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Iowa will receive $71 million in incentives through federal Reed Act payments if it makes changes to, or "modernizes," its unemployment insurance system. These dollars will go into the Unemployment Trust Fund to help pay for benefits.
With the infusion of $71 million, the bill would prevent Iowa from having a severe increase in unemployment taxes paid by employers.
Job Training
Senate File 197 provides an additional 26 weeks in unemployment benefits, if the individual participates in a department approved training program. The individual would have to been in a declining occupation or involuntarily separated from employment by a permanent reduction in operations at their last job.
The benefits will not pay for the training, but will assist Iowans who want to improve their skills by boosting their unemployment benefits.
Changes to the Base Period
One of the difficulties in qualifying for unemployment benefits in Iowa has been that some workers do not have enough wages earned in a particular period to qualify for unemployment. Senate File 197 allows a base period of wages for the most recent quarter to be counted.
Military Exemption
Senate File 197 also contains an unemployment change, not related to the modernization efforts, to help with the unemployment benefits of a replaced temporary worker due to the return of a military service person. An employer would not have their account charged for unemployment benefits for such a person.
After the Governor's signature, Iowa will be one of the first states in the country to pass an unemployment modernization bill.
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House Passes Bill to Crack Down on CEO's Abusing Workers
House File 618 increases the penalties for not paying employees and violating child labor laws.
House File 618 will help prevent another Postville situation from happening again. The wage violation is increased from $100 to $500 per pay period for each violation.
The bill also allows the labor commissioner to use federal documents to verify a child's age in order to get a child labor permit. A child labor law violation would be increased from a simple misdemeanor to a serious misdemeanor, which could mean a year in jail. An employer who violates Iowa's child labor law would also be subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
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Aid for Unmet Disaster Needs Now Available
In January, the Legislature created a new $10 million fund to help victims of the summer floods and disasters with unmet needs. Although hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and state funds have been distributed to Iowans already, Legislators were aware there were many smaller needs that had gone unmet. For example, a homeowner may have received funding to restore a home, but not to replace a stove or refrigerator.
The grants will provide up to $2,500 for unreimbursed expenses for personal property, home repair, food assistance, mental health assistance, childcare, and temporary housing incurred because of last year's disasters. The grants are available to families with household incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level. For example, the income limit for a family of two is about $42,000. Iowans have until June 30, 2010, to apply for help.
The program will reimburse you if you have already bought an item but have not received any other funding to cover the cost. If you do not have the finances to purchase the item or service, the claim will be settled directly with the vendor.
The money is being distributed through the local LongTerm Recovery committees, working with the Department of Human Services. So far, 14 counties are able to assist Iowans Benton, Buchanan, Butler, Cerro Gordo, Dubuque, Franklin, Fremont, Johnson, Linn, Louisa, Muscatine, Montgomery, Polk and Scott. These 14 counties represent half of all disaster victims. The remaining 64 counties should be ready to accept applications shortly.
Applicants may call the Iowa Concerns Hotline at 18668490323 or go to the Rebuild Iowa Office website at www.rio.iowa.gov and click on the "Disaster Recovery Case Management" icon to find their appropriate local committee.
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Energy Efficiency Programs for Users of Propane Heat
The House passed legislation designed to encourage the Iowa Propane Education and Research Council (IPERC) to help users of propane for heating to become more energy efficient.
House File 684 authorizes IPERC to develop educational programs on how to use propane for heating more energy efficiently. IPERC may also develop programs to install energyefficient appliances such as lowflow faucets and showers, programmable thermostats, and door or windows that meet "Energy Star Certification" standards of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection.
IPERC may also establish quality standards for weatherization to promote energy efficiency in residences and other buildings including home energy audits, installation of insulation, weather stripping and caulking of windows and doors, and carbon monoxide and radon inspection and detection systems.
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House Approves Foreclosure Fixes
The Iowa House approved House File 695, which makes a number of changes to Iowa's foreclosure laws.
