Bill Watch: Many new bills filed in the General Assembly

Iowa CapitolBob Eschliman
Editor

 

The following is a summary of the bills filed during the past week in the Iowa General Assembly. To read individual bills, click their links below:

 

House File 209 – an act to allow for the sale of unpasteurized milk or milk products produced at a dairy farm for use as commercial feed for animals.

House File 210 – an act to allow the owners of a milk-producing animal to consume its milk.

House File 211 – an act to require the Iowa Board of Regents to direct each of its universities to use any cost savings resulting from implementation of the annual Transparent, Inclusive Efficiency Review, to reduce the tuition and fees charged in the following academic year.

House File 212 – an act to modify the requirements for a housing project to qualify for the Workforce Housing Tax Incentives Program.

House File 213 – an act to place restrictions upon operators of online sites, services, applications, and mobile applications designed, marketed, and used primarily for K-12 school purposes as it relates to the use of students’ private information.

House File 214 – an act to repeal independent private instruction for homeschoolers in Iowa.

House File 215 – an act to allow hours as a classroom teacher to count toward the hours-worked requirement for qualification as a community college career or technical education instructor.

House File 216 – an act to increase the reimbursement rates for foster family care service providers who are also grandparents of the foster children by 15 percent.

House File 217 – an act to amend the number of care facility beds available to people with intellectual disabilities as a result of outplacement and census decline, as well as providing for corresponding fiscal revisions.

House File 218 – an act to provide for the use of “telehealth” technology in Iowa.

House File 219 – an act to amend provisions of Iowa Code related to condemnation of property and the transfer of condemned property prior to a government body’s approval of a final route or site location and design for a proposed public improvement.

House File 220 – an act to establish authority for the Iowa Finance Authority to impose civil penalties against the employee of any public post-secondary institution whose actions result in a fine from the NCAA or any affiliated athletic conference.

House File 221 – an act to establish March 5 each year as Iowa Constitution Day.

House File 222 – an act to establish Dec. 28 each year as Iowa Statehood Day.

House File 223 – an act to amend horse racing regulations to require that purse moneys for each year may not be less than the purse moneys designated in calendar year 2014.

House File 224 – an act to amend the exception from motor fuel excise taxes for special fuel for diesel engines and designating that revenue raised by funds collected as a result will be transferred equally between the Secondary Road Fund and the Farm-to-Market Road Fund.

House File 225 – an act to provide for a franchise tax credit for the installation of geothermal energy systems.

House File 226 – an act to increase the individual and corporate income tax credits for installation of geothermal energy systems.

House File 227 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 33.

House File 228 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 17.

House File 229 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 89.

House File 230 – an act to define and regulate custom vehicles similarly to street rods.

House File 231 – an act to establish confidentiality between emergency medical care providers and their patients similar to that already established in Iowa Code between patients and physicians, surgeons, physician assistants, or advanced registered nurse practitioners.

House File 232 – an act to allow convictions of fifth-degree theft to be expunged if committed by a person younger than 21 and no other criminal convictions occur during the following two-year period.

House File 233 – an act to establish an address confidentiality program in the Office of Secretary of State for victims of domestic abuse and stalking.

House File 234 – an act to increase the reimbursement of each empty beverage container received by a dealer or redemption center to 2 cents.

House File 235 – an act to expand the membership of the Iowa Commission for the Blind from three commissioners to five.

House File 236 – an act to amend the provisions of Iowa Code relating to the activities, membership, duties, and coordination efforts with state agencies of the Iowa Prevention of Disabilities Council.

House File 237 – an act to require the Attorney General to serve as a special prosecutor in all cases of death resulting in the actions of a peace officer, and establishing the county attorney has no jurisdiction in such cases.

House File 238 – an act to provide immunity from prosecution for certain crimes if evidence is collected as a result of seeking medical assistance for someone affected by a drug overdose.

House File 239 – an act to provide for the issuance of special disabled veteran license plates to disabled veterans who qualify for person with disabilities parking permits.

House File 240 – an act to establish maximum full-time teaching loads for community college career and technical course instructors.

House File 241 – an act to raise the compulsory school attendance age to 18.

House File 242 – an act to require community colleges and Regents universities to review the Iowa Sex Offender Registry for every instructor.

House File 243 – an act to allow a first-time bus safety violator to participate n a driver improvement program in lieu of driver’s license suspension.

House File 244 – an act to prohibit passing within five feet of a bicyclist on a highway when driving a motor vehicle.

House File 245 – a successor bill to House File 93.

House File 246 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 72, and a companion bill to Senate File 198.

House File 247 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 62.

