State Revenue Numbers Rebound in April

After an unexpected dip in state revenue in March, General Fund revenue in April rebounded strongly.  Through the first nine months of Fiscal Year 2013, revenue to the state of Iowa has grown by 8.7 percent.  In terms of dollars, revenue is $411 million more than the previous year at this point.

Amongst the main categories, personal income tax continues strong growth in FY 2013.  Through the first nine months, it has grown by 9.8 percent over the previous year.  That increase is $288 million.  Corporate income tax collections also remain healthy, with the growth for the year running at 14.8 percent.  One area of concern is sales and use tax, which has seen growth of only 2.1 percent so far this fiscal year.

For the month of April, state revenue was 17.6 percent higher that April 2012.  This increase is most likely due to Congress’s decision to give farmers an extension on when they had to file their taxes.  Still, there was strong growth in areas beyond agriculture in the month.

DOT Conducts Study of Vehicle Usage on Iowa Roadways

The Iowa Department of Transportation will be working on a study this spring and summer to determine how many cars, trucks and other vehicles are using the state’s roadways. This year’s efforts are concentrated in northeastern Iowa. Employees will spend peak hours between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. at one location counting the morning, noon and evening traffic. They will count and classify vehicles, record vehicle turning movements, tally helmet usage by motorcyclists, and gather other data necessary to plan the future of Iowa’s roadway systems.

Some employees will be placing and checking portable traffic recorders in the same general areas. Another data collection method involves capturing images of state highways. This program covers half of the state yearly and utilizes a van with two mounted cameras that collect 200 images per mile. At the same time, precise location information is collected through a global positioning system. That data is stored along with the images on the van’s onboard computer system. This van may be seen operating on state highways in the northern half of Iowa this year.

House Passes Healthy Iowa Plan

On April 30^th the House debated a proposal called the “Healthy Iowa Plan.”  The bill was introduced by Governor Branstad as an alternative to Medicaid expansion.  The bill passed on a vote of 51-49 and will cover people below 100% of the federal poverty level with a benefit plan similar to the state employee benefit package.

The purpose of the Healthy Iowa Plan is to establish and administer a plan to promote increased access to health care, quality health outcomes, and the use of personal responsibility measures that encourage people with incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level to be cost-conscious consumers of health care and to participate in healthy behaviors.  The plan requires members to contribute a small amount of money for the plan, although the amount required would change based on income.  The plan would also create “my health rewards accounts,” which would be used for payment of required contributions, cost sharing, and health improvements by members.   Members would be offered cost incentives for their plans if they completed various things such as efforts to quit smoking or nutrition counseling.

People ages 19-64 will be eligible for the Healthy Iowa plan benefits if they meet the following criteria: the person is a U.S. citizen or alien, the person is a resident of Iowa, the person has a social security number, and the person has a household income at or below 100% of the federal poverty level.  The following people are not eligible for the Healthy Iowa Plan: a person eligible for Medicaid, a person receiving Medicare, and a person who is pregnant and eligible for Medicaid

Following enrollment in the plan, a member is eligible for benefits for a 12 month period.  The bill requires the Department of Human Services to review the member’s eligibility on at least an annual basis.  Members of the plan get to choose their primary care provider.  In addition, providers have to be within 30 minutes or 30 miles of the person’s place of residence.

Benefits under the plan include but are not limited to: preventative care services, health home services, physician services, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, emergency transportation services, prescription drugs, diagnostic services, durable medical equipment and medical supplies, rehabilitative services (including therapy), home health services, and mental health and substance use disorder services.

After passage, Governor Branstad released this statement: “The governor commends House Republicans for taking the first step toward implementing modern health care that focuses on making Iowans healthier. The current Medicaid program is old, bureaucratic, outdated and fails to make Iowans healthier. Iowa’s most vulnerable deserve health care that offers them the commitment of better health, which Medicaid fails to do. House Republicans have pioneered a new method of health care that strives to make vulnerable Iowans healthier, while protecting taxpayers. This is a huge win for Iowans.”

The bill was sent back to the Senate for their consideration.

Recap of Week 16

On Wednesday the House debated the Health and Human Services budget. It passed the House 51-49. Now, the budget will go to a conference committee to work out a compromise between the Senate and House versions. The Health and Human Services budget appropriates $1.7 billion in General Fund dollars for the Departments on Aging, Public Health, Human Services, and Veterans’ Affairs for FY 2014.  Programs that are funded include: Medicaid, state supplementary assistance, the mental health institutes, child abuse prevention, adoption subsidy, the family investment program, child support recovery, and food assistance.

