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Senate
Democrats
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Fairer, lower taxes for
farmers & small businesses
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Being accountable with federal
stimulus dollars
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Rethink, reinvent, reorganize Iowa’s state government
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Iowa’s wind energy
production now among world’s best
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Helping small businesses
recover from 2008 disasters
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Mortgage help for active
duty servicemembers
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Protecting Iowans from
identity theft
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In wake of Atalissa, Senate
moves to protect dependent adults
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Senate helps nursing home
residents, direct care workers
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Expanded middle-class tax
cut helps more Iowans
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Are there credit scoring
problems in Iowa’s insurance industry?
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Encouraging Iowa volunteers
to help revitalize our state
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Filmmaking is good for the
Iowa economy
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Improving gender balance on local boards
The middle-class
tax cut we’re working on this session will provide fairer, lower taxes for
most Iowa
farmers and small businesses.
Because most Iowa farmers and small
business people pay taxes on their business income through their individual
tax returns and because they are in the middle class, our tax cut will let
them keep more of their hard-earned money.
Under the changes
we’re proposing, 80 percent of Iowa
farmers who pay state income taxes will receive a tax cut or see no change.
The same goes for 75 percent of Sole Proprietors that file a Schedule C and
67 percent of Subchapter S, Partnerships & LLCs
that file a Schedule E.
In addition, the
middle-class tax cut will make it easier to attract new investment to Iowa. State and local economic development groups
have long urged lawmakers to cut Iowa’s
income tax rate, which is often perceived to be the 4th highest in the
nation. We’ll lower tax rates for all Iowans and lower Iowa’s top tax rate by 22 percent, from
8.98 to 6.98 percent.
The bottom line
is that this tax cut would benefit more than 60 percent of Iowa
taxpayers and even higher percentages of Iowa farmers and small business owners.
Iowa expects to receive more than $2
billion through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. In these tough
economic times, this additional money will allow us to maintain some of the most
critical services Iowans depend on.
To ensure these
federal dollars are used effectively, Governor Chet Culver has issued an
Executive Order creating the Iowa Accountability & Transparency Board.
The 14-member Board will monitor state efforts to implement the federal
economic recovery program and make sure Iowans know how funds are being used
to improve Iowa’s
economy.
To learn more, go
to http://recovery.iowa.gov.
The national recession is making Iowa families tighten their belts. The
Legislature is sharply cutting state spending too.
We’ve got to focus on what’s most important: education,
health care, economic growth and public safety. But we also need to rethink
how we spend money. We must get the biggest bang for your tax dollars.
That’s why we’re creating a State Government
Reorganization Commission. It will meet after the 2009 session ends to come
up with ideas for the 2010 Legislature to consider. The Commission will look
for ways to improve services, share costs across departments, increase
efficiencies and save money.
The last major review of state government was in the
mid-1980s. The result was a reduction in the number of state departments from
64 to 24.
This year’s budget cuts have already started to reorganize
state government, but this new Commission will give us a long-term roadmap to
a better, more focused, more efficient state
government.
Iowa’s
wind energy production now among world’s best
Earlier this year, we learned that Iowa
is now #2 in the nation in total wind energy production, behind only Texas.
Now, according to the Iowa Policy Project, 15 percent of
the electricity produced in Iowa
comes from wind—up from only 5 percent two years ago. This remarkable
increase puts our state among the world leaders when it comes to producing
electricity from wind.
Here in Iowa,
we’ve long taken production of wind energy seriously. This session, for example,
we’re working to encourage the construction of more wind energy facilities
through the use of existing production tax credits.
Wind energy is renewable, environmentally friendly and is
helping make our state more energy independent. It also creates good-paying
jobs through the construction of wind farms and in the manufacturing and
repair of the turbines used on those farms.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved
legislation to help small businesses recover following the 2008 natural
disasters.
The Iowa Department of Economic Development will provide a
disaster assistance loan and credit guarantee program for businesses that
were hurt by last summer’s floods and tornadoes, that locate in a
presidential disaster area or that fill certain critical community needs.
