Veterans Affairs Committee – Week 7, 2020

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SF 2355 – IVH designated smoking areas

SF 2355 (SSB 3177) directs the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs to adopt administrative rules relating to smoking among residents of the Iowa Veterans Home (IVH). The rules will provide that the accommodations are subject to reasonable restrictions regarding the times and places that smoking is permitted, and that members may smoke only in posted areas where proper facilities are provided; smoking by a member determined to be careless is prohibited except when the member is under direct supervision, provided by the IVH; and smoking is prohibited in member bedrooms and in all rooms where oxygen is being administered or stored.

Under Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act, the IVH is exempt from the prohibitions against smoking in public places, places of employment and outdoor areas. The U.S. Veterans Administration facilities, such as rehabilitation centers, are moving to non-smoking, and proponents of this bill want to ensure that IVH continues to be treated as a residential facility.
[2/20: short form]

SF 2370 – IDVA discharge roster  

SF 2370 (SSB 3146), as amended, requires the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs to create and provide monthly a roster of every certificate or release or discharge from active duty, DD Form 214, received by the Department in the prior month to a County Commission of Veteran Affairs. The roster must include the servicemember’s name, address of record at the time of entrance and separation from active duty, and county of residence.
[2/20: short form]