February 19, 2010

Week Six
Puppy mill crack down
ARC Chili Supper - Tonight
Visitors to the Capitol this week
Corporate tax credit transparency
Upcoming public forum
Iowa City area designated one of Iowa’s Great Places
Protecting Iowa voters from corporate campaign spending run amok
Ban on texting while driving advances
Making sure Iowa workers are paid what they are owed
Taking steps to further safeguard victims of domestic violence

Week Six

The legislative session is now half over. It was a very busy week with many visitors from home. It helped that we had a good week for traveling. There have been many activities cancelled this session due to the weather. This week the Iowa City/Coralville area was named an Iowa Great Place. The event was marked by a ceremony with Governor Culver. See the story below.

I chatted with Tea Party members at their legislative breakfast reception this week.

Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield announced a 22 percent health insurance rate increase for about 80,000 Iowa policy holders this week. I took to the Senate floor with Senator Jack Hatch on Thursday to raise issue with this increase. Wellmark will be invited to the Statehouse next week to explain this exorbitant increase. Yo, President Obama and Democrats in Congress: We need federal health insurance reform and a federal public health insurance option now more that ever. Can we get a bill??

This week, Nathan Newman, Executive Director of the Progressive States Network (PSN) visited the Statehouse to meet with legislators and allies working on progressive working family issues. He had a productive visit and shared the work going on around the country on paid sick days, wage enforcement laws, health care reform, corporate tax accountability and reform and green building initiatives. We conducted a press conference to discuss their work. See the press conference. House and Senate members will meet next week to follow-up on our issue discussions.

This week the Senate approved HF 2075, which would require insurance companies to cover the routine health care costs associated with cancer clinical trials. It is legislation that I have worked on for last two years. The bill now goes to the Governor. Again, congratulations to all the anti-cancer advocates that have pushed to make this happen. This legislation will enhance cancer research and patient outcomes.

This week the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to recommend legislators reclassify marijuana to allow for medical use. The board recommended that legislators reclassify the drug from Schedule I, for which there are no permitted uses, to Schedule II, which would allow medical uses.

The board also recommended the establishment of a task force, including patients, medical professionals and law enforcement officers, to come up with a way to safely implement a medical marijuana program.

The Board’s decision follows four information gathering public hearings and a review of the scientific literature. I thing the Board deserves a lot of credit for their analysis and decision. I continue to work with legislative colleagues on this issue. I am hopeful that on-going bi-partisan discussions this session will lead to a new proposal for the 2011 session.

My colleague, Sen. Tom Courtney (D-Burlington) summed up the need for this legislation. “This is a great step forward for seriously ill Iowans who can benefit from medical marijuana." "Several years ago, my wife passed away from cancer. Marinol pills gave her some relief, but it would have been so much better if she had had legal access to marijuana."

The Des Moines Register recently conducted a poll showing almost two-thirds of Iowa support the medical use of marijuana. See the Poll Results.

I continued to work with colleagues pouring over tax credit reports and working on a plan to provide more accountability and transparency for this spending. We hope to have a bill draft ready late next week.

Puppy mill crack down

A bill intended to crack down on "puppy mills" - inhumane animal breeding facilities, HF 2280 passed this week in the Iowa House on a vote of 77-22. The Senate Ways and Means passed an identical bill, SF2233.

The measure would allow state inspectors to respond to specific complaints against a federally licensed facility. Those inspectors could then check to see if an animal is suffering or lacks food, water, sanitation, shelter or grooming.

Animal welfare groups have complained federally licensed facilities have not been held accountable when poor living conditions for dogs have been discovered.

The bill also allows the Iowa Dept. of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to require an owner, operator, or employee of a commercial establishment, who is subject to suspension or revocation of their license, to complete a continuing education. The bill also establishes new fines and new fees.

This legislation is long overdue and will soon be passed in the Senate and sent to the Governor. I strongly supported this bill.

ARC Chili Supper - Tonight

The ARC of Southeast Iowa Chili Supper is today, February 19, 4:30-7:30 pm at the River Community Church, 3001 Muscatine Avenue. The proceeds will help provide services to children and adults with disabilities. Adults - $10, Children 12 and under - $5 and children under 3 eat free.