A loan or credit guarantee can’t exceed 10 percent of the
loan or $25,000, whichever is less. Eligible project costs include
expenditures for equipment, machinery, land, operations, research and
development, marketing, and engineering and architectural fees.
The Iowa Senate unanimously voted to protect our
active-duty overseas military from mortgage foreclosures.
The legislation, House File 706, also increases the
penalty from a simple misdemeanor to a serious misdemeanor for individuals
who knowingly repossess or foreclose on property of active-duty members of
the Iowa National Guard or their families. This makes Iowa law similar to federal penalties
regarding the U.S. Armed Forces and Reserves.
The Iowa
departments of Veterans Affairs and Commerce will team up to get the word out
to servicemembers, their families and financial institutions across the
state.
This week the Iowa Senate passed a bill that will protect
more Iowa
property owners from identity theft.
Senate File 465 requires the
removal of Social Security numbers and other critical personal information
from Iowa’s Internet-based land records system.
In 2003, the
Legislature directed the Iowa County Recorders Association to develop a Web
site with a statewide database to allow Iowans to access and submit land
records electronically.
The counties
created the Iowa Land Records system at the www.iowalandrecords.org.
It now has more the 10 million records and 36,000 registered users. All 99
counties are on the system, with 96 currently accepting electronic documents.
In 2008, it was
discovered that Social Security numbers and other confidential information
could be obtained from documents on the system. As a result, the system was
shut down to protect private information. Unfortunately, this created
difficulties for people who legitimately need to use the system.
A committee will
review bids for removing confidential information. Preliminary figures
suggest it will cost about $2.4 million, which will be paid for by user fees.
The bill increases the electronic transaction fee from $1 per recorded transaction to $3 for transactions recorded between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2011. The
fee will be reduced to $1 after 2011.
This week, the Senate
approved Senate File 484 to improve regulatory requirements for boarding
homes and dependent adults. The legislation comes in response to recent
events in Atalissa.
Dozens of mentally
disabled men from Texas lived for years in a
decrepit, unsafe bunkhouse in the eastern Iowa town. During that time, these men
were paid far less than minimum wage.
Sometimes the building
they stayed in was heated. Sometimes it wasn’t. Sometimes they received medical
care when they needed it. Sometimes, they didn’t. Sometimes the doors of
their bunkhouse were open so they could leave if they wanted to or get out in
an emergency. Sometimes they weren’t.
Food? Contact with
families? The list of questions about the care of these men goes on.
Standing up and
responsibly caring for people who can’t care for themselves can never be a
questionable thing.
That’s why the
Government Oversight Committee has held hearings on this issue and is working
with the Governor’s Taskforce on Dependent Adult Abuse. The bill that passed
the Senate incorporates the preliminary Taskforce recommendations.
This legislation will
better protect dependent adults and prevent similar situations in the future.
It tightens state supervision of employers allowed to pay below the minimum
wage, increases reporting requirements and state inspections of boarding
homes, and provides funding to accomplish these changes.
This is a good first
step to resolving many of the issues brought to light by the unfortunate
events in Atalissa.
This week, the Iowa Senate voted to draw down millions in
federal dollars to improve quality of care for nursing home residents and
increase the pay of direct care workers.
Senate File 476 creates a Quality Assurance Assessment
Program, which will collect a fee from Iowa
nursing homes. The new revenue would go into a “Quality Assurance Trust Fund”
to draw down almost $40 million in matching federal dollars.
This reform will benefit almost every nursing home in the
state and will help with employee wages and benefits. Thirty-three other
states use similar programs to help the frail elderly who qualify for
Medicaid in nursing facilities. By following their lead, we will improve Iowa's federal
reimbursement rate for Medicaid residents in nursing facilities—currently 48th
lowest in the country.
This session, we are working on a middle-class tax cut to
simplify Iowa
taxes and put more money in the pockets of hard-working Iowans.
