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Senate
Democrats Legislative Report
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Legislature makes progress
on responsible, pro-growth budget
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Military
leave job re-employment signed into law
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Legislation
expands services, funding for Iowa veterans
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Legislature
seeks accountability on tax credit programs
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GenerationIowa.com:
One-stop site for young Iowans
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Iowa receives
extension for Real ID requirements
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Question of
the Week: What is the state doing to help local
students succeed?
The Legislature is making progress in our efforts to
continue growing our economy while honoring the commitments we’ve made to
middle-class families across Iowa.
This week, the leaders of the Iowa House and Senate took
another step in the right direction by releasing a responsible, sustainable
set of budget targets for this year.
Building on the progress we made last year, the proposed
budget will fully fund the state’s Cash Reserve and Economic Emergency
funds. This session we’re
increasing our reserve funds to $616 million, which is the highest level in Iowa
history.
The budget also brings us nearly
two-thirds of the way to our $300 million goal for repaying the Senior Living
Trust Fund, which helps Iowa
seniors continue living in their own homes.
With budget targets in place, legislative budget
committees will now set their priorities and look for ways to make government
more efficient. If we find old programs
that don’t work or are no longer needed, we should shut them down. We’ve got to target our resources to where
we get the biggest bang for the buck.
This year we may need to tighten our belts, but we won’t
back down on the promises we’ve made on health care, education, jobs and
renewable energy. That’s the sort of
fiscal responsibility that helps us keep our promises.
The Iowa Senate unanimously approved bill to help military
service members return to their jobs after serving their country. The legislation was signed by Governor
Culver on February 14 in a Statehouse ceremony.
Lawmakers began work on the bill after hearing about a
U.S. Army Reservist from Iowa
who’d been denied her job when she returned from 15 months on active
duty.
The bill requires that an employee returning from military
service be given a position of like seniority, status and pay if not returned
to their original position. This
change is consistent with the federal Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act.
Employers who violate the law will be held responsible for
employee reinstatement, back pay, lost benefits, seniority and pension
adjustments. They will also face prosecution on misdemeanor charges.
The new law takes effect immediately.
The Senate has unanimously approved a measure that would
expand services for Iowa
veterans.
The legislation broadens the allowable expenses that can
be paid using the interest from
the state’s $5 million Veterans Trust
Fund to include prescriptions, in-home nursing care, and vision, hearing and
dental care.
Under current law, interest can be used for nursing home
care, but not in-home care. Veterans can get travel expenses for follow-up
medical care, but spouses cannot
receive reimbursement for travel to see the veteran hospitalized with a
service-related illness or injury.
The new legislation would also allow low-income veterans
to apply for assistance to pay for emergency vehicles, home repairs or
temporary housing. This would be in addition to money
available to them at the county level.
By expanding the list of qualified expenses that can be
covered by interest from the Veterans Trust Fund, we can better serve the
needs of those who’ve served out country.
The bill now goes to the House for further consideration.
Our tax system must aim
for fairness, competitiveness, simplicity and accountability.
Over the years, many
tax credits have been written into state law to provide incentives to
businesses that create jobs. The Senate Ways & Means Committee evaluates
the effectiveness of these expenditures just as we do other spending in the state
budget.
This week, Iowa
Department of Economic Development staff told the Committee that state tax
credits to support Iowa’s
ethanol industry and other projects increased by around $300 million between
2006 and 2007. To learn which
companies are receiving these tax credits, check out IDED’s
searchable database at www.iowalifechanging.com/compliance/search.asp.
Staff from the Iowa
Department of Revenue also provided a report on the state’s Research
Activities Tax Credit (RAC), which is available to corporations conducting
research activities in Iowa.
Most of the $263 million spent on these tax credits since RAC was
created in 1985 has gone to a small number of large, multi-state
corporations. In fact, some companies have received checks from the state
instead of paying state income tax.
According to the report, 38 states offer RAC, but Iowa is one of only
five states that allow the credit to be refundable. A corporation that
qualifies for a credit of $500,000, and also owes $100,000 in corporate
income taxes would, in most other states, simply have their tax payment
eliminated. In Iowa, however, the company would get a
check for $400,000. To learn
more, read the report at www.iowalifechanging.com/compliance/.
The Legislature has launched a bipartisan effort to keep
more of Iowa’s
best and brightest in our state.
One result is a new web site geared toward the interests
and needs of young adult Iowans.
GenerationIowa.com is a one-stop site “for everything
young Iowa,”
according the Generation Iowa Commission.
The interactive site offers career advice, job search databases,
social networking opportunities, links to upcoming events and festivals,
young professionals groups, and the latest Iowa news.
Check it out at www.generationiowa.com and send the
link to young people you know who really should become young Iowans.
In 2007, the Legislature passed HF
617, creating the Generation Iowa Commission to help avert Iowa’s brain
drain. The panel of 15 Iowans ages 18
to 35 continues to offer insight on how best to attract and retain young
adults in our urban and rural communities.
Iowa receives extension for Real ID
requirements
The Iowa Department of Transportation has been granted a
Real ID extension that will allow Iowans to use their driver’s licenses and
identification cards for federal purposes through at least Dec. 31, 2009.
Real ID is a federal effort to improve national security. The Real ID Act of 2005 required the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security to establish standards for state-issued
driver’s licenses and identification cards that federal agencies would accept
for official purposes starting May 11, 2008.
Real ID cards would be necessary for activities such as
access to federal facilities, boarding federally-regulated commercial
aircraft, and entry into nuclear power plants. While Iowa is taking steps to comply with Real
ID, the recent extension gives the state more time to work out how best to
implement its requirements.
Even after Real ID is available in Iowa, the DOT will continue to issue
driver's licenses and identification cards that are not compliant with
federal standards for Iowans who do not wish to apply for a Real ID.
For more information, do to www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/programs/
and click on “Real ID.”
The Legislature has is taking bipartisan steps to improve
student achievement across Iowa
by:
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Increasing state aid to schools by 4 percent
to pay for textbooks, heating bills, technology and
other basic needs;
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Attracting and keeping the best teachers in Iowa classrooms with a
teacher pay increase that will bring average salary closer to the national
average;
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Implementing quality preschool and early
childhood initiatives that help kids start school ready to learn; and
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Pressing for approval of a model core
curriculum to ensure all Iowa
schools offer a world-class education that helps students succeed.
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