The budget for the Judicial Branch was passed out of the House on Thursday. The budget for the branch is set at $167.5 million. The budget has already passed the Senate and is on its way to the Governor for his signature.

The only budget left for the House to pass is the RIIF Infrastructure bill. It was passed previously by the House and amended by the Senate. The House will resist the Senate amendment and send it to conference committee. After that reaches committee, all 11 state appropriations budget bills will be either passed or in conference committee. Once the budgets pass out of conference committee, they will be approved by both chambers before the legislature adjourns for the year.

Friday, May 3rd, is the last official day of session. It is the last day for legislative clerks and most pages. I want to thank my clerk, Dax Oberreuter, for all his hard work this session. Dax is from Ryan and is a graduate of West Delaware. He is a fine young man that will accomplish great things. While the official end of session is here, legislators will continue to be in Des Moines until all the budgets are passed and all unfinished business is taken care of.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about these topics or any others please feel free to contact me by e-mail at lee.hein@legis.iowa.gov or by phone at (515) 281-7330.

Sincerely,

Rep. Lee Hein

House Moves Six Appropriations Bills in One Day

In a flurry of budget activity on Tuesday, the House moved forward on six of the major appropriations bills.  In taking these actions, House Republicans maintained their commitment to funding state government within the amount of on-going revenue

The House passed the Fiscal Year 14 Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF) appropriations bill.  House File 638 spends a portion of the state’s gaming revenue on a variety of infrastructure projects.  This year’s RIIF bill includes increases in funding for lake dredging and water quality projects, a new emphasis on performing routine, deferred, and major maintenance of state facilities, and new construction at the three Regents institutions.  HF 638 now awaits action in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Action was also taken on the Agriculture & Natural Resources budget (SF 435) and the Justice Systems budget (SF 447).  Each of these bills provide significant funding enhancements.  In Senate File 435, operating increases were provided to the Department of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, and the ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.  The bill also includes $42 million in funding through the Environment First Fund.

The Justice Systems budget made a number of changes in funding levels within the Department of Corrections, reflecting the impending shifting of populations as the new facilities in Fort Madison and Mitchellville start to come on-line.  Funding for the Department of Public Safety and Public Defense was set at the level proposed by the Governor.  Both SF 435 and SF 447 await further action by the Senate.

Two bills that started in the House were sent to conference committee. Amendments by the Senate to the Administration & Regulation budget (HF 603) and the FY 14 Education budget (HF 604) were rejected by the House as the each spent significantly more than the House budget targets.  Meetings of these conference committees are beginning.  Last week, the Economic Development appropriations bill (SF 430) was also sent to conference.

One major sign of progress was resolution on what level of funding is provided in this year’s budget bills for FY 2015.  Like two years ago, the second year of the budget is funded at 50 percent of the FY 14 level.  A few categories, like school aid, Medicaid, and property tax credits, will be funded at a higher level.  This was also done two years ago.

The setting of the FY 15 funding level allowed the House to complete its work on the Transportation appropriations bill for the next two years, HF 602.  The Senate is expected to send the bill to the Governor soon.

While House Republicans maintained their commitment to funding an effective and efficient state government, House Democrats displayed their penchant for spending every available penny and more with a series of votes that would have pushed the state much closer to seeing the return of across the board cuts.  The pinnacle of their efforts was an amendment for a one year appropriation of $160 million from the state’s ending balance to an unnamed group of environmental projects.  Where the money goes, how it is distributed, and what happens in future years were not even discussed.

Governor Signs HF 541

On Wednesday afternoon I witnessed Governor Branstad sign into law House File 541, a bill dealing with dam reconstruction standards, which I sponsored and floor managed through the House.

The bill seeks to use the former easements that where in place when a dam was overtopped by unprecedented flooding. This will allow such a facility to use the flood easements that applied to the dam before the disaster in order to reconstruct the dam and would not require additional easements to be added.  This would specifically affect the reconstruction of the Lake Delhi dam.

This bill resolves one of the final pieces in getting the reconstruction of the Lake Delhi dam underway.  I’m pleased it was able to move through the process and the governor signed the bill.

