State Government Committee Report – Week 9, 2019

SJR 17 is a resolution to allow sale of merchandise by A Brotherhood Aimed Towards Education (ABATE) on the Capitol grounds. ABATE holds a motorcycle rally and toy run each year to collect toys for Iowa children and sells commemorative merchandise at this event to help pay for police escort. The Department of Administrative Services requires the Legislature to approve requests by outside entities to sell things on the Capitol grounds. This resolution is in effect for the current two-year General Assembly.
[3/11: 46-0 (Excused: J. Smith, Edler, Zaun; Vacant: Danielson)]

SF 323 Canned cocktails

SF 323 allows for the sale of “canned cocktail” and “mixed drink or cocktail.” These beverages may contain between 6.25 and 15 percent alcohol by volume. The Code provisions applicable to beer will also apply to canned cocktails (redemption, etc.). The bill takes effect upon enactment.
[3/12: 45-4 (No: Celsi, Costello, Guth, Hogg; Vacant: Danielson)]

SF 367 – Eliminates Education and Regional Telecommunication Councils

SF 367 eliminates the Education Telecommunication Council and Regional Telecommunications Councils (RTCs). In 1994, the Legislature established an 18-member Education Telecommunications Council to assist in scheduling and site-usage policies for educational users of the Iowa Communications Network (ICN). The council also recommended long-range plans for enhancements to educational applications. At the same time, Regional Telecommunications Councils were established in each of the 15 community college districts. The RTCs provide advice on local educational needs and coordinate program activities, including technical assistance for network classrooms in community centers and schools. General Fund dollars went to the Iowa Telecommunications and Technology Commission for distribution to the RTCs based on usage by the region. In previous years, funding has been approximately $993,000 annually. This budget unit has not been funded since FY17.
[3/11: 46-0 (Excused: J. Smith, Edler, Zaun; Vacant: Danielson)]

SF 447 Reversal of local control for residential rental living caps

SF 447 prohibits a city from adopting or enforcing a regulation, restriction or other ordinance related to residential property rental caps on single-family homes or duplexes after January 1, 2019. This removes a city’s ability to put a cap on the percentage of rentals in a neighborhood. The bill is effective upon enactment.
[3/11: 35-11 (No: Bolkcom, Boulton, Celsi, Hogg, Jochum, Mathis, Petersen, Quirmbach, Ragan, R. Taylor, Wahls; Excused: Edler, J. Smith, Zaun; Vacant: Danielson)]

SF 536 Telepharmacy licensing requirements

SF 536 eliminates the prohibition in current law against the issuance of a special or limited-use pharmacy license to a telepharmacy site if a licensed pharmacy that dispenses prescription drugs to outpatients is located within 10 miles of the proposed telepharmacy site, unless the proposed telepharmacy site is located on property owned, operated or leased by the state, or unless the proposed telepharmacy site is located within a hospital campus and is limited to inpatient dispensing. Current law also provides that the mileage requirement does not apply to a telepharmacy site that was approved and operating as a telepharmacy prior to July 1, 2016.
[3/13: 48-0 (Excused: T.Taylor; Vacant: Danielson)]

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 1228 – EMS and IDPH data

SF 1228 relates to patient health data and information under the purview of the Department of Public Health (DPH).

Division I of the bill says that unless otherwise authorized or required by state or federal law, the name (as well as the Social Security Number) of an individual will not be included in data collected from hospitals.

Division II of the bill says that unless otherwise authorized or required by state or federal law, data collected in emergency medical care, including patient care reports, that contain a patient’s medical information, will not include the Social Security Number or name of the patient who is the subject of the data. A “patient care report” is a written report in and out of a hospital setting; and “patient’s medical information” is any information in an emergency medical services ambulance or transport document or report. A committee amendment makes an exemption for billing purposes only.
[3/7: 11-4 (No: Celsi, Jochum, Lykam, T. Taylor)]

SSB 1230 – Pharmacy board prescription monitoring program

SSB 1230 seeks to expand reporting to the Iowa Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) to include those controlled substances in schedule V of the Iowa Uniform Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that are dispensed to patients in Iowa. The reporting requirement would include all schedule V controlled substances, including those that do not require a prescription to be dispensed by a pharmacist. The reporting requirement would also include other prescription substances that the PMP advisory council and board determine could be addictive or fatal if not taken under the proper care and direction of a prescribing practitioner.

