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ISAC Update: 2.7.14

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85th Iowa General Assembly, Second Session, Week Four

The fourth week of the 2014 Iowa Legislative Session brought another flurry of subcommittee activity along with passage of some bills through the full standing committees. On Wednesday, General Orr gave the Condition of the Iowa Guard Address to a joint session of the Iowa Legislature.

 

With the first funnel deadline fast approaching (February 21), expect committee activity to increase in the final two weeks and limited floor debate.  The first budget bill of the year made it out of Senate Appropriations Committee this week with passage of the Transportation Appropriations Bill, SSB 3152.

• Time of Transfer

• Mental Health and Disability Services Redesign

• Broadband Expansion

• Rural Improvement Zones

• Condition of the Guard

• Veterans Property Tax Exemption

• Equalization Order Notices

• Marriage Licenses

• Elections Omnibus

• Transmitting Utility Indentures

• Ombudsman Seeks Access to Closed Records

• Local Option Sales Tax Notices

• Treasurers’ Technical Bill Moves out of Subcommittee

• Weekly Legislative Forums

• County Day at the Capitol – March 12

New and Noteworthy

• Call for Applications: ISAC Goal-Setting Facilitation Program – Round 2

• HIPAA Sample Policies

• County Leadership Institute Nominations Being Accepted

• Spring School Registration is Open

• Scott County Economic Development Summit

• NACo Legislative Conference Registration is Open

• NACo National Cyber Symposium Registration is Open

Time of Transfer

On Monday, members of a House Local Government subcommittee considered HF 2081, a bill that would ban licensed county officials from conducting home time of transfer septic inspections. This situation arose out of concern of a private inspector in Jasper County who believed that county government provides an unfair advantage to private enterprise.

 

ISAC is opposed to the bill and spoke out against it during the subcommittee meeting.  Many counties don't have access to private inspection, and so as a result, the county sanitarian is the only means of expeditious time of transfer inspections.

Click here to comment on time of transfer.

Mental Health and Disability Services Redesign

On Tuesday, ISAC along with the Iowa Department of Human Services were invited to participate in a panel about mental health and disability services (MH/DS) redesign before the Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittee. Discussion primarily focused on the $47.28 per capita equalization funding mechanism and the 80/20 claw-back provision that was tied to the expansion of Medicaid in Iowa.

 

Legislators expressed concern over the potential for wait lists for programs brought on by some counties that were forced to lower the levy to $47.28 and the lack of methodology to define how, or if, there would be savings brought on by the claw-back provision.

ISAC continues to be opposed to the claw-back and will continue to pursue stable sources of funding for MH/DS in Iowa.

Click here to comment on mental health and disability services redesign.

Broadband Expansion

The second subcommittee on HSB 515 met on Thursday and heard additional testimony from stakeholders. The bill is Governor Branstad’s Connect Every Iowan Act, and expanding broadband is one the governor’s top priorities this legislative session. Click here to review last week’s update for a summary of the legislation. ISAC will continue to address the concerns outlined last week, but it appears the bill is ready to move to the full House Commerce Committee.

The first subcommittee meeting for the Senate version of broadband expansion was held on Monday. SSB 3119 is similar to the House bill, but has several differences noteworthy to counties. This bill does not contain the uniform cell siting provisions contained in Division VI of HSB 515, so there would be no additional interference with local zoning ordinances and decision making. The bill still provides a property tax exemption for new infrastructure installed before December 31, 2018, but it extends 20 years rather than in perpetuity. The Senate plan provides additional incentives including a revolving loan program and income tax credits, but they would be administered and funded by the state. ISAC is currently registered undecided on this bill. The next subcommittee meeting for SSB 3119 will be held Monday, February 10.

Click here to comment on broadband expansion.

Rural Improvement Zones

HF 606, a holdover bill from last year that increases oversight and establishes a sunset for rural improvement zones (RIZ), passed out of subcommittee on Monday. The bill now goes to the full House Local Government Committee, along with a strike-after amendment that resembles the language of SF 2003.

A subcommittee meeting for SF 2003 will be held Tuesday, February 11. To express your support for this bill, which is one of ISAC’s top priorities, please contact the members of the subcommittee. The members are Senator Chris Brase (D-Muscatine), Senator Brian Schoenjahn (D-Fayette), and Senator Amy Sinclair (R-Wayne). For a synopsis of the bill, please click here to review the January 17 edition of the update. ISAC is registered in favor of both bills addressing RIZ reform.

Click here to comment on RIZ.