The legislation passed the House and Senate in a bipartisan manner.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about these topics or any others please feel free to contact me by e-mail at lee.hein@legis.iowa.gov or by phone at (515) 281-7330.

Sincerely,

Rep. Lee Hein

Property Tax Passes the Senate – House Amends

The Senate this week passed their version of property tax reform with a vote of 29-21. If you have been following the property tax discussions the last three years, their plan isn’t anything new, same concept as last year – a business property tax credit modeled after the homestead tax credit.

The House on Wednesday amended the Senate File with their proposal, along with a few new items. The goal being, to try to get the property tax bill into a conference committee, something that eluded both chambers the last two years. Below are the major pieces that will be considered if the bill goes to conference committee.

Rollback

• 20% rollback of taxable value on commercial and industrial property. 5% per  year over 4 years
• Approximately $339 million in property tax relief when fully implemented

Backfill

• A standing unlimited appropriation is created to backfill lost revenue to local governments.
• Backfill appropriation is exempt from future “across the board” cuts
• TIF properties held harmless
  • FY 15 $77 million
  • FY 16 $159 million
  • FY 17 $248 million
  • FY 18 $339 million (then capped at this level moving forward)

Assessment limitation

• Assessment growth limitation moves from 4% to 2% on Ag and residential immediately
• After the 20% forced rollback, three classes of property are tied together with a 2% assessment growth limitation (Commercial, AG and Residential)
• Industrial will not be tied with the other three classes, but will mirror commercial. Meaning, whatever commercial is assessed at, industrial will receive the same treatment.

School District Funding

• Raises the school foundation formula from 87.5% to 95% over 4 years
  • FY 15 $75 million
  • FY 16 $154 million
  • FY 17 $236 million
  • FY 18 $322 million

Multi-residential Property Classification

• Adds a new property tax classification for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, mobile home parks, manufactured home communities.
• Assessed as commercial the first year, then rolled back to 60% over four years. At that point, taxed the same as residential

Telecommunications Property Taxation

• Central office equipment is exempted from taxation
• Land, buildings and outside plant is then rolled back to 80% the first year, 60% the second.

Senate Democrats Plan – Senate File 295

• Business property tax credit beginning July 1, 2014. Similar to Homestead tax credit
• Available to Commercial, Industrial and Railway properties that have permanent construction (no vacant lots).
• Requires legislature to annually appropriate $50 million from General Fund
• Growth Trigger- Revenue Estimating Conference must certify total amount of general fund revenue growth by 4% compared to previous year before additional $50 million
• $250 million per year is the maximum amount that could be appropriated
• Properties valued at $324,000 or less will receive a tax credit equivalent to the residential rate. Properties valued at more than $324,000 will receive a tax credit on the first $324,000 of their property.
• Counties will also receive backfill to cover lost revenue.
• Small businesses are treated differently than larger businesses. No incentive to expand footprint in state.

Budget Process Picking Up Steam

As the calendar moves towards the end of the 2013 legislative session, the work on the FY 2014 and FY 2015 state budget is moving into high gear this week as both chambers spend significant time working on spending bills.

In the House, the Economic Development appropriations bill (SF 430) was passed by the chamber on Tuesday.  The House amendment provides the largest percentage growth of all the various budgets, with a 19% increase in funding to attract and maintain businesses to the state.  This does not include funding for the High Quality Jobs program, which is addressed in the infrastructure bill.

In the House Appropriations Committee, the budgets for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Judicial Branch, and the Rebuild Iowa’s Infrastructure Fund were advanced to the floor.  The Agriculture bill, Senate File 435, includes a $1 million General Fund increase.  The new funds are being used to maintain on-going services provided by the Department of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, and the ISU Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.  The Environment First Fund is also fully funded at $42 million.

In the RIIF bill, the House is continuing its efforts to return the focus of this fund to infrastructure projects.  Major projects completed in the bill are the prison construction work at Fort Madison and Mitchellville, the Dental building at the University of Iowa, the Ag/Biosystems Engineering complex at Iowa State, and the renovation of Bartlett Hall at UNI.  The bill also increases funding for lake restoration and water quality as long as increasing the emphasis on maintenance work on state facilities.

