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This week, the Legislature took the first steps toward
improving the safety of roads and bridges across Iowa.
Senate File 2420, approved on a broadly bipartisan 35 to
14 vote, will help make up the $200-million-a-year shortfall in funding to
repair and build new roads.
Estimates show that the legislation will generate about $125
million by 2012 by changing vehicle registration fees, and increasing trailer
registration fees and title fees. Many
of these fees haven’t changed in more than 20 years. Iowans would not pay higher fees on their
current vehicles but would when they purchase a different vehicle.
The bill that passed the Legislature will change the way
pickup registration fees are assessed.
Pickup owners would no longer pay a flat $65 fee but would be assessed
by weight and value—exactly the way passenger vehicles, vans and SUVs
are. Farmers and business owners who
use trucks for their work would pay a registration fee of $150.
The Senate Transportation Committee worked throughout 2007
and 2008 on a workable solution for repairing and building new roads, crucial
elements to a growing economy. The
bipartisan committee traveled the state gathering input from local residents.
The steps we’re taking this year are the first toward
developing a stable, fair and long-term way of maintaining safe roads and
bridges across Iowa. For more information, go to www.iowadot.gov/time21.
Iowans are working to expand recreational opportunities
and make our state a better place to live and play.
One good example is Iowa’s
ATV and snowmobile owners. They’ve
worked with the state to make Iowa
a destination for off-road recreation enthusiasts by expanding access to
trails and parks. Registration fees go
into ATV and snowmobile trust funds, which pay for the creation, maintenance
and promotion of new trails and recreation parks.
In 2002, the Republican-led Legislature scooped money from
these funds to balance their budget.
Not only was a promise to ATV and snowmobile owners broken, the money
was never repaid.
On April 15, the Senate took action to return the funds to
their rightful owners. I’m proud that
we’re honoring our commitment to Iowa’s
off-road enthusiasts. They’ve done
their part to expand recreational opportunities, and they deserve our
support.
On April 9, the House followed the Senate’s lead by
unanimously passing Senate File 2392, which provides Iowans with important
new consumer protections. A key part
of the bill addresses the growing nationwide concern over stranger-originated
life insurance.
Stranger-originated life insurance is increasingly being
used to prey on the elderly. The
scammer takes out a life insurance policy on somebody they don’t know and
waits to cash in when they die. Hedge
funds and investment firms have also been known to participate in this
unscrupulous money-making scheme.
The bill places a five-year ban on selling
stranger-originated life insurance policies, which should substantially cut
the profits for third parties or investor groups.
The legislation does not, however, affect Iowans who pay
for their insurance policies with their own money. If you have such a policy,
you can still sell it to someone else after two years, which is current law.
You can also sell your policy at any time if any of these conditions apply:
terminal or chronic illness; death of a spouse; divorce; retirement;
disability; or bankruptcy.
I am pleased that we added this legislation to this
session’s list of consumer protection accomplishments.
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