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Sept. 30, 2009 |
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Good news for our areaDavenport man receives service awardCongratulations to Lawrence Stuff of Davenport, who works at the Iowa Department of Transportation. He was recently awarded the United States Army’s Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service for his efforts over the past 14 months to help Iowa procure funds to repair public facilities damaged by the floods of 2008.
Quad Cities receives funding to promote sporting events Sporting events are good for the economy because they bring participants, coaches, judges and fans to our local communities, where they stay in our hotels, dine in our restaurants and shop in our stores.
That’s why the Legislature created the Regional Sports Authority program in 2007 to help Iowa communities promote youth sports, high school athletics, Special Olympics and other non-professional sporting events.
This year, the Quad Cities was selected to participate in the program and will receive $50,000 for its efforts.
I-JOBS funds to improve Davenport shelterA Davenport homeless shelter, Humility of Mary Shelter, has been awarded $164,100 in state I-JOBS funds for renovation efforts through the Public Service Shelter Grant Fund.
During this national recession, this new funding is crucial to providing safe, quality housing to Iowans in need. Last year, more than 17,000 people sought help at Iowa’s shelters. Nearly 8,000 were members of families, and close to 40 percent were children.
State budget weathers national recession
As your state senator, I’m paying close attention to how the deepening national recession is affecting Iowa families, businesses, communities and the state budget.
When the current state budget was approved, I pushed for cuts in spending compared to the previous year. Those cuts mean reduced state spending in almost every area of the budget, including travel and compensation for legislators.
The question now is whether additional cuts will be needed to balance this year’s budget.
In early October, a panel of non-partisan state budget experts will release new revenue estimates. Based on their findings, it’s likely that additional cuts will be necessary.
Regardless of what happens, I’m committed to balancing the state budget, not raising taxes and protecting the top priorities of Iowans.
I am also committed to supporting programs that help jobless Iowans and initiatives that will spark an economic recovery in every Iowa community.
By being fiscally responsible, Iowa will emerge from these tough economic times ready to take advantage of new opportunities in the future.
Job creation gets boost from Iowa’s renewable energy efforts
As our state takes steps to recover from the national recession, we can be proud of our efforts to create more Iowa jobs by investing in home-grown renewable energy.
Renewable energy is attracting new business to Iowa, creating good jobs that can’t be exported to other countries and keeping our state at the forefront of an expanding industry.
Iowa is now home to more than 8,700 green-collar jobs connected to renewable energy. Our ethanol and biodiesel production diversifies markets for our farmers, allows us to export fuel and reduces our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. And Iowa's wind energy production-- second only to Texas-- is powering local homes, schools and businesses.
Democrats and Republicans are working together to make sure Iowa remains an energy leader.
In 2007, the Legislature approved the Iowa Power Fund, a four-year, $100-million initiative to expand home-grown renewable energy, alternative fuel and clean technology industries.
We’ve also established the Iowa Office of Energy Independence (OEI), which offers programs and funding to help reduce energy consumption and utility bills, including:
** The Building Energy Smart Program: Iowa schools, local governments and state agencies identify where they can make energy improvements that will pay for themselves, and OEI provides financing for the projects. I see this as a great long-term way to save taxpayer dollars.
** The Energy Efficiency Community Grant Program: Up to four percent of Iowa Power Fund dollars will be used for community grants ranging from $1,000 to $50,000. For fiscal year 2010, approximately $960,000 is available. More details and applications will be available soon.
** The State Energy Program: Federal stimulus funds will be awarded for improvements to Iowa’s public, non-profit and for-profit facilities. OEI has received more than $65 million in applications that would bring in more than $236 million in matching funds under this program.
In addition, Governor Culver has signed several Executive Orders to make Iowa’s state government greener. Executive Order 16 recently established the Iowa Green Jobs Task Force to look for ways of creating jobs and training workers in the renewable energy industry. The Governor has also required state agencies to purchase more flex-fuel vehicles that run on home-grown E-85 and has established the Green Government Initiative to improve energy efficiency in state government.
Learn more about Iowa’s energy initiatives at http://energy.iowa.gov.
Helping Iowans keep their homes
We’ve taken steps at the Statehouse to help Iowans keep their homes during the current mortgage crisis.
This year, I voted to help prevent certain foreclosures and to provide homeowners with information when they face potential foreclosure. Here are some of the changes we’ve made:
** Sheriff’s sales can now be postponed up to 60 days to facilitate last minute deals between lenders and borrowers. Previously they could be postponed only 6 days.
** People who are forced out of their homes because of natural disasters or other casualties, which were not their fault, will not lose their homestead protections.
** Lenders can no longer use “fast-track” foreclosures against homeowners who have not abandoned their property.
** Creditors must inform borrowers through a “Mortgage Mediation Notice” that free, confidential help from trained housing counselors is available through Iowa Mortgage Help at toll-free 877-622-4866.