Visitors the Capitol this week

Leta Wall, Linn County Task Force on Aging
Irvin Pfab, Johnson County Task Force on Aging
Bruce Teague, Caring Hands and More, Johnson County Task Force on Aging
Alyce Phyall, Caring Hands and More, Johnson County Task Force on Aging
Betty Kelly, Johnson County Task Force on Aging
Mary Weimann, Executive Director, Elder Services, Inc.
Joshua Schamberger, Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Laurie Haman, Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Wendy Ford, Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Ryan Heiar, Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Susan Mimms, member, Iowa City Council
Shaner Magalhaes, President, Johnson County Historical Society
Lynne Himmelreich, ARNP, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Belinda Siglin, RN, University of Iowa
Pearl Kohl, UI RN student
Mike Carberry, Iowa Renewable Energy Association
Sarah Swisher, SEIU
Tom Yates, President, Iowa City Education Association
Kris Wingate, Iowa City Education Association
JP Clausen, Iowa City Education Association
Nancy Porter, Iowa City Education Association
Pat Jensen, Johnson County League of Women Voters
Dawn Suter, Johnson County League of Women Voters
Rebecca Reiter, Johnson County League of Women Voters
Anne Tabor, Dietician, UIHC
Brian Kaskie, UI College of Public Health
Richard Twohy, Advocate
Sorry if I missed you.

Corporate tax credit transparency

Last year the legislature approved language that would require Iowa companies that receive tax refund checks for their research activity tax credits (RAC) of more than $500,000 to be made public.

Because most big companies with RAC claims this year filed their returns prior to July 1st to avoid being listed in this first report, very little information is provided in this report. This is the arguably the most generous credit in the country for research activities. This year in will cost around $50 million dollars. Most of the credit is paid out in refund checks. Some of the checks are for millions of dollars to Iowa’s most profitable large companies.

Here is the link to the short report: www.iowa.gov/tax/taxlaw/RACreport09.pdf

More complete summary statistics will be forthcoming in the 2007 Tax Credits Statistical Report, which should be completed in a few weeks.

Upcoming public forum

The Johnson County League of Women Voters will host a legislative forum on February 27, at 9:30-11:30AM: at the Coralville City Council Chambers, 1512 7th Street.

Iowa City area designated one of Iowa’s Great Places

On Wednesday, I attended Governor Culver’s signing of an agreement with Iowa’s six new Great Places, which includes Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty.

Iowa Great Places is an initiative of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs that combines state resources and local assets to help communities cultivate the unique qualities that make them special. The Memorandums of Understanding signed Wednesday bring the state into partnership with each of the following communities: Greater Cedar Valley Alliance, Iowa City/Coralville/North Liberty, Marion, Tama County, Turkey River Corridor, and Villages of Van Buren County.

The program asks Iowans to develop proposals that address seven unique and authentic dimensions that make places special: engaging experiences; rich, diverse populations and cultures; a vital, creative economy; clean and accessible natural and built environments; well-designed infrastructure; a shared attitude of optimism that welcomes new ideas; and based on a diverse and inclusive cultural mosaic.

Iowa City/Coralville/North Liberty incorporates three communities with a vision focusing on literature. Iowa City became part of the Creative Cities Network when it was named a City of Literature in November 2008 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Iowa City is the third city in the world to receive this recognition, joining Edinburgh, Scotland, and Melbourne, Australia. Its proposal develops and supports the “UNESCO City of Literature” brand for Iowa City and surrounding communities.

L to R: Wendy Ford, I, Susan Mims, Laurie Haman, Governor Chet Culver, Ryan Heiar, Senator Bob Dvorsky and Josh Schamberger.

Protecting Iowa voters from corporate campaign spending run amok

We are moving quickly at the Statehouse to protect middle-class families from big corporations and shadowy organizations after a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision.

Citizens United v. FEC removed all rules and boundaries on corporate spending in political campaigns. The only people happy about the Supreme Court decision are the presidents of big corporations, campaign consultants looking for new clients and shadowy political groups.