Condition of the Guard

The Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, Major General Tim Orr, gave the Condition of the Guard address to a joint session of the Iowa Legislature on Wednesday. General Orr described the transition from a war-time force back to a citizen-soldier contingent more focused on domestic missions. Legislators gave a prolonged standing ovation when General Orr reported that for the first time since 2003 the Iowa National Guard has all personnel home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The speech also touched on the need to support veterans with both physical and mental healthcare, benefit programs instituted by the legislature including the homebuyers grant, and Governor Branstad’s Home Base Iowa initiative.

Click here to comment on the Condition of the Guard.

Veterans Property Tax Exemption

SSB 3122 passed out of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Thursday with an amendment favorable to counties. In last week’s update (click here to review) the increase in the veterans exemption was discussed. During the subcommittee meeting ISAC expressed concern that the current funding of $6.92 per $1,000 of assessed value may not be sufficient to cover an 800% increase in the amount of the exemption. The amendment that was adopted struck the code language limiting the state appropriation to the $6.92 level, meaning that the state will fully cover the lost revenue due to the exemption. ISAC was previously undecided on SSB 3122, but with the change to the funding mechanism the registration has been changed to in favor.

Click here to comment on the veterans property tax exemption.

Equalization Order Notices

A strike-after amendment was offered for HF 2108 (successor to HSB 508), a bill requiring mailed notices for equalization orders. For summaries of the bill and its progress thus far please see the January 24 and January 31 editions of the update. The original bill required mailed individual notices rather than publication if an entire class increased or decreased uniformly. The amendment requires both mailed notices and published notification. The amendment also adjusts timelines for mailing notices, protest periods, board of review meeting dates, and finalization of adjustments.

           

ISAC remains against HF 2108 and the proposed amendment, but please continue to submit comments to the government relations team and talk to your House members about the impact of the bill.

Click here to comment on equalization order notices.

Marriage Licenses

HSB 603, a bill that increases the recorders’ share of the marriage license fee from $4 to $14 while keeping the fee at $35, was passed out of subcommittee this week and goes to the full House Local Government Committee for consideration. There are some corrections that need to be made to carry out the original intent, so an amendment is anticipated in committee. The $4 does not adequately cover the time and cost to assist citizens through the marriage license application process and issuance of a marriage certificate. This is an ISAC priority and ISAC is registered in favor of the bill.

Click here to comment on marriage licenses.

Elections Omnibus

The bill containing the three election objectives in ISAC’s 2014 legislative priorities was introduced. SSB 3131 addresses the absentee ballot postmark by stating that no absentee ballots received after Election Day will be counted, reduces the number of envelopes used to return an absentee ballot from two to one, and changes the voter pre-registration deadline from 10 days to 11 days prior to the primary election. The bill was assigned to the subcommittee of Senator Thomas Courtney, Chair (D-Des Moines), Senator Dick Dearden (D-Polk), and Senator Randy Feenstra (R-Sioux). There is no subcommittee meeting scheduled yet. You are encouraged to contact these senators to urge their support of this legislation. ISAC is registered in favor.

Click here to comment on the elections omnibus.

Transmitting Utility Indentures

HF 2131 and SF 2093 were passed out of Commerce Committee in both the House and Senate this week. These bills give a transmitting utility two options for recording an indenture. The first is to record in each county in which any portion of the property is situated. The second option is to record in at least one county and record in every other county where the property is situated a memorandum of the mortgage. The companion bills are now eligible for debate in both chambers. ISAC is registered undecided on these bills.

Click here to comment on utility indentures.

Ombudsman Seeks Access to Closed Records

A subcommittee meeting was held this week on HSB 216, a bill that would give the Ombudsman’s office access to the tapes of closed sessions, if necessary as part of their investigations without seeking a court order. This bill was introduced last year and ISAC remains in opposition. The bill was brought to the legislature due to a case before the Veterinary Board. A citizen brought a complaint against a veterinarian due to the alleged poor care given to a geriatric cat. The Board appropriately went into closed session to discuss the complaint and, subsequently, chose not to sanction the vet. When the Ombudsman’s office asked for the tapes, the Attorney General’s office, counsel for the Board, advised the board to decline to furnish the tapes.

The bill was passed out of subcommittee with an amendment that removed the Iowa Public Information Board from being able to access closed session minutes and tapes. The bill now goes to the Government Oversight Committee in the House. Please contact your representatives and let them know of your concerns with this bill allowing the Ombudsman access to the records of closed meeting without judicial review. 

Click here to comment on closed records.

Local Option Sales Tax Notices

HF 642, previously approved in House committee last year, changes notice procedures for local option sales tax (LOST) elections. The bill requires the county auditor to send notices to all cities in a county and the board of supervisors when the question of imposing a LOST is to be submitted to the voters. The bill had passed out of House Ways and Means committee last year but never made it to the floor for debate and was referred to House Local Government where it passed out of subcommittee and committee this week. We will keep you updated on the movement of this bill.

