Senate Democrats Legislative Report

Week 9 – Mar. 12, 2008

· Ensuring clean and fair elections

· Legislature creates new funding for Veterans Trust

· Bipartisan Senate puts local schools on more secure financial footing

· Road safety initiative moves forward

· Easier consumer access to higher blends of ethanol

· Consumer protection initiative bans gift-card expirations dates and fees

· What’s the story on this year’s federal tax rebate?

Ensuring clean and fair elections

Increasing voter turnout and ensuring that all Iowa elections are clean and fair continues to find strong bipartisan support in the Iowa Senate.

This week, the Senate approved a bill that ensures all of Iowa’s 99 counties will have a paper trail voting system ready the 2008 Presidential election. The legislation mandates that all counties use an optical scan voting system, which uses paper ballots that are the most reliable option in case of an election recount.

Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro worked with county auditors and the Governor’s office to make the best decision for Iowa’s voters and taxpayers. A training component will make sure that election workers are ready to handle the new voting machines on Election Day.

This year’s action builds on several steps the Legislature took last year. The most important reform allows Iowans to register at their local polling place when they arrive to vote. Minnesota and Wisconsin saw voter participation increase by an average of 10 percent after enacting similar laws.

While reducing barriers to voting, the bill also protects the integrity of elections by requiring that those registering show photo identification and proof of residency. The new voters must also sign an oath testifying that they have not voted elsewhere in that election.

County election commissioners will also have a bigger pool from which to draw election-day poll workers. Voters registered as independents and 17-year-old high school students are now eligible to work the polls. The students must meet specific academic guidelines, similar to the “no pass/no play” rules used for student athletes. This gives students a new opportunity for civic participation.

We will continue to explore other suggestions for legislation that will maintain and improve Iowa’s fair and clean election system.

Legislature creates new funding for Veterans Trust

This week the Senate passed—and Governor Culver signed into law – a new funding source for the Veterans Trust Fund.

We have an obligation to make sure our veterans are taken care of when they come home from active duty. That’s why the Legislature established the Veterans Trust Fund in 2003 to help Iowa veterans with such expenses as education and unemployment assistance.

The problem is that there are only $5 million in a fund intended to contain $50 million. That will change now that we’ll have four new Iowa Lottery games, which are expected to pump an estimated $3 million a year into the Veterans Trust Fund.

Once the balance in the Fund reaches $50 million, proceeds from the games will go to the Department of Veterans Affairs. To find out more about the Veterans Trust Fund, visit www.iowava.org.

Bipartisan Senate puts local schools on more secure financial footing

This week, the Senate continued to make good on its bipartisan commitment to improving local schools by voting to make three long-standing education funds permanent.

I supported this legislation because it allows our schools to plan ahead and maintain competitive teaching salaries, quality professional development, and smaller class sizes.

The bill also provides a way for the Legislature to add a “growth factor” so that these funds can keep up with inflation. This means Iowa schools will be less likely to fall behind due to a lack of state support.

This initiative is another important step in our efforts to keep out commitments to our local schools, students, parents and educators.

Road safety initiative moves forward

The collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis last year was a stark reminder of the importance of ensuring safety on our nation’s roads and bridges

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Here in Iowa, we have nearly 25,000 bridges that traverse our rivers, streams and roadways. Iowa’s public road system consists of nearly 114,000 miles of highways, roads, and streets. We’re 12th in the country in roadway miles and 5th in number of bridges.

While our bridges and roads are safe to drive on now, many need major repairs and others will soon need to be replaced. Iowa’s transportation system is troubled for a number of reasons. Our infrastructure is aging, more vehicles are traveling more miles on Iowa roads, constructions costs are higher, and revenue to the road fund has not kept up. The Legislature last addressed major changes in road use funding in 1989, almost 20 years ago.

Recently the Iowa Department of Transportation concluded that the state’s transportation fund is facing a $200 million deficit each year for the next ten years. Last week, the Senate Transportation Committee approved a funding plan to address our commitment to safety on Iowa’s roads and bridges.

The funding plan calls for increasing pickup truck and trailer registration fees, title fees, and driver’s license fees. It generates approximately $130 million by the year 2012 and does not increase gasoline taxes. For more information, go to www.iowadot.gov/time21.

Easier consumer access to higher blends of ethanol

Consumers will have an easier time filling their vehicles with bio-fuels such as bio-diesel and higher blends of ethanol if legislation approved by the Iowa Senate Agriculture Committee becomes law.

It would expand the state cost-share program which helps retailers install the infrastructure necessary to sell renewable fuel to consumers.

The changes increase the amount of cost-share a retailer can request and expands covered improvements to include the heated tanks required for bio-diesel and blending pumps which allow consumers to purchase automobile fuels with more than 10 percent ethanol (E10).

A recent study shows that fuel mileage increases and motor fuel emissions decrease when motor vehicles operate using increased volumes of ethanol blended with gasoline.

In Minnesota and South Dakota, where these pumps are already in use, many consumers choose to increase the amount of ethanol in their fuel. That’s good for our rural economy and for our environment.

We are working to eliminate the barriers that prevent consumers from choosing bio-fuels. Increasing your choices at the pump is an obvious step forward. If given the option, many Iowans would rather use the fuels we produce here in our state rather than import oil from the Middle East.

Consumer protection initiative bans gift-card expirations dates and fees

Many of us have purchased gift cards for friends and relatives. But how many of us knew that current state law allows that card to be worth less than what we paid?

To make sure consumers get their money’s worth, the Senate Commerce Committee recently approved a ban on expiration dates and fees for gift cards and gift certificates.  

The ban would apply to most retail-issued gift cards and certificates. The bill exempts certificates or cards issued for promotional programs and those donated to a charitable organization for services or fund-raising activities, such as charity auctions.

What’s the story on this year’s federal tax rebate?

In the face of a national slowdown in the economy, the U.S. Congress approved a nationwide economic stimulus package that includes a federal tax rebate for many Iowans.

The rebate is between $300 and $600 for a single taxpayer and between $600 and $1,200 for married couples. Most parents will get an extra $300 rebate for each child eligible for the Child Tax Credit.

The Legislature voted recently to exempt from state income taxes all rebates under this new economic stimulus package, which will save Iowa taxpayers $67.5 million. In addition, Social Security and veterans benefits will not be affected by the rebate.

The U.S. Treasurer is expected to start sending rebate checks in May, with payments continuing through summer. There are no extra forms to file; most taxpayers need only file their 2007 federal tax return.

However, if you didn’t earn enough money last year to be required to file a federal tax return, you still need to file a return to get the rebate. The IRS will automatically determine your eligibility, the amount of your rebate, and send you a check.

If you have questions about the rebates or your eligibility, call 1-800-829-1040 or go to the IRS website at www.irs.gov.