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Week 4 Committee Action – Feb. 4, 2009 STAFF CONTACT: Sue Monahan SF
82/SSB 1043 – Adding four nonvoting members to Workforce Development Board SSB
1085 – Historic Preservation Grants COMMITTEE ACTION: SF 82/SSB 1043 adds four ex officio, non-voting members to the Iowa Workforce Development Board, raising the total number of non-voting members to 12. The new four members include: a representative from the vocational rehabilitation community; a representative from the Department of Education; a representative is from the Department of Economic Development; and a representative from the United States Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship. [1/29: short form (Houser, Wieck “absent”)] SSB 1085 allows the Department of Cultural Affairs to award more than two historic preservation grants in the same county. The bill limits the total amount of grants made in a county to $200,000 during the same round of grant reviews, rather than limiting the total number of grants made in a county, as provided by current law. [2/3: short form] STAFF CONTACT: Bridget Godes SF
9 – Disposition of school property FLOOR ACTION: SF 9 amends legislation passed last year regarding the procedures school districts must follow when they sell property. Last year’s legislation imposed a new requirement that all school districts must wait 12 months before transferring property to a new buyer. This requirement has proven onerous for school districts and has offered little real increase in citizen involvement with school property sales. To this end, SF 9 strikes the 12-month waiting period and reverts back to 2007 Code language. [2/4: 50-0] STAFF CONTACT: Kris Bell SSB
1091 – Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention
COMMITTEE ACTION: STAFF CONTACT: Cathy Engel SF
19 – Membership of Interoperability Board SF
22 – Post Secondary Education Subsidy SF
70 – Animals and Domestic Violence SSB
1027 – Civil Rights Commission Subpoena Power SSB
1032 – Judicial Branch Bill relating to parking violations, clerk’s records SSB
1034 – Submitting DNA-Aggravated Misdemeanors COMMITTEE ACTION: SF 19, as amended by committee, makes changes to the way members are appointed to the Interoperability Board, as well as in the membership of the Board. The nominations for certain voting membership positions on the Board appointed by the governor will be submitted to the governor by volunteer and professional organizations. In addition, the bill adds four members of the General Assembly to serve on the board as ex officio, nonvoting members. The bill also requires that one of the representatives from fire departments on the board shall be a volunteer firefighter. [2/2: short form] SF 22 provides that a parent may be ordered to provide a postsecondary education subsidy to a child regardless of whether parents of the child were married to one another. Currently, courts are allowed to order a postsecondary education subsidy for children of parents who were married but are divorcing. [2/4: short form, Zuan and Warnstadt excused] SF 70 allows a court, when issuing domestic abuse protective orders pursuant to Chapter 236, to give exclusive control of family animals to the petitioner if the court believes that the respondent is a potential threat to the animals. The court then may forbid a respondent from taking or hurting the animals in any way. [2/4: short form, Warnstadt excused] SSB 1027 expands the subpoena power of the Civil Rights Commission. It gives the Commission the authority to issue subpoenas in all cases that it is investigating, not just housing or real property cases. This will allow the Commission to resolve or dispose of a case without going to hearing. [2/2: 10-5, Kettering, Boettger, Noble, Ward, and Zaun voting “no”] SSB 1032, as amended, removes the clerk of the district court from the collections process involving uncontested parking violation fines of a city or county. It also allows for a copy of a citation of a municipal infraction to be sent to a defendant and the original citation is to be sent to the clerk of the district court. Current law provides that a copy of the citation be sent to the clerk of the district court. The bill also removes the requirements that the clerk of the district court keep a cemetery record book per Code section 523I.602. In addition, the bill provides that district court clerks shall keep a record book of certificates of deposit that have not been issued in the name of the clerk, but are being held by the clerk on behalf of a conservatorship, trust, or an estate. The record book is to include pertinent information relating to the conservator, trustee or executor. The bill also provides that if a defendant in a small claims action is a corporation, partnership, or association, the clerk, to obtain service, shall mail to the defendant a copy of the original notice, with a conforming copy of the answer form, by certified mail, return receipt to the clerk requested. The amendment to SSB 1032 provides that the penalties for violations of county and city ordinances can be the same as for violations of simple misdemeanors under state law. The penalties provided for simple misdemeanors under state law per section 903.1(1)(a) are a fine of at least $65 but not to exceed $625 and imprisonment not to exceed 30 days in lieu of a fine or in addition to a fine. [2/4: short form, Warnstadt excused] SSB 1034 requires all persons convicted of an aggravated misdemeanor to submit a DNA sample for DNA profiling. Under the current state law, only convicted felons and some offenders convicted of certain aggravated misdemeanors are required to submit DNA samples. [2/2: short form] STAFF CONTACT: Theresa Kehoe SF 50 – Use of Campaign Funds SF 51 – Electronic Filing SF 52 – Ethics/Lobbying Updates SF 98 – Creation of the Lean SF
107 – Express advocacy disseminated through mass media
