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Senate
Democrats Legislative Report
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Tough
budget builds solid foundation for future
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Strengthening consumer protections
to prevent identity theft
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Iowa partners with federal
government to support Veterans Home
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Improving safety through
graduated driving privileges
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Scott County parents make
progress in fight against underage drinking
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New initiative is designed
to ensure healthier children
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How can I learn about
specific bills in the Legislature?
We continue to make progress by putting together a
fiscally responsible state budget that keeps our commitments to middle-class Iowa families and
continues to grow our economy.
Several weeks ago, the broad outline of the budget was
released. While we are still working
on the details, some things are certain.
We’ll set a new record by pouring more than half a billion
dollars into the state’s rainy day funds.
We’ll continue to repay the Senior Living Trust, which helps seniors
live independently. And we’ll keep the
commitments we made last year to improve education, make health care more
accessible, and grow Iowa’s
economy.
Unlike the federal government’s budget, Iowa’s budget must be balanced and there
are expenditure limitations to impose fiscal discipline. In the coming weeks, I’d appreciate hearing
your thoughts as we fill in the details on next year’s state budget.
This session we’re taking additional steps to protect more
Iowans from identity theft.
The Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved a
“security freeze” proposal that would help consumers protect their credit and
protect themselves from identify theft.
The bill would allow Iowans to request that credit agencies put a
freeze on their credit information.
Making this request would be free to those who’ve been
victims of identity theft. For the
rest of us, a security freeze would cost $10.
The freeze will stay in place until the consumer asks that it be
lifted.
Thirty-nine states are already offering this protection to
their residents.
The Commerce Committee is considering “security breach”
legislation that would require companies to tighten access to personal
information, such as credit card details.
The proposal outlines who a consumer’s personal information can be
shared with and increases businesses’ accountability for maintaining
information security.
The bill would cover retailers, chain restaurants, gas
stations, convenience stores and other business that operate in Iowa and are not
already covered by federal security breach legislation.
Iowa partners with federal government to
support Veterans Home
The Iowa Legislature continues to partner with the federal
government to improve services and facilities for Iowa veterans.
The Iowa Veterans Home will receive a $26.7 million grant
from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the first phase of construction
to expand and renovate the Marshalltown
facility. The Legislature has already
appropriated approximately $15 million in state matching funds for phase one
of this important initiative.
When leveraged with federal dollars, the project should
total $100 million. The money will be
used to build a 132-bed nursing home, a 60-bed pavilion and other renovations
to complete the master plan.
The result will be a state-of-the-art facility that will
be one of the best in the country and enhance the quality health care,
security and sense of community that those who served our nation
deserve.
Iowa Veterans Home provides a wide range of services, such
as on-site physicians and a pharmacy, dementia and hospice care, nursing,
rehabilitation and mental health services, nutritionists and social workers.
It also offers a variety of activities and special events on and off
campus.
As long as Iowa
troops are being put in harm’s way in distant lands, we will continue to make
progress in our efforts to expand benefits for our military veterans and to
keep experienced officers and enlisted personnel in the Iowa National Guard
and U.S. Reserve forces.
The risk of car accidents is higher among teen drivers
that any other age group. In fact,
they are four times more likely than other drivers to crash.
That’s why the Senate Transportation Committee voted on
March 4 to improve safety on Iowa’s
roads by reducing distractions for young drivers.
The legislation (Senate Study Bill 3085) would prohibit
drivers under 18 from transporting passengers during their first six months
with a license, unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or sibling. Reports show that once new drivers get six months
of driving under their belts, accidents and fatalities diminish
significantly. We can reduce fatal
crashes by up to 40 percent through graduated licensing, which allows young
drivers greater privileges as they gain experience behind the wheel.
Unanimous support for the bill came after the
Transportation Committee heard from a vehicle safety researcher at the University of Iowa.
Dan McGhee’s study used dashboard cameras to document the habits of
newly licensed drivers in Tiffin. The video excerpts he presented to
legislators were startling. In one
clip, a young driver text-messaged for close to 45 seconds without looking
up. The vehicle ended up side-swiping
a telephone pole.
For more information, go to www.nads-sc.uiowa.edu/research/hf_op.
Scott County parents make progress in fight against
underage drinking
Late on the afternoon of March 5, the Senate Judiciary
Committee approved legislation that will hold liable adults who knowingly
makes alcoholic beverages available to an underage drinker.
Kim and Kirby White of Long Grove are leading the effort
for the legal change, acting in memory of their daughter, Elizabeth, who was
killed in November 15, 2007, in an automobile accident involving an underage
drinker. A toxicology report from the Polk County Medical Examiner’s office
found that the other driver, a 19-year-old female, had a blood alcohol level
of .218 percent, according to the Des Moines Register. The legal limit is .08
percent.
After their daughter was killed, the couple contacted
their state senator, Frank Wood of Eldridge, to see what could be done to
prevent another family from suffering such a loss.
“I admire the way Elizabeth’s
parents are responding to their tragedy by working to bring about positive
change,” Wood said. “The legal changes
they are seeking will help save lives.”
The legislation would expand Iowa’s social liability law. If this legislation is approved by the
Legislature and signed by the Governor, adults who deliberately and knowingly
make alcoholic beverages available to an underage drinker would be liable for
injury or death that results from that underage person’s intoxication.
Ironically, Elizabeth White had written a college paper
about the need for stricter laws against drunk driving just a month before
her death. In her paper, titled “No
Second Chances,” she wrote:
“Drunk driving is not a joke and shouldn’t be taken
lightly. The decision to drink and
drive puts people’s lives in jeopardy.…A drunk
driver may not intentionally mean to hurt or kill someone in a car accident
when they get into a car intoxicated, but nobody can predict the future.”
The next step is for this legislation to be considered by
the full Senate.
The growing number of overweight Iowa children is alarming. More than 40
percent of our kids are overweight, and 20 percent of them are morbidly obese
or approaching morbid obesity.
Overweight children are at higher risk for long-term
health problems, including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, certain
cancers, high blood pressure and gallbladder disease. Overweight childhood
also have a significantly increased risk of obesity in adulthood.
In 2007, the Legislature created a Healthy Child Task Force
to assess policies and statutes affecting the health of children. The Task Force examined a variety of
factors that play a role in children’s health, including physical activity,
physical education, food and nutrition, and nutrition education for children.
Based on the Task Force’s findings and the overwhelming
public concern about the health and wellbeing of our children, the Senate
Education Committee has passed a Healthy Kids Act. This bill directs the Department of
Education to establish nutritional standards for food sold during the school
day and to make sure children engage in physical activity every day.
Good nutrition plays an important role in learning and
cognitive development. Inadequate diets and hunger have been found to
adversely influence the ability to learn and to decrease motivation and
attentiveness.
To read more about the task force’s recommendations and
other educational guidance for healthy kids, go to
www.iowa.gov/educate/content/blogcategory/59/904/.
The Iowa Legislature has a user-friendly website with a
wealth of helpful information. To
follow the progress of a particular bill, go to www.legis.state.ia.us
and click on “Track Legislation.”
There you’ll find a “Bill Watch” option that lets you to sign up for
updates on bills of interest. You can
also look up legislation by subject or sponsor.
On the homepage, you can see what’s happening in the House
and Senate chambers, as well as committee agendas and meeting times. The site also allows you to sign up for a
tour of the Capitol and includes educational information about the
legislative process and how to make your voice heard on the issues you care
about.
For more details on how to get the most out of the Legislative
website, contact the Legislative Information Office at (515) 281-5129 or lioinfo@legis.state.ia.us.
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