Funding for the High Quality Jobs program is continued in the RIIF bill, by using returned or unused funds from the Grow Iowa Values Program which no longer is in operation.  Among the new projects included in the bill are beginning work on renovating the Wallace building, looking into the future of the state historical building and three new projects at the Regents institutions.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Iowa Senate has a number of budgets ready for consideration this week. It is expected that by the end of the week, action will have been taken on the Justice Systems (SF 447) and Health & Human Services (SF 446) budget which they are responsible for starting.  Also, they are expected to consider the Administration & Regulation (HF 603) and Education (HF 604) budgets.

At the end of the week, the only budget bill that has yet to be released is the Standing Appropriations bill.  The Senate is responsible for starting action on this bill.

Most of the budget bills will end up in a conference committee where details will be negotiated out and compromise will be worked out.

Tuesday night the House held a public hearing on SF 296. The public was invited to speak before lawmakers about Medicaid expansion and the Governor’s Healthy Iowa Plan. Citizens from both sides of the issue spoke and gave their input. The legislature is currently still working through the vast information on both sides of the issue.  There is a lot of misinformation out there.  We at the Statehouse will sort through it and make the right decision as to what is best for Iowa.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about these topics or any others please feel free to contact me by e-mail at lee.hein@legis.iowa.gov or by phone at (515) 281-7330.

Sincerely,

Rep. Lee Hein

Education Reform Heads to Conference Committee

This week the Senate finally moved on education reform, taking the bill a step closer to its final form.  House File 215, which the House approved in February, came out of the Senate Education committee on Tuesday and off the Floor on Wednesday.  It was amended with the Senate’s version of education reform, Senate File 423, which the Senate passed late last week.  The House subsequently rejected the Senate’s amendment on House File 215, the Senate insisted on their amendment, putting the bill in conference committee.

While there are similarities between the two versions of the bill, the differences are significant at the moment.  The Senate stripped out nearly all the accountability that existed in the House bill, removed all parental choice, homeschool, and private school provisions, and added various pieces of legislation that the House has not supported over the last several years.  Additionally, the costs are around $40 million more than the House version and the complexity of their system essentially makes it impossible for the program to have any lasting integrity.

The Joint Rules of the legislature state that within one legislative day of the move to conference, the leaders of both houses are to make appointments to the committee.  The committee will consist of 10 members, 3 majority party members from each chamber, and 2 minority party members from each chamber.  Following the appointment, the committee has to then meet before the end of the next legislative, shall select a chair, and shall begin discussion.

A timeline of events

Just as last year, the Senate took a very different track with the education reform bill than the House did.  The House acted early and spent hours in subcommittee and committee on the bill, modifying slightly the governor’s language, sending the bill to the Senate in February.  The Senate, conversely, ignored the House version, held subcommittees on the Governor’s bills, but then introduced its own version in early March, passing it through committee three days later with little discussion.  The senate version was then modified considerably on the Senate Floor, with the Senate sending it to the House one day before the funnel week, leaving no time for House consideration.

The House’s 2013 timeline:

January 15 – HSB 4, the Governor’s language, introduced

January 21, 28, 29, February 5 – Subcommittees

February 13– Education Committee consideration

February 14 – Ways and Means and Appropriations Committee consideration

February 19 – 20 – House Floor Consideration

February 20 – Message to the Senate

The Senate’s 2013 timeline:

January 22 – SSB 1058, the Governor’s language, introduced

January 31, February 6, and 14 – Subcommittees

March 4 – SSB 1228, the Senate’s language, introduced

March 6 – Subcommittee

March 7 – Education Committee consideration

March 26 – Senate Floor consideration

April 1 – HF 215, the House’s language, subcommittee

April 2 – Education Committee consideration

April 3 – Senate Floor consideration

Submit Artwork for 2^nd Agriculture Art Award

On Tuesday, April 2, 2013, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) issued a press release which invited Iowa artists of all ages to participate in the second annual “Celebration of Iowa: Agricultural Art Award” sponsored by the IDALS, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF).

The theme for this year’s exhibit is “Cultivating Change.”  The Celebration of Iowa: Agriculture Art Award is a juried art exhibit that recognizes Iowa artists and celebrates our state’s role as a global leader in agriculture. Artwork will be judged on innovation of concept, execution of contest theme, and the aesthetic and technical quality of the work.  There is a Youth Division with a $1,000 first place prize and an Adult Division with a $1,500 grand prize. Second, third and honorary award winners also have monetary awards in this prestigious art exhibit.