House File 248 – an act to appropriate money for the state budget contingent on the failure to include certain appropriations in bills passed by the General Assembly by certain dates.

House File 249 – an act to amend Iowa Code as it relates to the establishment, operation, and dissolution of rural improvements zones.

House File 250 – an act to provide transportation assistance aid to local school districts.

House File 251 – an act to clearly define the responsibilities for transportation of people with substance-related disorders or mental illness.

House File 252 – an act to improve transitions from hospital discharge to a nursing facility.

House File 253 – an act to redefine marriage to eliminate all gender-specific references and to codify that definition.

House File 254 – an act to allow the issuance of lifetime hunting licenses to Iowa residents who are age 65 or older.

House File 255 – an act to require the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to grant a gambling license for a Cedar Rapids casino, and to require the commission to file annual reports concerning the financial, business, and market impact of issuing the additional license through 2019.

House File 256 – an act to codify current administrative rules requiring the placement of signage in advance of automated traffic enforcement systems, and requiring the Iowa Department of Transportation and local authorities to use such signage on all streets, roads, and highways.

House File 257 – an act to modify the criteria for claiming the deduction from the individual, corporate, or franchise tax of certain wages paid relating to the employment of an individual with a disability.

House File 258 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 34.

House File 259 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 54.

House File 260 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 43.

House File 261 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 87.

House File 262 – an act to prohibit the slaughter and use of equines (horses) as food products to be used for human consumption.

House File 263 – an act to develop and implement an inpatient psychiatric bed tracking system by the Iowa Department of Human Services.

House File 264 – an act to amend Iowa Code as it relates to the termination of parental rights of and the awarding of visitation and custody to a biological parents whose parentage was the result of the biological parent’s perpetration of sexual abuse against the other biological parent, resulting in the conception of the child.

House File 265 – an act to provide for the involuntary commitment of a person with an intellectual disability who presents a danger to self or others.

House File 266 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 93.

House File 267 – an act to require the use of helmets on motorcycles and motorized bicycles operated on highways.

House File 268 – an act to add watershed management authorities to the list of entities eligible to receive local watershed improvement grants.

House File 269 – an act to amend the academic indicators the Iowa Board of Education must adopt for students in grades 4, 8, and 11.

House File 270 – a companion bill to Senate File 161.

House File 271 – an act to modify the required core curriculum and 21st century skills and knowledge the Iowa Board of Education is required to address in the Iowa Core Curriculum.

House File 272 – an act to remove references to “Iowa Core Curriculum” from Iowa Code, allowing the Iowa Board of Education to adopt academic and assessment standards, but also making those standards voluntary for local school districts and accredited nonpublic schools, while replacing core curriculum plans for high school students with “graduation plans.”

House File 273 – an act to remove references to “Iowa Core Curriculum” from Iowa Code, allowing the Iowa Board of Education to adopt academic and assessment standards, but also making those standards voluntary for local school districts and accredited nonpublic schools.

House File 274 – an act to require all-day, everyday, kindergarten in Iowa public schools.

House File 275 – an to allow employees of educational institutions who are not engaged in instructional, research, or principal administrative capacities to be eligible for unemployment compensation during weeks between successive academic years or terms, even if the employee has reasonable assurance that he or she will return to that job.

House File 276 – an act to prohibit mental health providers from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with a minor patient.

House File 277 – an act authorizing local authorities to permit parking on the left side of a roadway during periods of inclement weather.

House File 278 – an act to amend the penalties for deer and wild turkey harvest reporting violations.

House File 279 – an act to regulate “synthetic substances.”

House File 280 – an act to exempt certain retirement income from individual income tax.

House File 281 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 47, and a companion bill to Senate File 166.

House File 282 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 36.

House File 283 – a successor bill to House File 126.

House File 284 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 15.

House File 285 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 60.

House File 286 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 23.

House File 287 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 53.

House File 288 – a successor bill to House File 42.

House File 289 – an act to require commercial pesticide applicators to provide proof of financial responsibility, and to increase the evidence of financial responsibility to $1 million each for property damage and public liability damage, and to set limits for liability insurance to $300,000 per occurrence and to $600,000 as an annual aggregate.

House File 290 – an act to require the integration of tools and lessons relating to local foods and farm-to-school programs into Iowa Core curricula.

House File 291 – an act to provide a two-year statute of limitations from the moment a violation is discovered for prosecution for a violation of Iowa wildlife conservation or fishing and hunting regulations.

House File 292 – an act to require certain peace officers and school security personnel to wear “body cameras.”