This particular change in law has already assisted more than 1,000 Iowans in getting the help they need. As of June 30, 387 Iowans contacting Iowa Mortgage Help indicated that they’d learned about the hotline through a “Mortgage Mediation Notice.” By July 30, that number had jumped to 657, and by August 30, to 976.
For more information on the services available to homeowners through Iowa Mortgage Help, go to www.IowaMortgageHelp.com.
New law expands consumer rights
Iowa joined every other state in the nation this year when the Legislature passed Private Right of Action legislation. That means Iowans can now hire an attorney and sue to get their money back when they’ve been deceived about a product or service by an unscrupulous business.
If the court finds that the behavior of the accused was egregious and exhibited a disregard for the safety of others, it can award up to three times the amount of actual damages. At the same time, consumers will still be able to file complaints with the Attorney General when they believe they’ve been defrauded.
This bill is good for Iowa consumers. It’s also great news for the majority of Iowa businesses that play by the rules but face unfair competition from those that’ll do or say anything to make a buck.
To learn more, contact the Consumer Protection Division of Iowa Attorney General’s office toll-free at 888-777-4590 or go online to www.state.ia.us/government/ag/protecting_consumers.
Cracking down on scammers
This year, we took several steps in the Legislature to crack down on scam artists trying to take advantage of Iowans during this time of national recession.
We’re standing up for Iowa consumers by:
** Putting tighter restrictions on companies offering “debt settlement services.” These firms offer to settle a consumer’s debts but usually require an upfront fee. If the settlement effort fails, the consumer is out the fee and left in a worse financial state. These companies are now regulated under Iowa Law. Fees are limited, written contracts are required, and the consumer may quit the service at anytime without penalty.
** Moving against unfair practices among mortgage lenders. We established licensing for mortgage loan originators and strengthened current licensing for mortgage bankers and brokers, regulated loans and industrial loans. The licensing requirements include criminal history and credit background checks, pre-licensure education, continuing education, and a net worth, surety bond or recovery fund.
** Cracking down on shady car dealers. When buying a new or used car, no one wants to sink their money into a lemon. That’s why we closed a loophole allowing unscrupulous car dealers and recyclers to return to the marketplace under someone else’s name.
When times are tough, consumers may be more susceptible to “special investment opportunities” that promise much but are cleverly designed to take your hard-earned money.
Your best defense against fraud is information. Check out Iowa’s top ten investor traps—everything from real estate to Ponzi schemes—at www.iid.state.ia.us/docs/081809.pdf or call the Iowa Insurance Division toll-free at 877-955-1212.
New tool for Iowa’s public employees
Many public employees here in Iowa are concerned about the financial condition of the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System.
Donna Mueller, CEO for IPERS, has a new blog called IPERS UpFront at www.ipers.org/blog. If you want to learn more about how IPERS is doing during these tough economic times, I encourage you to check out the blog. You can even submit questions about IPERS funding and possible benefit changes.
Keeping Iowa students healthy
The Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Public Health are working together to provide information to Iowa families, schools and colleges in preparation for flu season.
Particularly with the spread of H1N1, schools will be taking extra measures to help students stay healthy.
Parents can help by: ** Knowing the signs and symptoms of the flu. ** Not sending sick students to school. ** Teaching children about how the flu is spread from person-to-person. ** Making sure kids wash their hands often with soap. ** Encouraging students not to share personal items. ** Getting family members vaccinated.
In case of a local H1N1 outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control recommend that the decision to close down schools be made locally so as to reduce the number of people who become ill while minimizing other risks to children sometimes associated with school dismissal.
More information on H1N1 is available at www.idph.state.ia.us/h1n1 or by calling the Iowa Department of Public Health toll-free at 800-362-2736.
Internships for businesses and students
Iowa employers can now apply for funding to have interns work with them during the current school year and next summer. The Iowa Student Internship Program provides grants to small and medium-sized companies in the advanced manufacturing, biosciences and information technology industries. For complete details and an application, go to www.iowalifechanging.com/business/ic/internship_program.html.
Students looking for internship opportunities will find them at www.iowaintern.com/ided. The Web site helps connect students and recent graduates with local employers and provides a place for Iowa businesses to post their internships, externships, co-ops and volunteer opportunities.
Internships at the Iowa SenateStudents interested in getting a behind-the-scenes look at how the Iowa Legislature works should think about interning with the Senate Democratic Research Staff. Full-time and part-time internships are available year around.
University of Iowa students can earn a stipend and credit while interning fulltime at the Statehouse through the University’s Des Moines Center. Other Iowa colleges and universities may offer similar programs.
Find out more about interning with the Iowa Senate Democrats at www.iowasenatedemocrats.org/intern.
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