Exhibit entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges arranged by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.  Eligible participants must be Iowa residents working in 2D or 3D media (film, video, or installation work will not be accepted). All artwork must be original.  A submission form and additional requirements including artwork specifications are available by visiting www.culturalaffairs.org or www.IowaAgriculture.gov.  The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2013.  Inquiries regarding the contest may be directed to Veronica O’Hern, Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, at veronica.ohern@iowa.gov.

Last year entries were received from artists representing 45 Iowa communities.

Recap of Week 12

I have received many emails from you about HSB 225. HSB 225 gives a tax credit to individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations, estates, and trusts who contribute to private non-profit schools that award tuition scholarship to students. The bill also increases the total amount of credits given out from 8.75 million dollars to 12 million. It passed out of the House Ways & Means committee this week. I support the bill and it will be eligible for debate on next week.

The deadline for the second funnel is this week. A bill needs to pass out of one chamber and though the committee of the other by Friday April fifth in order to stay alive for the session. Only the Ways & Means Committee is funnel proof.

HF 512, which has to do with mothballing hog facilities, also passed the House this week. Current law states the only way to terminate a manure management facility is to destroy the confinement building. This bill would allow you to notify the DNR and keep the building standing. This will allow older famers to exit the livestock industry while leaving the building intact for the next generation.

The dam reconstruction bill passed out of the Senate Local Government Committee on Wednesday. It has survived the funnel and will be eligible for debate on the Senate floor next week.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about these topics or any others please feel free to contact me by e-mail at lee.hein@legis.iowa.gov or by phone at (515) 281-7330.

Sincerely,

Rep. Lee Hein

House Passes Bill to Strengthen Penalties for Identity Theft

Identity theft is a nationwide epidemic. According to a Federal Trade Commission Report, every three seconds there is a new victim of identity theft. In 2011, Iowa had 1,208 identity theft complaints and while that number is low compared to many other states, identity theft is still a major concern for Iowans. This week, the Iowa House passed House File 534, to increase the penalty for identity theft in an effort to stop this growing problem.

Under current law, a person commits identity theft if they fraudulently use or attempt to use identification information of another person, with the intent to obtain credit, property, services or other benefits. There are two tiers of punishment for identity theft. If the value of the items is $1,000 or less, the person will be charged with an aggravated misdemeanor. A person convicted of an aggravated misdemeanor could face up to two years imprisonment and a fine of $625 to $6,250. If the value of items is over $1,000 the person will be charged with a class “D” felony. A class “D” felony is punishable by confinement for no more than five years and a fine between $750 and $7,500.

After extensive research and input from people in the community, House Republicans decided to eliminate the charge of an aggravated misdemeanor for items less than $1,000 and instead make the penalty for identity theft a class “D” felony, regardless of the value of items taken. Since identity theft is so prevalent around the country and it can be very time consuming for individuals impacted by this theft to stop the fraudulent activity, the Judiciary Committee decided a higher penalty was necessary, no matter how much money was involved.

In addition to a uniform penalty, House File 534 makes an exception for persons of a certain age who take another’s identification to gain some benefits. Specifically an individual who takes another’s identity for the purpose of underage possession of alcohol, underage entry to a bar, underage entry to a movie, underage possession of tobacco, or underage entry in to any establishment with age restriction. An individual who commits this crime shall not be charged under the identity theft statute but instead be charged for violating the statute relating to the particular offense.

Last session, House Republicans passed a different bill to combat identity theft, but Democrats in the Senate filed to give it any consideration. This year, House File 534 passed with overwhelming bipartisan support with 87 ayes and 11 nays. House File 534 has been sent to the Senate for further consideration. House Republicans believe that by increasing the penalty on identity theft Iowans will have more protection from this financially devastating crime.

Study: Obamacare Increases Insurance Costs for Those on Individual Market

Research conducted by the Society of Actuaries has shown that as many as 43 states could see double-digit percentage claims cost increases as the full effect of the new healthcare law is put into effect. The study finds that the claims cost of insurance in the individual market will increase by an average of 32 percent nationally.

The increase that Iowans who purchase insurance through non-group plans should expect depends on one important factor: whether or not Medicaid is expanded. The study conducted two analyses of per-member-per-month costs for non-group insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The one analysis assumes states will opt to expand Medicaid, while the other assumes the states will decline to expand Medicaid. The study shows that Iowans should expect an increase under both models, but that the increase would be less severe if the state does NOT expand Medicaid.