House File 293 – an act to require proof of identification to vote, modifying proof of identification and residency requirements for election-day and in-person absentee registration, modifying absentee voting procedures in assisted living programs, and creating a criminal offense for falsely swearing certain oaths and affidavits.

House File 294 – an act to require the Iowa Department of Human Services to set child care provider reimbursement rates under the state child care assistance program based on the rate of reimbursement survey completed in December 2014. DHS shall set rates in a manner so as to provide incentives for nonregistered providers to become registered by applying increases only to registered and licensed providers.

House File 295 – an act to require criminal and child abuse record checks for all people who reside or will reside in a child care home that is not registered by the Iowa Department of Human Resources and that does not receive public funding for providing child care, at the expense of the child care provider. DHS may also conduct dependent adult abuse, sex offender registry, or other public or civil offense record checks in Iowa or any other state for anyone subject to a record check. Fingerprints must also be provided to the Iowa Department of Public Safety for check with the state criminal history repository, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the FBI.

House File 296 – an act to require the Legislative Services Agency to establish a process to allow members of the public to submit, with attribution, video and written comments on legislation that is the subjectof a public hearing before the General Assembly.

House File 297 – an act to direct the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to establish the completion of one unit of “cultural competency” as one of the six units required for renewal of a standard license.

House File 298 – a companion bill to Senate File 111.

House File 299 – an act to prohibit the Loess Hills Development and Conservation Authority or the Board of Directors of the Loess Hills Alliance from entering into any agreement with a local government, or the state or federal government, if such agreement would regulate a person who is a private landowner, or the person’s use of the land he or she owns.

House File 300 – a companion bill to Senate File 146.

House File 301 – an act to prohibit public employers from seeking information about felony convictions from job applicants unless required by law.

House File 302 – an act to rename the commission and office on the status of African-Americans to the commission and office on the status of Africans and African-Americans.

House File 303 – an act to provide for prorating the fees for vehicle registration for the remaining days in the current unexpired month of the registration year and for the remaining unexpired months of the registration year after the current unexpired month.

House File 304 – an act to provide that the penalties imposed by local authorities as a result of the use of an automated traffic law enforcement system shall be a civil penalty, and for certain offenses, will be equal to the scheduled fines applicable under state law to the offense for which the citation was issued.

House File 305 – an act to provide for the issuance of temporary visitor driver’s licenses to people who present consular identification documents as proof of identification and date of birth.

House File 306 – an act to redefine alternative nicotine and vapor products as tobacco products, making all provisions related to tobacco products, including taxation, applicable to alternative nicotine and vapor products.

House File 307 – a successor bill to House File 13.

House File 308 – a successor bill to House Study Bill 116.

House Joint Resolution 7 – a resolution to amend the Constitution of Iowa to provide the rights of a victim of crime shall not be denied or abridged by the state.

House Resolution 9 – a resolution recognizing February 2015 as Turner Syndrome Awareness Month.

House Study Bill 132 – an act to prohibit the sale or possession of powdered alcoholic liquor.

House Study Bill 133 – an act to amend provisions of Iowa Code relating to alcoholic beverage control.

House Study Bill 134 – an act to require each wine direct shipper licensee to report wine gallonage sales and pay the wine gallonage tax every six months, in June and December, rather than monthly.

House Study Bill 135 – an act to require the contact information for public school board members to be published on their respective school districts’ websites.

House Study Bill 136 – an act to establish the Human Capital Enrichment Advisory Council.

House Study Bill 137 – an act to increase the number of years that a taxpayer may claim a custom farming contract tax credit under a contract between a qualified beginning farmer and a landlord.

House Study Bill 138 – an act to require delayed deposit service licensees to offer the maker of a check that is not negotiable on the agreed upon date an option to enter into a repayment plan agreement prior to initiating debt collection actions, civil court proceedings, or arbitration to collect on the unpaid check.

House Study Bill 139 – an act to amend Iowa Code relative to insurance and the Iowa Department of Commerce Insurance Division.

House Study Bill 140 – an act to require the submission of corporate governance annual disclosures to the Insurance Commissioner by certain insurers or insurance groups.

House Study Bill 141 – an act to allow mutual insurance companies to convert to stock companies.

House Study Bill 142 – an act to provide for the filing, perfecting, and enforcing broker’s liens on commercial properties in Iowa.

House Study Bill 143 – an act to allow a physician, singly or jointly with a health facility, to engage in an open and confidential discussion with a patent related to an “adverse health care incident.”

House Study Bill 144 – an act amend regulations relating to the sale, lease, or rental of water treatment systems.

