HF 2689 - Renewable Fuels Infrastructure: bill to allow for increased access to renewable fuels through new blender pumps and equitable distribution of the infrastructure money.

COMMERCE

SF 2115 – Association of Iowa Fairs Liability Insurance: Requires an insurer to provide a small business moving from small group to large group insurance with their claim history. Having access to the claim history will help the business to obtain insurance at a more affordable rate when it moves to large group insurance.

SF 2337 – Small Business Claims History: Allows the association of Iowa Fairs to pool together to purchase liability insurance. This will help make liability insurance more affordable for county fairs all across the state.

HF 2653 - Mortgage Scam Protection: Prohibits a number of current practices such as mortgage foreclosure consultants receiving payment in advance of work performed, advising clients not to contact their lender, taking title as payment for their services, and many more.

HF 2556 – Banking Law Update: Strengthens the Banking Division’s ability to regulate the entities and licensees under the Division’s purview and makes several changes designed to address the issues presented by the subprime mortgage crisis and credit crunch.

SF 2392 – Stranger Originated Life Insurance: This bill prohibits stranger originated life insurance.

HF 2555 - Consumer Advocate Bureau: Creates a new consumer advocate bureau within the Insurance Division to investigate and resolve complaints. The need for this became apparent after the Division received a large number of complaints regarding long-term care insurance denial of claims.

SF 2306 - Long-term Care Insurance Act: Regulates long-term care insurance by defining benefit triggers that result in payment of a claim, and specifies what is to be contained in long-term care policies. The bill also allows an insured to back out of a policy and receive a refund within 30 days, and sets up an internal and independent review process for those who feel their claims have been wrongly denied.

GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT

HF 2690 - Student Debt Bill: This bill attempts to provide more oversight and regulation of student loans in Iowa.

STATE GOVERNMENT

SF 2411 - Open Meetings: Open records bill to provide a board to oversee public meetings and records laws.

HF 2212 – Clean Air Act: Establishes a state-wide ban on smoking in all public places except casinos.

HF 2620 –Elections Bill: Curtails the number of special elections allowing for 4 year terms for school board members. Helps save taxpayers over $1 million dollars per year.

SF 2427 – State Agency Lobby Bill: Prohibits state agencies from spending money on partisan issue advertising 30 days before and during any legislative session.

VETERANS

HF 2065 – Veteran Re-employment: Ensures that after military leave is complete, employers must provide the same job to the military employee

SF 2354 – Renewal: Home ownership assistance program.

SF 2125 – Bonus: Bonus for Vietnam Veterans.

HF 2359 – Lottery Game: Establishment of an Iowa Lottery game all going to Iowa veterans.

WAYS AND MEANS

HF 2663 – SILO: This bill repeals the current School infrastructure local options tax and replaces it with an increase in the state sales and use tax beginning July 1, 2008. The increase will be sunset on January 1, 2030.

SF 2416 - Wage-Payment Collection: The legislation dramatically changes the landscape in Iowa of every facet of labor law starting with the redefining of employees, employers and independent contractors. These changes will impact the areas of worker’s compensation, occupational disease compensation, hearing loss compensation, Iowa OSHA regulations, wage payment regulations, unemployment compensation.

HF 2417 - Federal Rebates: Exempts the 2008 federal income tax rebate, as enacted by recent federal legislation from Iowa individual income tax.

HF 2233 - Web Search Portals: Provided tax incentives to lure qualifying web search portal businesses, such as Microsoft to Iowa. These businesses will bring new jobs to Iowa.

SF 2123 - IRC Update: Amongst other provisions, this bill included a tax change that would increase the maximum amount a small business taxpayer may expense under Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code to $125,000 for the 2007 tax year and included an exclusion from income for payments received by volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders, up to a maximum of $360 per year, for tax years 2008-2010.

• A little background of Section 179: Typically, if property for business has a useful life of more than one year, the cost must be spread across several tax years as depreciation with a portion of the cost deducted each year. This legislation allowed more of the cost of the asset to be written off immediately in one tax year.

APPROPRIATIONS

SF 2347 - Optical Scan Voting System: Requires any election held on or after November 4, 2008, to use an optical scan voting system only and all voting machines to have a paper trail beginning with the effective date of this bill. Appropriates $4.9 million in FY 2008 from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF) to the Optical Scan Voting System Fund. Requires the Secretary of State to utilize the funds for purchase and distribution of optical scan voting system equipment to counties.

SF 2430 - Economic Development Programs:

Community Microenterprise  Development Organization Grants

· Defines “community microenterprise development organization” as a community development, economic development, social service, or nonprofit organization that provides training, access to financing, and technical assistance to microenterprise. Defines “microenterprise” as any business with five or fewer employees which generally lacks collateral and has difficulty securing financing from conventional business lending sources including start-up, home-based and self-employed businesses.

· Requires DED to award grants to Community Microenterprise Development Organizations. Requires the organization to provide at least a 25 percent match.

· Appropriates $475,000 and 1 FTE from any interest or earnings in moneys in the Federal Economic Stimulus and Jobs Holding Fund to DED for the Community Microenterprise Development Organization Grants for FY 2009.

Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT)

· Extends CAT for three more fiscal years from FY 2011 to FY 2013. Requires CAT to receive $5 million from the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund and $7 million from the Bank Franchise Tax Revenues deposited into the General Fund each fiscal year.

River Enhancement Community Attraction and Tourism Fund (RECAT)

• Creates a RECAT Fund under the control of the Vision Iowa Board. Requires the fund to be used to provide assistance only from the fund under the same guidelines as established for CAT. Prohibits an applicant from receiving more than one third of the total cost of the project.
• Requires the Vision Iowa Board to provide financial assistance to projects that promote and enhance recreational opportunities along lakes, rivers, and river corridors within cities across the state. Requires the recreational opportunities to be closely connected to a river and may include but not limited to pedestrian trails and walkways, amphitheaters, bike trails, water trails or whitewater courses for watercraft, and any modifications necessary for the safe mitigation of dams.
• Allows the board to make multiyear commitments to an applicant. Does not require the board to award grants if no funds are available.
• Appropriates $2 million from any interest or earnings in moneys in the Federal Economic Stimulus and Jobs Holding Fund for RECAT for FY 2009.

Individual Development Accounts (IDA)

· Establishes an IDA State Match Fund. Requires the moneys in the fund to be used to provide state matches for account holder deposits. Requires 85 percent of the funds to be used for state match payments; allows the remainder to be used for administrative costs.

· Requires the Division of Community Action Agencies to administer the IDA rather than the Department of Human Services. Requires the commission on Community Action Agencies to adopt emergency rules to implement the provisions of this Act and to transition the program from one department to the other.

· Appropriates $150,000 million from any interest or earnings in moneys in the Federal Economic Stimulus and Jobs Holding Fund for the IDA State Match Fund for FY 2009.

Low Head Dams

• Appropriates $250,000 from any interest or earnings in moneys in the Federal Economic Stimulus and Jobs Holding Fund to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the establishment and administration of a water trails and low head dam public hazard statewide plan, including salaries, support, maintenance, and miscellaneous purposes for FY 2009.