FLOOR ACTION SF 50 is proposed by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. The bill prohibits the use of candidate campaign funds to pay the candidate, candidate's spouse or dependent child compensation for campaign-related purposes. To do so creates a major loophole in the campaign laws and renders moot the other prohibitions on the use of candidate campaign funds. The reimbursement of expenses related to the campaign would still be permissible. Similar legislation passed the Senate in 2008 on a 47-2 vote. [2/4: 50-0] · Sections 1 and 2 remove general references to “unacceptable” conflicts of interest and clarifies that in impermissible conflict of interest only exists as set out by the statute or rules established by the General Assembly (for the legislative branch) and by the Ethics Board (for the executive branch). · Section 3 clarifies the prohibitions on accepting employment for two years after leaving state government. The proposals would permit former state officials and employees to appear before their former agencies but would prohibit the receipt of compensation for two years for doing work on any case, proceeding, or application that they worked on as part of state government. The proposal also clarifies the prohibition on someone who served on a board or commission of a “regulatory agency” of the executive branch from accepting employment with the agency for two years or from receiving compensation for doing work on any case, proceeding, or application that they worked on as part of state employment. · Section 4 clarifies that complaints concerning alleged violations of Chapter 68B by local officials or employees are sent to the county attorney except when the complaint alleges a violation of the lobbying laws (Note: Complaints concerning the lobbying laws are already required by other laws to be filed with the General Assembly or the Ethics Board as appropriate). · Section 5 removes a requirement for when a Personal Financial Disclosure Statement is to be filed by certain candidates for office as both the General Assembly and the Ethics Board already have statutory authority to draft rules on when such statements are to be filed and such administrative rules exist. · Section 6 is a Code Editor directive to renumber two statutes and to amend the titles of two other statutes. This helps reorganize Chapter 68B to make it easier to read and understand. [2/4: 50-0] COMMITTEE ACTION
SF 98 creates the Lean Enterprise Office within the Department of Management to ensure implementation of lean tools as a component of performance management system for all executive branch agencies. Lean is defined as a business-oriented system for organizing and managing, designed to create precise customer value, expressed as providing goods and services with higher quality and fewer defects and errors, with less time and effort. The Lean office will take the lead role in implementing lean projects and collecting data and reporting on lean activities. [2/2: short form] SF 107, proposed by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, adds a third type of express advocacy. This new definition of express advocacy is met if all of these six specified criteria apply to the communication: 1. The communication is disseminated by radio, television, or print. 2. The communication refers to a clearly identified candidate for the general assembly or statewide office. 3. The communication is made within a period of 45 days before a primary election, special election, or a general election in which the clearly identified candidate is on the 4. The communication costs $750 or more to produce and distribute. 5. The communication does not appear in a news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through a media organization, unless such organization is owned or controlled by a political party, political committee, or candidate. 6. The communication does not constitute a candidate debate or forum conducted pursuant to rules adopted by the board, or that solely promotes such a debate or forum and is made by or on behalf of the person sponsoring the debate or forum. [2/2: short form] STAFF CONTACT: Hannah Garden-Monheit SF 34- Bicycle Bill of Rights COMMITTEE ACTION: SF 34 is the Bicycle Bill of Rights, which includes provisions for the safe operation of bicycles on streets or highways and provides penalties. The bill prohibits local governments from banning bicycles on streets and highways, and it states that bicycles are entitled to the full use of the lane when there is insufficient room to share. It also contains these provisions: · Section 3 requires operators to maintain a five-foot distance when overtaking a bike or vehicle. · Section 4 clarifies that the law about following too closely also applies to bicycles. · Section 5 eliminates the requirement that cars honk before passing a bike or pedestrian. · Section 6 allows bicyclists to signal a right turn with the right arm. · Section 7 gives the right of way to bicyclists when a trail and street intersect and no sign is posted requiring trail users to yield. · Section 8 states that vehicle doors may not be opened on the side available to moving traffic until it is safe to do so. [2/4: 7-4, Noble, Hahn, Kapucian, Reynolds voting “no”] STAFF CONTACT: Julie T. Simon SF 109 – Employer
charges for unemployment claims of temporary workers
COMMITTEE ACTION: SF 109/SSB 1039 waives employer charges for unemployment
claims stemming from temporary workers hired to replace permanent employees
called to active military duty. The
employer’s account will not be charged if benefits are paid
to an individual who is laid off as the result of the
return to work of a permanent employee who is a member
of the Iowa National Guard or Reserves ordered to
temporary duty or for any purpose
and who has completed the duty, or who is a member of
the Civil Air Patrol who has completed duty. A similar bill (SF 2002) unanimo |