House Study Bill 145 – an act to amend regulations relating to health care facilities, elder group homes, assisted living programs, and adult day services programs.

House Study Bill 146 – an act to amend the deadlines for receipt of absentee ballots that are to be counted in final, canvassed election results.

House Study Bill 147 – an act to require pharmacies and pharmacists to report immunizations and vaccinations to the Iowa Immunization Registry.

House Study Bill 148 – an act to amend Iowa Code as it relates to games of skill and chance and raffles.

House Study Bill 149 – an act to indemnify peace officers accused of committing crimes in the course of performing their duties who are later acquitted, or charges are dismissed.

House Study Bill 150 – an act to create a disaster case management grant fund and program.

Senate File 208 – an act to prohibit cities and counties from adopting ordinances restricting access to the premises of any wine or beer and liquor control licensed establishment to anyone 19 years of age or older.

Senate File 209 – an act to require the office of Chief Information Officer to assist agencies in using Garamond fonts and consistent font sizes for printed government materials to reduce costs while ensuring readability and the ability to convert them to electronic materials.

Senate File 210 – an act to extend the time period during which an eligible renewable energy facility seeking to qualify for the renewable energy tax credit shall be placed in service by three years, and to corresondingly extend the existing 10-year duration for credit issuance.

Senate File 211 – an act to create an individual income tax exemption for net capital gains from the sale of an equity investment in a Qualified Iowa Business.

Senate File 212 – an act to provide an annual transfer from the General Fund to the Road Use Tax Fund equal to 4 percent of the adjusted revenue estimate calculated for the year in which the transfer is made.

Senate File 213 – an act to increase the Interstate highway speed to 75 mph.

Senate File 214 – an act to affirm the state is not required to perform any activity or provide any service required by federal mandate that is not fully funded by the federal government.

Senate File 215 – an act to create an alternative defined contribution plan in lieu of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, the Public Safety Peace Officers’ Retirement, Accident, and Disability System, the Iowa Fire and Police Retirement System, and the Judicial Retirement System.

Senate File 216 – an act to require the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to submit a regulatory fiscal impact on cities.

Senate File 217 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1117.

Senate File 218 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1119.

Senate File 219 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1121.

Senate File 220 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1079.

Senate File 221 – a successor bill to Senate File 20.

Senate File 222 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1010.

Senate File 223 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1007.

Senate File 224 – a successor bill to Senate File 94.

Senate File 225 – an act to establish employment protections for employees absent from work due to adoptions.

Senate File 226 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1135.

Senate File 227 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1058.

Senate File 228 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1118.

Senate File 229 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1102.

Senate File 230 – an act to eliminate the Iowa Department of Education, and to establish education savings grants for preK-12 students who do not attend a public school.

Senate File 231 – an act to prohibit employers from knowingly employing “unauthorized aliens.”

Senate File 232 – a successor bill to Senate File 40.

Senate File 233 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1115.

Senate File 234 – a successor bill to Senate File 110.

Senate File 235 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1107.

Senate File 236 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1085.

Senate File 237 – an act to allow victims of sexual abuse to seek the same relief to that of victims of domestic abuse by filing petitions for civil protective orders.

Senate File 238 – an act to make the government entity responsible for arresting a person to be financially liable for county jail charges and expenses for the safekeeping and maintenance of a prisoner before an initial appearance before a magistrate, if the charges and expenses are not charged to and collected from the prisoner pursuant to Iowa Code.

Senate File 239 – an act to create the death penalty for the commission of the multiple offense of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual abuse against the same minor.

Senate File 240 – an act to provide education savings grants for students attending non-public schools or receiving competent private instruction.

Senate File 241 – an act to require bicycles operated at night to have both a front and rear lighted lamp.

Senate File 242 – an act to specify solar energy purchase requirements applicable to electric public utilities.

Senate File 243 – an act to remove farmhouses from county building codes and zoning regulations.

Senate File 244 – an act to allow taxpayers to transfer unexpended and non-depleted portions of beginning farmer tax credits to qualifying beginning farmers.

Senate File 245 – a successor bill to Senate File 77.

Senate File 246 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1101.

Senate File 247 – a successor bill to Senate Study Bill 1099.

Senate File 248 – an act to exclude from the utility replacement tax the consumption of natural gas via facilities in operation after Jan. 1, 1999, but before Jan. 1, 2015, attached to pipelines no permitted by Iowa Code used for the purpose of bypassing the local natural gas company or municipal utility.

Senate File 249 – an act to reduce each of the nine individual income tax brackets by approximately 10 percent.

Senate File 250 – an act to indemnify peace officers accused of committing crimes in the course of performing their duties who are later acquitted, or charges are dismissed.

