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April 24, 2009 |
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Affordable, accessible health insurance for more Iowans Legislature working on smarter, tougher, safer laws Revitalizing Iowa’s small towns, inner cities Help for Iowa consumers who’ve been deceived Making a college education more affordable Promoting job skills for Iowa youth Missing veterans project brings Iowa soldiers home
Affordable, accessible health insurance for more Iowans
The Legislature is continuing to work to ensure that every Iowan has access to the health care they need.
Last year, lawmakers committed to making affordable health insurance available to all Iowa children within three years, which earned accolades from national organizations.
The Commonwealth Fund report on health care for children ranks Iowa first in the nation. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that Iowa has the third lowest percentage of uninsured citizens. And the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care’s study of health care system efficiency found Iowa to be number one.
Senate File 389 is another big step toward extending health insurance to 30,000 Iowa kids who are currently uninsured. It will give Iowa the highest percentage of insured children in the nation – about 99.8 percent. This effort will be paid for with funds allocated last year, with federal support for children’s health insurance, and with federal stimulus dollars.
The bill will also create a commission to come up with recommendations for:
In addition, our legislation includes measures to reverse shortages of nurses, doctors, mental health professionals and other medical workers.
By solving health care problems that have troubled us for years, we can improve the lives of Iowa families and strengthen our state’s economy.
Legislature working on smarter, tougher, safer laws
We are currently looking for smart ways to toughen Iowa’s sex offender laws and keep our children safer.
The proposal (Senate File 340) unanimously passed the Senate on April 23. It is getting strong support from Iowa’s law enforcement community, including the Iowa State Sheriffs & Deputies Association, the Iowa State Police Officers Council, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.
The legislation calls for “exclusion zones.” Under this bill, anyone who has committed a sex offense against a minor:
This proposal also helps law enforcement keep track of sex offenders by requiring offenders to provide such details as vehicle license and registration numbers, passport and immigration documents, and Internet identifiers. Many offenders would need to report to the sheriff’s office more frequently to verify their information and their whereabouts. In addition, the Iowa Sex Offender Registry website would identify residency restrictions and exclusion zones for offenders.
The proposed sex offender legislation is smarter, tougher and safer than what we currently have on the books.
Revitalizing Iowa’s small towns, inner cities
Vibrant communities are key to making Iowa a great place to live, work and raise a family.
One way we can revitalize our communities and neighborhoods and protect the character of our older buildings is through Historic Preservation and Cultural & Entertainment District tax credits. Iowans who restore historic buildings may be eligible for a 25 percent state income tax credit
The recent approval of Senate File 481 increases the tax credits that are available each year from $20 million to $50 million.
These tax credits provide incentive to revitalize neighborhoods and ensure that character-defining features are retained when buildings are renovated. The tax credit program also provides widespread economic benefits, such as local job creation, quality housing and enhanced property values.
In addition to the increase in tax credits, Senate File 481 creates new categories for disaster recovery projects and for projects that create 500 or more permanent jobs.
Learn more at www.iowahistory.org/historic-preservation/.
Help for Iowa consumers who’ve been deceived
The Iowa Senate and House overwhelmingly approved legislation this week to better protect Iowans from the bad actors that do or say anything to make a buck.
With the passage of House File 712, Iowa joins the other 49 states by allowing a “Consumer Private Right of Action.” If signed by Governor Culver, this initiative would allow Iowans to go to court to try to get their money back when they’ve been deceived about a product or service.
Under this legislation, consumers will be able to collect attorney’s fees if they win their case. In addition, if the court finds that the behavior of the accused was egregious or exhibited a disregard for the safety of others, it can award up to three times the amount of actual damages.
As an example, an Iowa couple paid a contractor $55,000 to remodel their home after it was damaged by a tornado. The contractor did approximately $15,000 worth of work and then took off. This legislation could have helped that couple. They could have hired an attorney and sued the contractor; plus, if they’d won their case, they could have collected attorney’s fees.
This bill will also be good for the vast majority of Iowa businesses that play by the rules, yet face unfair competition from those that use fraudulent practices against consumers.
Making a college education more affordable
As college costs increase and the national recession continues, parents and students are forced to make tough decisions when it comes to college affordability.
To save on tuition and living expenses, more students are attending a community college close to home for their first two years, and then transferring their credits to a 4-year public university. Under legislation approved this week, figuring out what classes and credits will transfer will be a whole lot easier.
The Legislature passed a bill that directs community colleges and the State Board of Regents to enter into a collective statewide “articulation agreement” to provide for the seamless transfer of academic credits. This would allow a student who fulfills the requirements of the agreement to effectively transfer to a Regent university as a junior.
Learn more at about transferring at www.TransferInIowa.org. By following the “Transferring Your Credit” links, you can discover how your community college credits might transfer to Regent universities. Additional links include information on the transfer process, distance education and existing statewide transfer agreements.
Promoting job skills for Iowa youth
Iowa’s youth have a new opportunity this summer thanks to Youth for Iowa Summer Employment Program. This new statewide program is giving young people a chance to earn a paycheck while developing the skills they’ll need for success in the workforce.
The Summer Employment Program runs from May 1 through September 30 and is open to Iowans ages 4-24, who are considered low-income, and one of the following:
To register or learn more, go to www.youthforiowa.org or call Diane Oak-Goode, youth coordinator for Iowa Workforce Development, at 515-242-0057.
Missing veterans project brings Iowa soldiers home
Eight Iowa veterans will finally be put to rest in the Iowa Veterans Cemetery on April 24, as part of the Missing in America Project (MIAP).
The Iowa Veterans Cemetery has worked closely with the Iowa Chapter of MIAP to arrange for a service and burials of the veterans, whose remains have been in storage at funeral homes around the state. No families have been identified.
The military honors ceremony includes a 21-gun salute by the Iowa Army National Guard and an F16 missing man formation fly-over. The Mackenzie Highlanders Band will escort the military urns.
MIAP is a non-profit organization launched two years ago to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed, cremated remains of American veterans with the honor and respect due these forgotten heroes. For more information, go to www.miap.us.
Those who will be laid to rest on April 24 are WWII veterans PVT. Batestta Lipuma and PFC. Lester O. Julch of the U.S. Army; Korean veterans Petty Officer Leroy Thomas Stephens and Seaman Albert Lee Ramey of the U.S. Navy, and CPL. Ward Dewey Stockstill of the U.S. Marine Corps; and Vietnam veterans Airman Bennie L. Hall of the U.S. Air Force, PFC. Kenneth D. Gonsalves of the U.S. Marine Corps, and PVT. Michael Alan Pfeifer of the U.S. Army.
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