We’ve listened to your feedback and are working with our
colleagues in the Senate, the House and the Governor’s office.
Here’s what the expanded middle-class tax cut will do: It
will lowers tax rates for all Iowans, simplify tax returns, make Iowa more
business-friendly and update our antiquated tax system to be more
competitive.
Taxes will be cut for more than 60 percent of Iowa taxpayers. That’s
more than 825,000 Iowa
households. Nearly 75 percent of Iowa
taxpayers – almost 1 million households – will either have a tax cut or no
change at all in their taxes. Overall, Iowa
income taxes will be cut by $55 million.
In addition, Iowans will benefit from increases in the
child and dependent tax credit, the elderly and blind tax credit, the Earned
Income Tax Credit, as well as a new $100 refundable tax credit for college
students.
Did you know your credit score can be used to raise your
insurance rates?
Most Iowa insurance
companies consider your credit score when determining how much to charge for
auto or homeowner’s insurance. Currently, state law allows this
practice, but Iowa’s
Insurance Consumer Advocate, Angel Robinson, is investigating if changes are
needed.
What do you think?
Robinson would like to hear from you. Contact her at 515-281-4038 or angel.robinson@iid.iowa.gov.
Robinson will publish a report on her findings and policy recommendations.
In 2004, the Legislature established rules for the use of credit information in setting premiums for
property and casualty insurance, banned penalizing individuals with no
credit, required disclosure to a consumer who is adversely impacted by a
credit score, and required insurers to file the factors they use for credit scoring with the Iowa Insurance
Division.
For more information, call the Iowa Insurance Division
toll-free at 877-955-1212 or go to www.iid.state.ia.us.
Encouraging Iowa
volunteers to help revitalize our state
This week, the Legislature acted to give young Iowans more
opportunities to help our state and improve their own futures by
volunteering.
Our approval of Senate File 482 expands the Iowa
Commission on Volunteer Service (ICVS).
A new Green Corps will put AmeriCorps members to work on
major community projects with an emphasis on energy efficiency, historic
preservation, and storm water reduction and management.
A new Iowa Summer Youth Corps will help low-income young
people learn skills through on-the-job-experience. ICVS hopes to leverage
federal dollars to create an additional 400 AmeriCorps positions and provide
more than $500,000 in education awards to help these young Iowans further
their education.
In addition, the bill exempts the AmeriCorps education
awards from Iowa’s
state income tax starting January 1, 2010. This will help Iowa colleges recruit AmeriCorps members
from across the nation.
For more information, go to the ICVS website at www.volunteeriowa.org.
Iowa
has been the successful setting for such major movies as "Field of
Dreams," "Twister" and "The Bridges of Madison
County." These and other film projects provide an economic boost to Iowa communities. They
employ local labor, buy local materials and use local hotels and services.
To build on this success, and to make Iowa more competitive in the film
industry, the Senate voted to expand the Film, Television & Video Project
Promotion Program, which the Legislature created in 2007.
The new Film Bill makes changes to encourage the
establishment and use of Iowa-based vendors in the film industry. It does
this by changing the Iowa
vendor income tax exclusion. Instead of a 100
percent income exclusion for the year in which it was earned, the bill
establishes a 25 percent per year income tax exclusion over four years.
For more information on the Film, Television & Video
Project Promotion Program, go to www.traveliowa.com/film.
Local
elected officials will be taking positive steps to achieve gender balance on
locally appointed boards and commissions under legislation approved this week
by the Senate.
The
legislation, which is now headed to the Governor’s desk, directs local governments
to make a good faith effort to achieve gender balance when filling vacancies
on appointed boards and commissions after January 1, 2012. The bill allows a
three-month exemption if a good faith effort is made by a city council, board
of supervisors or other local elected body to appoint a qualified person but
is unable to do so.
The
gender balance requirement has been in place for state boards and commissions
since
1987,
but local governments often have not followed suit voluntarily, according to
the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women.
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