The Supreme Court decision threatens Iowa’s reputation for clean, issue-based campaigns. Our state is known as a place where all voices can be heard and decide who’s elected, not just the wealthy and powerful.

We want to keep it that way.

A new bill under consideration in the Legislature, Senate File 2354, is expected to:

** Require corporations engaged in independent campaign activities to report their receipts and expenditures (just like every other campaign committee in Iowa).

** Require disclaimers on advertisements paid for by corporations (just like every other campaign committee in Iowa).

** Prohibit foreign-controlled companies from playing any role in Iowa elections.

** Require board, CEO or stockholder approval before corporate dollars are poured into independent expenditures.

** Prevent collusion by corporate donors and political candidates by prohibiting them from using the same consultants, advertising firms and other campaign advisers.

Review the bill at http://tiny.cc/SF2354.

Ban on texting while driving advances

Taking your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel are dangerous habits. By restricting texting while driving, we can save lives and make Iowa roads safer for everyone.

At any given moment, 1 percent of drivers on the road are texting. Those drivers can be as much as 23 times more likely to crash, putting everyone on the road at risk.

Senate File 2321 would make it illegal to write or send a text-based message unless the vehicle is stopped and off the roadway. The use of GPS devices will still be permitted, and if you get an urgent message, you may still read it.

For one year after the law goes into effect, officers will issue warnings to violators while the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety step up efforts to educate the public about the dangers of texting while driving.

After the law is in effect for a year, those caught texting while driving will be subject to a $100 ticket. There are also heightened penalties if someone is killed or seriously injured.

Read the legislation at http://bit.ly/a7B14B. I support this legislation.

Making sure Iowa workers are paid what they are owed

A new state investigation found that employers cheated Iowa workers out of at least $15 million in wages.

In September 2009, the state launched an effort to educate employers and workers about “employee misclassification” and to investigate those suspected of improperly classifying their workers.

To date, Iowa Workforce Development has found that:
** 116 employers misclassified 887 workers.
** $15,520,738 in wages went unreported.
** $555,647 in unemployment taxes went unpaid.
** Total unemployment penalties and interest due amount to $156,248.

Employers who wrongfully classify workers as independent contractors when they should actually be employees not only cheat workers out of the wages they deserve, but also gain an unfair advantage over Iowa’s thousands of law-abiding employers.

To learn more about employee misclassification, go to www.iowaworkforce.org/misclassification/.

Taking steps to further safeguard victims of domestic violence

The recent murder of an Iowa woman by her husband challenged our state to do more to protect the victims of domestic abuse. The Senate has responded by acting on three separate pieces of legislation.

Randall Moore is charged with kidnapping his wife, Therese Ann Lynch, from a Des Moines shopping mall and shooting her at their apartment. Moore’s history of domestic abuse included four different women filing protective orders against him in just the last four years.

At the time of the murder, Moore was under a court order requiring him to give up his firearms. Unfortunately, when he failed to comply, there was no follow-up before the murder to ensure that he surrendered his weapons.

Senate File 2357 will do more to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who have a domestic abuse protective order against them or who have a criminal conviction for domestic abuse. The bill also sets up a process to ensure that an abuser relinquishes his or her firearms. Making these changes will bring state law in line with federal law.

Senate File 2351 enhances the penalty for domestic abuse by strangulation, one of the most common forms of domestic abuse. Victims pass out within seconds and can quickly suffer brain damage. However, strangulation rarely leaves marks on the victim, and abusers often get away with little or no consequences.

The third piece of legislation is Senate File 2249, which closes a domestic violence loophole by adding assaults involving intimate relationships to the list of categories constituting domestic violence. Offenders will be required to participate in domestic violence programs and subject to mandatory jail or prison time.

Senator Jack Hatch, I, Senator Tom Courtney and Senator Bill Dotzler listen as Nathan Newman, executive director of the Progressive States Network, praises Iowa Legislators for supporting progressive legislation. “In Iowa, legislators have kept the focus on helping families, especially middle class, working families who are struggling,” said Newman. “Iowa is leading the way on expanding health care coverage to all children, raising the minimum wage and giving working families a significant tax break.”