The bill provides a longer postponement of sheriff's sales from the current 6 days to up to 60 days. This change will allow borrowers a better opportunity to work out a deal with a lender. A lender can also unilaterally rescind a foreclosure under the bill. This will aid in completing last minute deals to save borrowers from losing their property.
It also requires creditors to give written notice to borrowers of the availability of mortgage counseling and mediation. The services are provided by the Iowa Mortgage Help Line currently run by the Attorney General and the Iowa Finance Authority.
The bill also clarifies the homestead property tax credit law to assure that homeowners do not lose the credit in times of natural disaster and other similar situations that are beyond the homeowner's control
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Making Government More Transparent
This week, the Iowa House passed legislation to let Iowans, who live in townships, know what their elected officials are doing.
House File 571 requires public notice of Board of Township Trustee meetings. These notices can be posted on a bulletin board or other prominent place easily accessible to the public or at the place where the meeting will be held. The news media is also to be notified.
Notices of meetings are to be given at least 24 hours in advance.
This bill also applies to advisory boards and commissions created by groups formed under chapter 28E of the Iowa Code. Chapter 28E organizations are usually established jointly between two or more governmental bodies. A good example is when cities and the county they are in work together to create one emergency call center. They create a 28E agreement outlining financing, board membership, etc.
This bill will now go to the Iowa Senate for their consideration.
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Bills Provide Openness in Government
Free Internet Website
House File 74 requires the Department of Administrative Services to set up a free internet website. The purpose of the website is to provide Iowans with easy and free access to the expenditures and revenues in state government.
The bill further provides that by January 1, 2010, a searchable tax rate database will also be established. The information available to the public will include all tax rates in the state for each taxing jurisdiction. The bill requires this information be aggregated by type of tax and accessible by entering a zip code or physical address for each residence or business.
Open Records and Open Meetings
In 2007, work was begun on Iowa's open records and open meetings laws. Several legislative meetings were held to gather information and input from all persons interested in this issue. The goal was to reach consensus on how to rework the laws.
The result of those meetings was a piece of legislation that redefined open records as well as putting prohibitions in place on serial meetings and walking quorums and establishing other requirements to be followed when government entities are meeting. The bill also established an independent board as the enforcement mechanism for the law.
This year, an attempt is being made again to address this important issue so that Iowans have access to government meetings and public records. House File 777, approved by the House State Government Committee, makes changes to Iowa's current laws governing public meetings and records.
The committees will continue to work on the bills to strike a balance between openness in government and protecting individual confidential information. Any new law addressing open meetings and open records will establish requirements to be followed at both the state and local government levels. Enforcement of the laws is a critical piece of this legislation and will also being addressed in this legislation.
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Track Iowa's Federal Stimulus Spending
A new website was unveiled this week by Governor Chet Culver that will help Iowans understand the programs and funds under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The website Recovery.Iowa.Gov will help Iowans follow the economic recovery program expenditures. It is estimated that Iowa will receive approximately $1.9 billion in onetime direct assistance from President Obama's federal economic recovery initiative.
Recovery.Iowa.Gov will include information such as a summary of key components of the ARRA, a breakdown of the estimated direct federal assistance to Iowa, tax benefits to individuals and businesses in the new law, and links to several state and federal agencies related to the economic recovery. The website will be updated regularly and, in the future, a "dashboard" will be added to the web site that will provide detailed information on the distribution and impact of the federal funds.
The Iowa Department of Transportation, which awarded $56 million in construction projects within three days of the ARRA being signed into law, has established a web site on the benefit of federal funds to the state's transportation system at www.iowadot.gov/ recovery.
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DOT Unveils Passenger Rail Website
The Department of Transportation unveiled their passenger rail website, http://www.iowadot.gov/IowaPassengerRail/index.htm, which contains information about proposed routes, the passenger rail advisory committee, and how Iowans can get involved.
This website will allow Iowans to research proposed routes, which governmental entities are involved in passenger rail, and why the department thinks that passenger rail is important. On its website, the department says passenger rail creates another way to connect communities, both inside and outside of the state, as well as making Iowa a more attractive place to live.