Click here to comment on LOST notices.

Treasurers’ Technical Bill Moves out of Subcommittee

The treasurers’ technical bill, HSB 605, was passed out of subcommittee this week and now goes to the full House Local Government Committee for consideration. The bill makes various technical changes, including adding a vehicle owner’s spouse as eligible for the credit from a sold, traded, or junked vehicle and directing the destruction of drainage levy assessments after 10 years from which the assessment was paid in full.

Click here to comment on the treasurers’ technical bill.

Weekly Legislative Forums

Below are links to the legislative forums held throughout the state. We encourage you to attend these forums in order to interact with your local legislators and educate them on the issues that counties are facing. After you have attended any of the forums, please take the time to submit a comment to ISAC that lets us know the feedback you received from your legislator using the online legislative comment form. This assists the government relations team in their work on the Hill. We also encourage you to visit the Capitol during the session to meet with your legislators. The government relations team enjoys seeing county officials at the Capitol throughout the week and working with them to further ISAC’s 2014 Legislative Priorities.









***Please note that some of these forums are out-of-date.

County Day at the Capitol – March 12

ISAC will hold County Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, March 12 in conjunction with the 2014 ISAC Spring School of Instruction. Registration for this FREE event is currently open and pre-registration is requested. Click here for more information and to register.

Call for Applications: ISAC Goal-Setting Facilitation Program – Round 2

ISAC is now accepting applications for its second round of providing funding to assist counties in performing goal-setting sessions. The goal-setting process will assist county leaders in developing a future focus, setting strategic directions, and determining priorities for their county. It will provide an opportunity for elected officials and key staff to work together in an informal setting to discuss issues and opportunities facing their county and to develop consensus on strategies that deal with these issues. Eight counties completed goal-setting sessions during round one in 2013. Click here for more information including instructions on how to apply.

HIPAA Sample Policies

There have been many recent changes to the HIPAA rules, as well as many changes to the structure of county government. Thus, ISAC has taken this opportunity to create and provide sample policies that counties can modify and make their own. Click here to access the sample policies. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at 515.244.7181.

County Leadership Institute Nominations Being Accepted

NACo is pleased to present its Eleventh Annual County Leadership Institute (CLI) in Washington, DC, June 1-5, 2014.  ISAC is offering a scholarship (registration fee) to this year’s CLI and invites you to submit a nominee to participate in the Institute. If you are interested in attending, please contact Bill Peterson at bpeterson@. Proposals are due to ISAC by February 12, 2014. Click here for more information regarding the Institute.

Spring School Registration is Open

The 2014 ISAC Spring School of Instruction being held at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown March 13-14, 2014 is currently open to registrations. You must register for the conference prior to making your hotel reservations through the online housing system. Please click here for all conference information and to register.

Scott County Economic Development Summit

The Scott County Board of Supervisors is planning to hold a half-day Economic Development Summit at the Isle Conference Center in Bettendorf the morning of Thursday February 13, 2014. Debi Durham, Iowa Economic Development Authority Director has been invited to be the keynote luncheon speaker. Two concurrent sessions are planned to be held prior to the luncheon. One will have presentations centered on best practices to encourage regional economic growth and cooperation, and will feature examples from regional metropolitan areas like the QCA. The other session will focus on the next generation of economic development in rural communities, aiming to help leaders attract businesses and encourage entrepreneurs in the smaller communities. For more information about this program and to register click here or contact Tim Huey, Director of Scott County Planning and Development at planning@ or 563.326.8643

NACo Legislative Conference Registration is Open

Registration for the 2014 NACo Legislative Conference is now open. The conference is being held in Washington, D.C. March 1-5. In addition to the conference programming, ISAC plans congressional meetings with all Iowa Congressmen and Senators. Click here for more information and to register. Please contact Rachel Bennett at rbennett@ or 515.244.7181 for more information.

NACo National Cyber Symposium Registration is Open

Join NACo April 9-11 in Omaha, Nebraska for one and a half days of education and networking around the topics of cybersecurity. This year's symposium will follow a two-track model with targeted programming for both county officials, and IT and cybersecurity staff. NACo is offering complementary registration for all Cyber for Counties Task Force members. Click here to register. Contact Karon Harden at kharden@ or 202.942.4227 with any questions.

Contact Information:

Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC)

5500 Westown Parkway, Suite 190, West Des Moines, IA 50266 

Phone: 515.244.7181 Fax: 515.244.6397



This ISAC Update is being sent to all ISAC members.

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