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Senate
Democrats Legislative Report
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Our goal must be health care for all children
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Protecting Iowans from identity theft
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Preparing Iowa workers for high-quality jobs
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Senate passes Healthy Kids Act
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Improving Iowa’s presidential caucuses
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Needless busywork stopped
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Question of the Week: How does Iowa encourage
entrepreneurs?
53,000. That’s the number of uninsured children in Iowa. That’s the number of Iowa boys and girls who don’t get to
automatically go to a doctor when they’re sick.
These are children in need of assistance.
Who are these kids?
Babies born underweight because their mother didn’t have pre-natal
care. Two- and three-year-olds who
aren’t immunized because their parents lack health insurance. Obese teenagers without health care
professionals to help them treat their condition.
You can’t underestimate the importance of health care
reform to our economy and to the well-being of our families. That’s why the bi-partisan legislative
Commission on Affordable Health Care has challenged state leaders to take big
steps this session to insure every child in Iowa.
The Senate plan puts enough money on the table to cover
every kid eligible for hawk-i and subsidizes insurance
for other families in need. If this
plan becomes law, Iowa
would become the first state to guarantee all children have health
insurance.
I’m optimistic we can accomplish this goal in the next two
to three years. As we move toward
insuring all children, we’ll better understand how bring health care to every
Iowan.
Where are we headed?
To becoming the first state where every resident has access to
high-quality care that provides choice, affordability, and preventive
treatment.
The Iowa Senate passed “security freeze” legislation
recently that would help consumers protect their credit and protect
themselves from identity theft.
The bill would allow Iowans to request that credit
agencies put a freeze on their credit information, thus prohibiting potential
thieves from accessing credit information to open unauthorized accounts.
Requesting a security freeze would be free to Iowans
who’ve been victims of identity theft.
For others, a security freeze would cost $10. The freeze will stay in place until the
consumer asks that it be lifted.
The Senate also took action to strengthen consumer
protection in the area of security breaches.
Senate File 2308 requires retailers to notify customers when personal
information, including Social Security numbers, credit or debit card numbers
and passwords, has been compromised because of the retailers’ actions.
Currently, financial institutions must notify the customer of any breach,
which delays efforts to stop possible misuse or fraud.
These bills now go to the House for consideration.
Preparing Iowa workers for high-quality jobs
Iowa currently has nearly 50,000 job
vacancies. That’s according to a
recent Iowa Workforce Development study, which found that number could grow
to 150,000 in the future.
Many of those jobs
are vacant because we need more skilled workers.
That’s why I voted
last session to increase community college training for jobs in the energy,
biosciences, advanced manufacturing and information technology fields by $4.5
million. We also voted to provide the Accelerated Career Education Program, a
job-training partnership between local community colleges and employers, with
$5.5 million.
I’m committed to
making higher education more affordable so Iowans can improve their
lives. We’ve prevented or minimized
tuition increases at public universities and community colleges.
We are also working
to make sure Iowa
high school graduates are ready to fill high-skill jobs. The new model core
curriculum for local schools places a new emphasis on math, science and on
higher standards in all classes.
Increases in teacher pay will help attract and keep teachers in key
subjects.
Everyone has a stake
in preparing Iowa’s
next generation for high-quality jobs.
The availability of an educated and skilled workforce here in Iowa continues to be a
crucial factor in attracting or limiting new business investment and
expansion.
Did you know that 40 percent of Iowa kids are overweight and that 20
percent approach or are morbidly obese?
When I first heard these numbers, I was surprised and
concerned. Being overweight is no joke
when you’re a child. 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 children also have a significantly increased
risk of obesity in adulthood.
Children’s health was the subject of a task force, created
by the Legislature in 2007, to review policies and laws affecting the health
of children. The task force took a
look at physical activity, physical education, food, nutrition, nutrition
education and other factors. Their
findings, as well as strong public concern, resulted in a new initiative that
passed the Senate on March 18.
The Healthy Kids Act directs the Iowa Department of
Education to establish nutritional standards for food sold during the school
day and to make sure children get adequate physical activity. It also
requires every student be taught first-aid basics and how to administer CPR,
a step forward that could save lives over the years.
Our top priority is, of course, improving student
achievement in the classroom. At the
same time, schools should encourage a healthy, active approach to life,
including good eating habits. This
will boost students’ performance in the classroom and continue to benefit
them throughout their lives.
Improving Iowa’s presidential caucuses
One criticism of Iowa’s
first-in-the-nation caucuses is that they are difficult for night-shift
workers to attend. That criticism has
been answered by legislation recently approved by the Senate. If it becomes law, employees would have a
right to ask for unpaid leave to attend their presidential caucus.
Workers must request the time off in writing at least
14 days prior to the caucus. Employers must approve or deny the
request at least seven days before the event.
Workers could receive up to four hours off, beginning an hour
before the caucuses officially begin.
Although the bill applies to
all employees, there are exceptions for public safety
concerns. Employers could deny leave if they file a statement about minimum
staffing requirements at least seven days before the caucus.
Private businesses also could deny leave based on economic or
operational disruption.
The bill, Senate File 2355, is now being considered by the
Iowa House.
The Senate has passed an initiative that eliminates needless
busywork and saves taxpayers’ money.
When law enforcement agencies seize property as evidence
in criminal proceedings, they are required to return that property to the
legal owner when it is no longer needed.
Under current law, however, law enforcement must notify
anyone entitled to claim the property.
The problem is that this notice must be sent by restricted certified
mail, return receipt requested, at a cost of $9.31 per notice. In some cases, many individuals may have a
potential claim to the property and notices must be sent to each of them,
regardless of the value of the property.
For example, a local police department may have
confiscated a case of beer that is no longer needed in a criminal case, and
there are three individuals who may be entitled to claim it. The agency must send a notice to each
individual—at a total cost of $27.93 in postage—simply to return a case of
beer!
The Senate legislation will allow law enforcement to
simply use regular mail if the value of the property is $500 or less. In addition, notices could be delivered
personally to claimants, regardless of the value of the property.
These common-sense changes will assist peace officers in
doing their job and save taxpayers’ dollars.
In recent years, we’ve worked to
focus state government on doing more to encourage rural and urban
entrepreneurs to start and expand business ventures in Iowa.
Here are a few specifics:
- Increased funding for the popular Main
Street program, tourism efforts, and small business development
centers.
- Expansion
of the University
of Northern Iowa’s
web-based entrepreneurial program that targets rural communities.
- New efforts to assist women, minority and disabled
entrepreneurs.
These targeted resources help
improve Iowa’s economy and ensure better-paying jobs for our workforce. To learn more about available technical and
financial assistance, check out these organizations:
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