SF 241- Electronic notifications for unemployment claims
SF 476/SSB 1204-Adoptive employment leave
SSB 1112-Professional licensing and criminal convictions
SSB 1132-Electronic benefits transfer card
SSB 1134 –Medicaid work reporting requirements
COMMITTEE ACTION:
SF 241– Electronic notifications for unemployment claims
SF 241 requires Iowa Workforce Development to provide an individual submitting a claim for unemployment benefits with electronic confirmation that the claim was successfully submitted. The confirmation must include a confirmation number for each weekly claim. An amendment was adopted in committee makes this change applicable to any new unemployment claim on or after January 5, 2020.
[3/6: short form]
SF 476/SSB 1204-Adoptive employment leave
SF 476/SSB 1205 requires an employer to treat an employee who chooses to adopt a child in the same manner as an employee who is the biological parent of a new born child for the purposes of employment policies, benefits and protections for the first year after adoption.
[3/4: short form (Absent: Carlin)]
SSB 1112-Professional licensing and criminal convictions
SSB 1112 relates to professional licensing and the ability for licensing boards to deny, revoke or suspend a license due to a felony conviction. As amended in committee, the Electrical Examining Board and the Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board will adopt rules to identify which felonies are violent or sexual in nature. Those convictions will be grounds for denial, revocation or suspension of a license. The bill also strikes current Code sections allowing the boards to revoke, deny or suspend a license on convictions of any felonies. The bill forbids the Iowa Department of Corrections from enrolling an inmate in an apprenticeship program if the inmate is unable to obtain a necessary license to practice due to a felony conviction that is violent or sexual in nature.
[3/6: short form (No: R. Taylor)]
SSB 1132-Electronic benefits transfer card
SSB 1132, as amended in committee, makes a person who possesses three or more electronic benefit transfer cards (EBT) to which they are authorized guilty of a fraudulent practice. A law enforcement officer who has probable cause to believe that a person possesses an unauthorized EBT card must report the name on the EBT card and the name of the person in possession of the EBT card to the Iowa Department of Inspection and Appeals.
[3/4: short form (Absent: Carlin)]
SSB 1134 –Medicaid work reporting requirements
SSB 1134 requires the Department of Human Services to submit a request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to implement “community engagement activities” (aka “work requirements”) as a requirement for eligibility for the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan (Iowa’s version of Medicaid expansion). The Iowa Health and Wellness Plan is for adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Community Engagement Activities are defined as working 20 hours per week; complying with a work program for 20 hours a week; volunteering 20 hours per week; meeting a combination of work and work program participation requirements; and complying with PROMISE JOBS. Some Health and Wellness Plan members are exempt, including those who are medically or physically unfit for employment; pregnant; caretakers of a child under one year of age; caretakers of a dependent child with medical conditions or a disability; receiving unemployment benefits; or in drug or alcohol treatment.
The Department of Human Services knows that there are approximately 170,000 people enrolled in the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, and 76,000 of those individuals report earnings. Another 34,000 are exempt in current categories. The exempt categories in the bill will add to the total number exempt under the work reporting requirements but that data is not available. At most, the bill will apply to around 30 percent.
[3/6: 6-5 (No: Democrats, Nunn)]