Expanding passenger rail in Iowa offers the state another transportation option and many Iowans are ready for that option.
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Protecting Volunteer Emergency Provider's Jobs
The House has passed a bill over to the Senate, House File 671, which prevents volunteer emergency service providers from being fired because they are late to work due to responding to an emergency.
This bill, which is being proactive, allows an employee who is fired from their job, because they were late or absent from work, to bring a civil action against the employer. This only applies if the reason for being late or absent was that the employee was responding to an emergency.
In the bill, employees have responsibilities, including notifying their employee as soon as possible that they will be late, and bringing in written notice from their emergency supervisor stating that the employee was responding to a call. An employer is authorized to deduct from the employee's regular pay an amount equal to the time that the employee was away from work responding to an emergency.
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Electronic Pseudoephedrine Logbook to Governor
The House and Senate passed Senate File 237, which creates an electronic logbook used by all pharmacies to track the sales of pseudoephedrine products. The bill is now before the Governor and he is expected to sign it.
Greene, Boone and Story counties are participating in a pilot project, which is showing that an electronic logbook is quicker and easier for customers. Another benefit is the real time information for tracking purposes.
Instead of taking all of the purchaser's information by hand, now the pharmacist will swipe the purchaser's government issued ID card or license. The captured data will immediately be transferred to a central storage warehouse. This warehouse will enable law enforcement to better track persons who travel from store to store to purchase pseudoephedrine to make meth.
Accomplishing this will cost money, but Iowa has access to a $700,000 federal grant. The bill states that if there is no money available, then the state will not implement the electronic logbook.
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Child Abduction Act Gives Iowa Courts Additional Tools
House File 713, the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act, has passed the Iowa House.
The bill allows a petition to be filed with the court, or for a court to independently order abduction prevention measures. The bill outlines risk factors for a court to consider in issuing an abduction prevention order.
Abduction prevention orders may include travel restrictions on the parties, a visitation schedule, a bond to be posted by the parties, or education classes.
If an abduction is imminent, the court can take physical custody of a child or direct law enforcement to locate the child. If a child is taken into custody, the child is to be placed in a safe interim placement while the court determines further action.
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Child Care System Website
This week, the Department of Human Services (DHS) provided a demonstration of a new interactive website for the child care system.
The new interactive website is named KinderTrack. It will be useful for families, providers, and DHS staff. A prospective family looking for child care will be able to search the DHS database of providers, reviewing complaints about providers, and obtaining an estimate on eligibility for child care assistance.
In addition, KinderTrack allows child care providers to enter attendance information of children, follow payment status, and register for training opportunities. Providers will also be able to update information about the center they run, such as hours of operation and vacancies.
Lastly, the KinderTrack program allows the DHS staff to more efficiently track and process payments to providers. DHS staff will also use KinderTrack to review and authorize child care assistance applications.
Currently, KinderTrack is being piloted in the DHS Council Bluffs service area. The website will expand across Iowa and be fully operational statewide by December 1, 2009.
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Legislature Discussing Manure Application Bills
The House Agriculture Committee has been working on two bills relating to stockpiling and surface application of manure.
House File 735 establishes new regulations for stockpiling dry poultry manure from confinement feeding operations. Currently, the Department of Natural Resources has a guidance document that producers must follow, but does not have specific rules.
The bill differentiates between stockpiling on karst terrain and other soils. Karst terrain is generally the limestone rock land in northeastern Iowa, which provides direct conduits to our groundwater. Under the bill, the regulations for stockpiling dry manure on karst terrain are stricter.
The bill also establishes a 1,250 feet minimum separation distance for the stockpiles from residences, schools, businesses, churches, and public use areas.
The second bill, House File 790, differentiates between liquid manure and dry manure. The bill bans surface application of liquid manure on frozen ground or snow covered ground from February 1 to April 1 unless it's an emergency. The bill spells out what a producer must do to comply with this emergency exception.
House File 790 also provides regulations for dry bedded cattle and hog confinement feeding operations.
