Capitol Comments
The focus this week at the Capitol will turn to the state budget and floor debate after a week of solid committee work. Yesterday marked the Legislature’s first Funnel, so it was a busy week of running bills in committee. This week’s update starts with a status report on legislation still alive and bills that are no longer eligible for consideration.
In This Issue
1. Funnel Week Roundup
2. Health Care Reform Package Moves Forward in House
3. Iowa’s Economy Ahead of Expectations
4. Capitol Visits
5. Coming Attractions
Funnel Week Roundup
Friday marked the first self-imposed deadline for legislation to clear a full standing committee, called the First Funnel. Legislation not approved by a full committee is no longer eligible for consideration this year, unless it is amended onto a bill that survived. Spending and tax bills (Appropriations and Ways & Means committee bills) are not subject to the funnel, and are eligible for debate until the Legislature adjourns for the year.
Significant legislation that survived includes: expansion of kinds of containers covered by the bottle deposit law; boosting registration and license fees to fund road construction, tougher criminal penalties for violating immigration laws, toughening the penalty for spectators at dog fights, requiring employers with 25 to 100 workers to give 60-day notice of plant closing or layoffs, expansion of the compulsory education from 16 to 18, and the creation of penalties for making false statements in campaign ads.
Significant legislation not surviving includes: establishing a license fee for bicycle operators, requiring headlight use when wipers are on, disallowing schools to start before August 25, raising the minimum speed on interstate highways to 55 mph, banning driver use of cell phones, and capping payday loan interest rates at 36%.
Health Care Reform Package Moves Forward in House
Last year the Legislature established the Legislative Commission on Affordable Health Care Plans for Small Business and Families. The Commission, led by Rep. Ro Foege from Mount Vernon, met monthly from June 2007 to January 2008 to review and analyze data and make recommendations to the Legislature. House Study Bill 757, approved by the House Human Resources this week, is the end result of the Commission’s hard work and proposals from the Governor.
The Health Care Reform bill contains nine divisions, including proposals to expand the number of children covered by health care, allowing parents to cover their children until age 25 on private insurance, and covering pre-existing conditions when switching from group to individual insurance. The legislation proposes the creation of patient-centered medical homes to provide coordination and integration of care focusing on prevention, wellness, and chronic care management. Medical homes are meant to lower costs and improve quality through documentation and outcome-based results.
This is similar and will be integrated with dental homes for children approved last year through the I-SMILE program. Prevention, chronic care management, Medicaid quality improvement, healthy community grants, and creation of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Nutrition are included in the legislation to improve the quality of care, reduce health care costs, and expand the option of coverage to as many Iowans as possible. Many people contact me about the quality and affordability of health care, and I am excited to work on this important legislation as it moves forward.
Iowa’s Economy Ahead of Expectations
The state’s Legislative Services Agency (LSA) released data this week indicated Iowa’s economy is stronger than expected. Dennis Prouty, head of the LSA and member of the Revenue Estimating Conference, attributed the strong numbers to high employment and a strong farm economy. The numbers reinforce the fact the Legislature approved a balanced, fiscally-responsible budget last year and we will do the same this year.
Capitol Visits
I attended the Technology Association of Iowa’s Prometheus Awards program on Tuesday. I saw Tom Hobson and others from Rockwell Collins and Eric Engelmann, CEO of Geonetric, who was nominated for the CEO of the Year award. I also had conversations with Curt Nelson of the Entrepreneurial Development Center and Kirk Taylor of Express Auto Delivery. The main issues of the evening were workforce development and entrepreneurial support, particularly in the technology industry. Congratulations to award winners from the Corridor: MobileDemand (Technology Company of the Year), Express Auto Delivery (Top Growth Company of the Year), Integrated DNA (Top Growth Company of the Year), Lee Carmen, University of Iowa (CIO of the Year), Iowa Health Systems (Best User of Technology), and Dynamic Broadband (Communications Company of the Year).
Wednesday was a busy day in Des Moines. Scott Bannister and Joshua Sabin of Iowa Northern Railway Company visited to talk about current rail infrastructure and encouraging future investment. Tim Zimmerman with the CRANDIC Railway also visited. Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa brought a number of folks from Cedar Rapids, including Joe Lock, Carson Fixmer, Sheri Baldonado, Jennifer Vick, Dawn Price, and Barbara Chadwick. I also hosted a group of international students from Kirkwood Community College. We toured the House chamber and talked about the importance of citizen involvement in the process.
Goodwill Industries visited the Capitol on Thursday. John Watson and Mike Townsend from Goodwill of the Heartland both attended. Goodwill Industries is a great community asset and I enjoyed speaking with them about their work. Dr. Doug Berry also was in Des Moines representing the Iowa Chiropractic Association.
Coming Attractions
Al Naylor’s Jazz Quartet performs this Sunday, March 9, from 2:00PM to 3:30PM at the Lowe Center (4500 N. 10th Street, Marion). Al has performed in many settings, including the Barnum & Bailey Circus, with touring shows such as “Chorus Line,” and with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Nelson Riddle Orchestra. The show is free.
Tuesday, March 11, the Holmes Brothers perform at CSPS (1103 Third Street SE, Cedar Rapids) beginning at 8:00PM. The Holmes Brothers are well-known for spiritually uplifting gospel tunes and downright funky music that mixes soul, gospel, R&B and country. Tickets range from $16 to $19 and can be purchased by calling 364-1580.
Have a great week!
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