Senate File 251 – an act to require retail motor fuel sites to provide assistance to disabled individuals.

Senate File 252 – an act to provide education savings grants for students attending non-public schools or receiving competent private instruction.

Senate File 253 – an act to prohibit denying ESL students from participating in interscholastic sports if they are making adequate progress, as determined by their schools, toward the goals and objectives of their respective ESL programs.

Senate File 254 – an act to provide for academic eligibility criteria to participate in interscholastic sports.

Senate File 255 – an act to extend the period of time for collecting the sales tax for deposit into the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education Fund.

Senate File 256 – an act to allow the land application of manure from an animal feeding operation, except liquid manure from confinement feeding operations.

Senate Joint Resolution 5 – a resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Iowa to establish biennial, rather than annual, sessions of the Iowa General Assembly.

Senate Resolution 8 – a resolution declaring Feb. 12, 2015, as Black History Day at the Iowa Statehouse.

Senate Resolution 9 – a resolution congratulating Drake Law School on the 150th anniversary of its founding.

Senate Study Bill 1172 – an act to establish licensing procedures and standards of practice for durable medical equipment providers.

Senate Study Bill 1173 – an act to amend the deadlines for receipt of absentee ballots that are to be counted in final, canvassed election results.

Senate Study Bill 1174 – an act to require the Iowa Department of Administrative Services to return all refunds, rebates, financial incentives, and pro-rata portions thereof to any state or government subdivision purchasing a good or service under a master contract.

Senate Study Bill 1175 – an act to amend Iowa Code relative to the duties and authority of city zoning boards of adjustment.

Senate Study Bill 1176 – an act to allow a physician, singly or jointly with a health facility, to engage in an open and confidential discussion with a patent related to an “adverse health care incident.”

Senate Study Bill 1177 – an act to provide for a payroll deduction for eligible qualified tuition program contributions without requiring at least 500 state officers or employees requesting a payroll deduction.

Senate Study Bill 1178 – an act to create a student debt reduction organization tax credit against individual and corporate income tax, and excluding student debt reduction grants from the individual income tax, as proposed by Gov. Branstad.

Senate Study Bill 1179 – an act to make amendments to Iowa Code relative to child support and establishment of paternity.

Senate Study Bill 1180 – an act to make amendments to Iowa Code relative to child welfare in Child In Need of Assistance (ChINA) and delinquency cases, and subsidized guardianship assistance.

Senate Study Bill 1181 – an act to make amendments to Iowa Code relative to the previously enacted 2012 Redesign of Mental Health and Disabilities Services administered by regions comprised of counties.

Senate Study Bill 1182 – an act to provide for the designation of a caregiver relative to an inpatient admission of a patient to a hospital to provide after-care assistance to the patient upon discharge to the patient’s residence.

Senate Study Bill 1183 – an act to make amendments to Iowa Code that are deemed to be nonsubstantive and noncontroversial.

Senate Study Bill 1184 – an act to provide for the use of legal descriptions in identifying properties as part of the Mechanics’ Notice and Lien Registry.

Senate Study Bill 1185 – an act to provide district courts with more flexibility in sentencing of juveniles found guilty of committing Class A felonies.

Senate Study Bill 1186 – an act that requires presentencing investigation reports include the results of a validated risk assessment categorization and score taken from a model approved by the Iowa Department of Corrections.

Senate Study Bill 1187 – an act to require the Iowa Department of Commerce Alcoholic Beverages Division, in collaboration with the Iowa Office of Attorney General and the IDOC Insurance Division, conduct a study concerning alternatives to the current dramshop liability system.

Senate Study Bill 1188 – an act to allow the creation of benefit corporations.

Senate Study Bill 1189 – an act to allow the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to change hunting seasons and to establish other rules necessary to prevent or control the spread of disease in wildlife, or in a particular species of wildlife.

Senate Study Bill 1190 – an act to allow the land application of manure from an animal feeding operation, except liquid manure from confinement feeding operations.

Senate Study Bill 1191 – an act to allow the land application of manure from an animal feeding operation, except liquid manure from confinement feeding operations.

Senate Study Bill 1192 – an act to increase the cumulative value of solar energy tax credits that may be claimed annually.

Senate Study Bill 1193 – an act to amend Iowa Code as it relates to the renewable energy tax credit.

Senate Study Bill 1194 – an act to exempt earnings from a burial trust fund from individual income tax.

Senate Study Bill 1195 – an act to amend Iowa Code as it relates to permit fees and reporting requirements for those who sell tobacco products and cigarettes.