Statehouse Sentinel Senator Steve Warnstadt, Sioux City
January 17, 2008
Meeting this Saturday Statehouse visitors Committee Highlights Generation Iowa Commission Completes Report Contact me	Meeting this Saturday State Representatives Roger Wendt, Wes Whitead, and I will hold a town meeting this Saturday, January 19 at 10 am at the Aalfs (Main) Library on 6^th & Pierce St. The meeting will cover issues likely to come up during the session, and provide an opportunity for citizen input on those issues, or issues they believe should be addressed. Statehouse visitors · Dave Bernstein – State Steel · Joe Ewing – Terra Industries · Bob Sheehan – Boys and Girls Home and Family Services · Mark and Janet Rosenbury – formerly of Sioux City · Gary Niles, Leesa McNeil, Judge Dwayne Hoffman · Mike Wood – Advocate for Mental Health Recovery in Sioux City Committee Highlights I am a member of the Appropriations, Judiciary and Transportation Committees, chair of the Commerce Committee, and vice chair of both the Veterans Affairs and Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals budget subcommittee. These assignments provide me with visibility on a number of issues facing the legislature. During future newsletters, I will attempt to provide insight on issues in these committees as a way of previewing what will (or will not) be coming to the floor of the Senate. Appropriations There has been considerable wailing and gnashing of teeth on the part of some regarding state spending. A few key points to keep in mind are that the state’s “rainy day” funds are at nearly $600 million – 10% of our operating budget and that revenues as of January 15 are 10.7% ahead of this time last year (see http://www.legis.state.ia.us/receipts/daily.html) when we budgeted for less than a 6% increase. The budget proposed by Governor Culver recommends an increase of approximately 6% for the next fiscal year, with the majority of that being funding for programs and services promised last year. Among those commitments are early childhood education, higher teacher salaries, paying more bills on time and development of renewable fuels. Critics of last year’s spending need to admit their position would mean higher tuition, lower teacher salaries, reduced early childhood initiatives, and understaffed prisons. The budget for next year will seem rather high to some, but it will be because we will not start programs only to starve them later. We will set Iowans up for success, not failure. Commerce Committee Long Term Care insurance The Des Moines Register highlighted a number of instances where people who had purchased long-term care insurance felt that they were unfairly denied benefits or that they had to fight too hard to get their benefits. With Iowa’s aging population, it is critical to have customers be confident in purchasing this product, as it will benefit them, and taxpayers who will not have to pay additional Medicaid costs. The Commerce Committee will be reviewing the issue to ensure consumer confidence. Health insurance The Commission on Affordable Health Care has made their recommendations, and the committee will review these in its efforts to increase access and lower the cost of health insurance. Stranger originated life insurance In some places, people and institutions are taking out life insurance policies on people they have no personal interest with. Elsewhere, people are selling their life insurance policies to institutions, which in some instances may make sense for the individual. We will review these policies to ensure that seniors are protected from unscrupulous investors and sales people. Energy efficiency John Norris, chair of the Iowa Utilities Board will make a presentation to the committee on January 29 regarding the status of energy efficiency efforts in the state. Consumer protection The committee will consider measures of identity theft protections such as security freezes on credit reports, restricting high interest loans on purchases such as vehicles and providing additional protections from abuse on the sale of funeral and cemetery services. Veterans Affairs We will be looking to continue funding the Home owner assistance, injured veteran and National Guard Education Assistance programs; give the commission on veterans affairs more flexibility in spending money from the veterans trust fund; encouraging veteran owned businesses; and providing education assistance for returning veterans. Transportation, Infrastructure The Transportation Committee may consider providing additional resources to the Road Use Trust Fund, while the infrastructure committee will consider the construction of a new facility at the Veterans Home, replacing the Civil War-era Fort Madison prison, expanding community based correctional facilities, and increasing funds to the Destination State Park. Generation Iowa Commission Completes Report Last session, the legislature appointed a task force to find ways to attract more young people to stay in the state of Iowa. The report found some interesting facts, and made a few recommendations. Among the more interesting facts was that Iowa lost 4,000 students to colleges in other states in 2004, but drew in 12,000 students to attend Iowa colleges, making Iowa the sixth highest draw for college students in the country and the highest of all neighboring states. While Iowans with a high school education or less stayed in Iowa, the migration out of the state of those with Bachelor’s Degrees was significant: a net loss of 18,362 from 1995-2000. The commission found that the largest factor for college graduates leaving was low wages in the state, followed by high student loan debt costs. According to the Milken Institute, Iowa ranks 43^rd in wages at 20% below the national average. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 wage survey and the ACCRA cost-of-living index, Iowa’s management occupations pay is last compared to its neighbors when adjusted for cost of living. The commission recommended several steps to address the situation. The first is to encourage higher wages. Tied to this was the recommendation to provide targeted tax reduction to those college graduates who stay in the state and to create a targeted student loan repayment assistance program. The commission also recommended requiring higher wages for state assistance to businesses, policies that incent the appointment of younger people to local and state boards and commissions giving them a stake in shaping the state. Also receiving attention, but much lower in priority were access to high speed internet and increased recreational opportunities. Contact me Statehouse Sentinel is a newsletter from Senator Steve Warnstadt. If you have questions or comments, please contact me at: steven.warnstadt@legis.state.ia.us