The bill allows for stockpiling of drybedded manure. The bill allows them to stockpile for six months. They always try to spread and incorporate in the fall; but there are times when the weather does not cooperate. They definitely need to haul before the cropping season starts in April for the nutrient benefits.
Dry manure is different from liquid manure in terms of runoff. Even if these bills get adopted, DNR still has the authority to enforce any runoff violations.
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Iowa Moves to Protect Foreclosure on Reservists
This week, the Iowa House took a step forward in protecting members of the reserve component of the United States military from losing their homes while on active duty. Under current state law, reservists and their families are not protected from mortgage foreclosures.
House File 706 provides mortgage protection to active duty reservists, as well as members of the Iowa National Guard and regular service members.
In addition, the bill increases the penalty from a simple misdemeanor to a serious misdemeanor on individuals who knowingly repossess or foreclose on property of active duty members of the Iowa National Guard or their families.
In order to publicize the new law, the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs and the Iowa Department of Commerce will work together to develop a plan to notify active duty members, as well as financial institutions, of the new protections.
The bill will now go to the Senate for consideration.
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Economic Impact of Public Pension Plans
According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, benefits paid by state and local pension plans support a significant amount of economic activity in the state of Iowa. Pension benefits earned by retirees are spent in the state and in local communities.
Iowa has four large public employee pension plans as well as other public pension plans.
Expenditures made by retirees of state and local governments provide a steady economic stimulus to Iowa communities and to the state economy. In 2006, 85,564 residents of Iowa received a total of $1.04 billion in pension benefits from their state or local pension plan. Of this total amount, $1 billion was paid from plans within Iowa and the remainder came from plans in other states. Retirees' expenditures from these benefits supported a total of $1.4 billion in total economic output in the state, and $561.9 million in value added in the state.
According to the findings, $1 billion in direct economic impacts were supported by retirees' expenditures on goods and services from businesses in the state. An additional $177.6 million in indirect economic impact resulted when these businesses purchased additional goods and services, which generated additional income to the economy.
Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS) An independent study by CEM Benchmarking shows that IPERS has the lowest administration cost among organizations of similar size.
The study shows that IPERS' cost to manage benefits during fiscal year 2008 was about half the median cost compared to the 14 other systems in the study. IPERS' administration costs per active and retired member are $37 compared to the group median of $77.
IPERS has approximately 312,000 members. More than 87,000 retirees and their beneficiaries receive IPERS retirement benefits. IPERS paid almost $1.1 billion in retirement benefits during the last fiscal year. Over 88% of that amount stayed in Iowa.
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Fuel Prices Down Significantly
Fuel prices have declined significantly over the last year. According to the Department of Natural Resources, the March 2009 price for 10% ethanol blended midgrade gasoline in Iowa was 42% lower than the price in March 2008. Diesel prices decreased 51%.
Home heating fuel prices have declined similarly. The price of natural gas declined 59% comparing the March 2009 price to March 2008. Propane prices dropped 23% over this period.
Crude oil prices have also declined over this time. West Texas Cushing Sweet Crude Oil was priced 58% lower than the 2008 price.
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Iowa Lottery Security Checks
The Iowa Lottery recently conducted security checks at 126 retail locations around the state.
The Iowa Lottery instituted a policy that a winning lottery ticket must be signed prior to being cashed. The signature on the ticket identifies the ticket as belonging to the person who signed it. The recent security check will aid the lottery in determining if the retailers are following this policy.
According to Terry Rich, Iowa Lottery CEO, about half the Iowa retailers visited last month by lottery security investigators did not require lottery tickets to be signed prior to being cashed. He said the lottery will renew its efforts to educate the public on the importance of signing the tickets.
Rich further noted that lottery investigators will continue to conduct periodic, random checks at retailers. "It's important to continue our vigilance to protect consumers and the integrity of the Iowa Lottery."
Since its inception in 1985, the Iowa Lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for state programs and players have won more the $2.2 billion in prizes. More information about the Iowa Lottery can be found at www.ialottery.com.
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