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April 23, 2009 |
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Affordable, accessible health insurance for more Iowans Legislature working on smarter, tougher, safer laws Growing Iowa’s economy with biodiesel Help for Iowa consumers who’ve been deceived Making a college education more affordable Promoting job skills for Iowa youth
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: ** Providing uninsured Iowans access to affordable health care coverage. ** Coordination of a children’s health care network. ** Transitioning between public and private health care coverage. ** Subsidized and unsubsidized health care coverage programs. ** Providing coverage to non-state public employees. ** Tax-exempt health care spending plans for employees of small businesses.
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.
A new proposal 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 under consideration calls for “exclusion zones.” Under this bill, anyone who has committed a sex offense against a minor: ** Cannot be on school, childcare center or library property unless they have the permission of the administrator. ** Cannot be in school vehicles without the permission of the administrator. ** Cannot loiter within 300 feet of school, childcare center or library property. ** Cannot work at an elementary or secondary school or childcare center. ** Cannot loiter within 300 feet of premises intended primarily for use by minors, including public playgrounds, pools and recreational or sport-related activity areas.
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.
Growing Iowa’s economy with biodiesel
Iowa has always been a leader in renewable fuels, and on April 15 the Senate took another step to continue that leadership.
Senate File 464 calls for every gallon of diesel sold in Iowa to contain at least a five percent blend of biodiesel—known as B5—by September. It also provides a $.03 per gallon refundable tax credit to retailers for every gallon of diesel sold containing at least a 10 percent blend of biodiesel (B10).
Having biodiesel available at the pump has many benefits, including: ** Improving engine performance ** Strengthening Iowa’s renewable energy economy ** Reducing our dependence on foreign oil ** Diversifying markets for our local farmers ** Creating good-paying green-collar jobs for Iowans ** Reducing carbon emissions by as much as 80 percent compared to conventional diesel
Biodiesel contributed $655 million to Iowa’s Gross Domestic Product in 2008 and supported more than 3,700 jobs across the state. Enacting Senate File 464 would eliminate the need for 1 million barrels of foreign oil a year.
Under the bipartisan bill, the Governor would have broad authority to suspend the biodiesel requirement in the event of a shortage, a lack of distribution infrastructure, or if a market change would cause economic hardship. Minnesota has already enacted similar legislation.
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:
** Deficient in basic literacy skills ** A high school drop-out ** Homeless, runaway or foster child ** Pregnant or parenting ** An ex-offender ** Requiring additional assistance to complete an educational program or to secure and hold employment.
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. |
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