The study shows that, if Medicaid is expanded, Iowans could expect an increase of 9.7% for non-group per-member-per month costs once the provisions of the Affordable Care Act have been implemented. However, if Medicaid is not expanded, Iowans should still expect an increase, but it would be 5.5% for non-group per-member-per-month costs once the provisions of the Affordable Care Act have been implemented. While these amounts are lower than the projected national average, they are still increased costs on Iowans.

The five states that stand to see the largest increases include Ohio (80.9% increase with Medicaid expansion, 82.1% increase without), Wisconsin (80.0% increase with Medicaid expansion, 79.6% increase without), Indiana (67.7% increase with Medicaid expansion, 66.4% increase without), Maryland (66.6% increase with Medicaid expansion, 61.4% increase without), and Idaho (62.2% increase with Medicaid expansion, 61.8% increase without). Only four states stand to have these costs decrease under both models: Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Medicaid expansion is not a foregone conclusion either way. Governor Branstad said he is opposed to expanding Medicaid, which will lead to increased costs to the state, while the Democrat-controlled Senate passed a bill this week that would expand that coverage to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level.

The largest reasons for the increase in costs exist as the study predicts the shifts of currently insured people from high-risk pools, the employer market, and previously uninsured persons who must pay most or all the cost of coverage to the individual market, which will likely overwhelm the expected lower costs anticipated by the influx of newly-insured persons in the insurance exchanges receiving federal benefit and premium subsidies. The study notes that, “[a]s a result, the underlying claims cost of insurance in the individual market will increase by an average of 32 percent nationally, when compared to what it would have been without the reform law.”

A full copy of the report can be found at http://cdn-files.soa.org/web/research-cost-aca-report.pdf

Iowa Teacher of the Year nominations due April 26

House Republicans are interested in supporting excellent teaching.  The Iowa Teacher of the Year award celebrates that excellent teaching and gives recognition to a teacher each year that encapsulates the best of what Iowa’s teacher have to offer, serving as a representative of the thousands of excellent teachers we have in this state.

The Iowa Department of Education announced this week that the deadline to nominate the 2014 Iowa Teacher of the Year is April 26. The award is an opportunity to recognize an exceptional Iowa teacher who is helping to redefine education. Nominations will be accepted from anyone, including students, parents, school administrators, colleagues, college faculty members and associations.

The Iowa Teacher of the Year award was established in 1958. The annual program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education through an appropriation from the Legislature ($85,000 in FY13). Winners are chosen by a committee that includes representatives of the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa State Education Association, the School Administrators of Iowa, the Parent Teachers Association and the current Iowa Teacher of the Year.

The Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador to education and as a liaison to primary and secondary schools, higher education and organizations across the state.

Tania Johnson of Cedar Rapids was named the 2013 Teacher of the Year.

The 2014 Teacher of the Year will be announced this fall.

Nomination forms can be found on the following webpage: http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=686&Itemid=2683

Recap of Week 11

Jim Greif from Prairieburg was at the Capitol this week. He is a member Iowa Corn Growers Association. The Iowa Corn Growers want to make some changes to the Corn Promotion Board. They want to downsize the board itself and change meeting dates in the Board’s code. The association also wants to raise the cap of the corn check off from one cent to five cents.

Steve Leonard, President of the Lake Delhi Board of Trustees, stopped by the Statehouse this week. We continue to discuss issues with the reconstruction of the dam. The dam reconstruction bill that passed out of the House last week is still waiting for the Senate’s approval.

I was appointed to the Energy & Environment Public Policy Committee by House Speak Kraig Paulsen. The committee provides for state leaders to address challenges and issues arising from energy-related and environmental conditions. Members of the committee focus on emerging trends, innovative solutions, and viable policy positions and response projects. During meetings, committee members may introduce and consider policy resolutions. The committee is designed to encourage states to share the best practices, and to facilitate networking among state officials and between the public and private sectors. The appointment is for two years. I’m excited to start and contribute what I’ve learned serving on the Environmental Protection committee in the House.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about these topics or any others please feel free to contact me by e-mail at lee.hein@legis.iowa.gov or by phone at (515)281-7330.

Sincerely,

Rep. Lee Hein