Division II of this bill conforms to the federal government drug schedule. The bill also includes any FDA-approved products containing cannabidiol (CBD) that contain no more than 0.1 percent tetrahydrocannabinols (THC). These scheduling actions follow similar scheduling action taken by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and make permanent the temporary scheduling action taken by the board via rulemaking throughout 2018. Finally, this bill seeks to remove language referring to “rules of the board” relating to medical marijuana programs since it has no such programs.
[3/7: 15-0]

SSB 1239 – New requirements for State Auditor

SSB 1239 requires the state auditor to appoint a certified public accountant (CPA) to serve as deputy auditor of a division that engages in audit work. The Office of State Auditor will qualify as a certified public accounting firm, if the Auditor of State is a CPA or a majority of all divisions of the office performing attest services are headed by a deputy director who is a CPA. The bill provides that Code sections 542.17 and 542.18 concerning client confidentiality do not apply to the Office of State Auditor if the office is issued a permit as a certified public accounting firm.

Under the bill, an applicant must register their office as a firm with the Iowa Accountancy Examining Board and to show that all attest and compilation services are under the charge of a CPA. In addition, the bill provides that peer review records concerning the Office of State Auditor will be considered a public record. This is important in certifying the Office of State Auditor as a firm. The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies retroactively to January 1, 2019.
[3/7: 15-0]

SSB 1241 – Omnibus election bill

SSB 1241 is an omnibus bill dealing with election procedures and limiting voting opportunities. The bill contains these provisions:

Removes Secretary of State requirements for publishing proposed amendments to the Iowa Constitution
Issuance of Bonds: Public and school bonds will include the term of the bond, current levy rate, proposed new levy rate, the average impact on a home and the average of the averages.
Self-Promotion: Defines “direct mass mailing” as a mailing sent to 200 or more recipients. It defines the prohibition against public funds for printed material as including those mailings that are sent to request or enroll a person into a program, the purpose of which is to attract public attention to a person, policy, product, service, program, law, legislation or event by the statewide elected official.
Hospital Board of Trustees Elections: Establish off-setting term limits for hospital boards of trustees.
Secretary of State Technical Bill (SSB1078): Controversial section includes eliminating the second Tuesday in December as a possible date for a special election on a school district or city public measure in an even-numbered year. This would result in only three options for special election dates.
Nomination by Petition: Nominations by a political party or nonparty political organization require the same set number of signatures. It eliminates all percentage formulas.
Conduct of Elections:
- Changes the dates of special elections for counties, cities and schools held for even and odd election years.
- Makes dates for filing, withdrawing and replacement for state and county offices uniform.
- Prohibits a person who seeks the nomination of a political party for a certain office, but loses the nomination, from being eligible for election to that office in the next general election.
- County Auditor’s signatures on a ballot are replaced with the county seal. County Auditors cannot participate in absentee ballot drives or collections in cooperation with a candidate or political party. County Auditor or Secretary of State cannot distribute sample ballots. Secretary of State can oversee County Auditor’s election-related work 60 days before and after an election.
- Mandates the use of e-poll books by February 26, 2020.
- Voter registration closes 10 days before an election, but Iowans are still eligible for Election Day registration.
- Requires any election other than a presidential election that results in a tie to go to a special election.
- Polling times: closing time for polling places for state primary and general elections, other partisan elections and any other election held concurrently is moved from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Requests for satellite voting for a special election may be made 18 days before the election, down from 32.
- County Auditors can authorize satellite voting without petition requests ONLY for special elections.
- No state-owned building can be used for satellite voting.
- Requires a county auditor to verify the identity of a voter voting absentee at their office the same way a poll worker does on Election Day (e.g., ask for Voter ID or other verification).
- Absentee ballots must be received by the County Auditor’s office before polls close on Election Day. Strikes all references to postmarks and/or potential smart bar codes. Not applicable to overseas military voters.
- Requires a county auditor who receives an incomplete absentee ballot request to inform the applicant within 24 hours by telephone or electronic mail.
- Prohibits a county auditor from using the voter registration system to obtain additional necessary information.
- Allows a county commissioner of elections to verify the identity of an applicant for an absentee ballot if they cannot access the applicant’s voter verification number by asking for at least two of the following: date of birth, the last four digits of the applicant’s social security number, residential address, mailing address and middle name.
- Changes the process by which absentee ballots lacking a signature or appearing to have been signed by someone else are verified. If such a ballot is received by 5 p.m. on the Saturday before a general election or by 5 p.m. on the Friday before any other election, the county commissioner of elections must contact the voter within 24 hours and inform the voter how to remediate the ballot.
- Addresses how to resolve a tie vote. Outside recounts for statewide offices, all precincts will be recounted.
- Allows a candidate requesting a recount to have an auditor from another county at the recount.
- Conflicts of Interest. Repeals the prohibition on elected or appointed county employees holding an interest in a contract for the construction, reconstruction, improvement or maintenance of any highway, bridge or culvert. The bill requires a state or county official who is a voting member of a governmental entity responsible for awarding a contract pursuant to competitive bidding procedures and is the apparent low bidder for the contract to abstain from voting to award the contract and include an explanation of the official’s conflict in the resolution.
Voter Registration:
- Students graduating from a public university must fill out a form on where they will live after graduating in order to receive their diploma. Any student indicating that they will reside outside Iowa after graduation will be removed from the statewide voter registration system.
- Removing Voters: The bill requires a county commissioner during the January immediately following each presidential election to mark as “inactive” a voter who did not vote in the presidential election. If this voter has not registered again, reported a change in registration, and whose name was not reported by the national change of address program, the county commissioner will send them a notice and return card. The commissioner will send a second notice in April. The commissioner will cancel the voter registration of a person who does not respond to a notice by July 1.
- Sets the cost of receiving a voter registration and participation report from the state registrar of voters at $250. Under current law, the state registrar charges a person requesting such a report the cost of preparing the report.
- Oversight of County Auditors: The bill requires each county commissioner to submit a report on voter list maintenance activities annually to the Secretary of State.
Creates an order for ballot placement. The two political parties receiving the highest number of votes will each appear first on the ballot for one gubernatorial election and one presidential election in an eight-year period. The candidates of a party appearing first on the ballot in half of the counties in Iowa will appear second on the ballot in the other half of the counties.
Municipal Elections: Secretary of State language from SSB 1077, technical changes.
[3/7: 10-5, party-line]

SF 418 – Overhaul of barbering and cosmetology licensing and training requirements

SF 418 relates to the practices of barbering and cosmetology. The bill merges the boards of cosmetology arts and sciences and barbering into the board of barbering and cosmetology arts and sciences. The bill sets the training requirements for a license to practice esthetics to 600 hours and the training requirements for a license to practice manicuring to 325 hours. The bill requires additional training for licensed cosmetologists who seek to become licensed cosmetology instructors. An out-of-state application may receive an Iowa license if they provide evidence of having had an equivalent license in another state for at least 12 of the last 24 months. The bill also provides for the development of a process for the licensure of those who provide both hairstyling and barbering services but who do not practice any of the other cosmetology arts and sciences. The committee adopted a largely technical amendment.
[3/7: 15-0]

FLOOR ACTION:

SJR 17 Resolution to allow sale of merchandise by ABATE on Capitol grounds