Capitol Comments

Local Legislative Forum

You are invited to attend the League of Women Voters’ legislative forum on Saturday, March 15, at 10:30 a.m. at Mercy Medical Center. This is a great opportunity for you to submit questions to legislators and to visit individually with us before or after the forum.

House Majority Refuses to Act on School Funding – Again

For more than twenty years, state law has required the Legislature and Governor to set basic state aid for schools, called allowable growth, a year and a half in advance. The law is designed to set aside funds for public schools first [a priority], and give schools time to plan [critical for budgeting, hiring teachers, preparing classrooms, purchasing resources, planning schedules, etc]. House Republicans, in control of the Iowa House, were required to follow the law and set basic school aid last month. That deadline was February 13th.

On Wednesday, House Democrats tried again to bring up the school funding bill already approved by the Iowa Senate. We requested that the full House take action on Senate File 2079, which increases basic state aid for schools by 6% for the 2015-2016 school year. On a straight party line vote, Democrats voted to take action on school funding but the House Republicans refused to bring the bill up for debate and a vote.

Protecting Children from Radon

Lawmakers are considering a bill this year to require schools to submit radon testing plans to the Iowa Department of Education. SF366 passed out of the House Local Government Committee this week. An additional amendment is expected to be considered when the bill comes to the House floor for debate. The amendment would require Radon testing in schools and provide funding for the tests. If the amendment is accepted it would bring the bill closer to SF2262 that also passed the Senate.

Many school districts in Iowa have tested for radon gas in their buildings, and many have started to address the situation, but it is unknown at this time how many have taken action. Legislators in the House Local Government Committee hailed the bill a good “first step”. A few facts about Radon:

• Radon is an odorless, colorless gas – its origin is uranium, which breaks down and releases radon gas.
• Iowa has the highest uranium concentration in the country.

• Radon gases rise up through an estimated three-quarter of the homes and building foundations in Iowa.
• Testing is the only practical way to detect radon.

Radon testing bills have struggled to move forward in the House the previous two sessions. Last year, the Senate passed a bill that required radon testing and mitigation in schools and certain residential buildings for sale. This year the bills would only apply to schools.

Fuel Pump Assistance To Help Iowans With Disabilities

Iowans rely on their vehicles to get to work, pick up groceries, drive their kids to school and more. This includes those with disabilities, who want to live independently and with dignity. That is why the Senate voted to strengthen the state law for assistance with fuel pumps at Iowa gas stations.

To ensure access to fuel for all Iowans, the Senate approved Senate File 2284 which outlines what gas stations will need to do to comply with ADA standards, including requirements for signage, a large call button near a pump that can be reached from a driver’s vehicle with a closed hand, and employee assistance without additional fee. Newly constructed and existing gas stations may qualify for tax credits for installing these updates.

The Senate bill SF2284 has “stalled” in the House but is being considered, by me and other supporters, as an amendment to another bill, in order to keep it alive.

Executive Director of Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity, Jeff Capps, and AmeriCorps Volunteer Coordinator, Nate Kakazu, were at the capitol discussing upcoming projects in Linn County. Last fall, I helped on a home build downtown and it was an incredibly rewarding experience. This summer, Habitat for Humanity will be building several more homes in Cedar Rapids neighborhoods. Find out how you can help with these projects here: http://www.cvhabitat.org/cvhfh/



What an incredible honor to have Marine Sergeant, Bob Barnett, visiting the Iowa House! Sgt. Barnett fought bravely at Iwo Jima, and the helmet pictured here kept him safe through five military campaigns. (Note, while I was proud just to shake this gentleman’s hand – Lucille King got a hug!) Learn more about this brave man here:http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal/story.cfm/25/feature



Linn County was well-represented at the capitol Wednesday for the Iowa Association of Counties Day: shown here with Supervisors Lu Barron and Linda Langston, along with Recorder Joan McCalmant and Sheriff Brian Gardner. ISAC’s mission is to promote effective and responsible county government for the people of Iowa and this group was here to lobby their legislators on their behalf.



At the ITC Midwest legislative reception, I visited with President Doug Collins and Communication Director Tom Petersen. ITC is headquartered in Cedar Rapids. At this meeting, I had good dialogue about grid development and maintenance, land owner easement issues and the turnover in the Iowa Utilities Board. We also discussed the restoration of natural habitat in Iowa. ITC Midwest earned the Governor’s Iowa Environmental Excellence Award in recognition of the company’s habitat restoration efforts in its transmission corridors.

Attended a Community Partnership Meet and Greet at the African American Museum of Iowa today. A recognition event demonstrating that our corridor is rich in diversity – a diversity that includes physicians and healthcare providers of color. The purpose of the gathering was to establish a better relationship between our medical/healthcare providers and ALL our communities. A big “Thank You” to all of our medical professionals in Linn County!

Some of the House pages work for half of the legislative session, so we had new faces greeting us this week. What a wonderful surprise to see Drake Wawro – son of ISEA President Tammy Wawro of Cedar Rapids – with a big grin and ready-to-work attitude! Also a treat to have my mother-in-law visiting the capitol this week. She’s already making new friends! –with my mother-in-law, Lucille King.

Lutheran Services of Iowa had more than a hundred representatives visiting from across the state to ask for support of their humanitarian programs. I spoke with Jeff Devine, Director of Residential Services, about a more uniform line-item funding in the state budget so that they wouldn’t need to lobby each year for support.
LSI is one of Iowa’s largest human services agencies and impacts tens of thousands of Iowans annually through child-abuse prevention, services for people with disabilities, refugee services, home health care and disaster response. More info about the wonderful work they are doing here: http://lsiowa.org/

Always enjoy conversations about education! Visiting with: Solon Community School District Superintendent, Sam Miller; Heartland AEA Chief Admin, Dr. Paula Vincent; and Grant Wood AEA Chief Admin, Joe Crozier. Discussions included: reading readiness programs, dyslexia and other stumbling blocks to early learning and how to address them effectively.

Visiting with Christine Garrett, State Director for Iowa March of Dimes, about restoration of the pregnancy alcohol warning sign on the ABD inspection form. The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division has partnered with the March of Dimes to increase awareness of the dangers of consuming alcohol while pregnant. Research has shown that there is no safe level of alcohol use during pregnancy.
Also met Michelle LeCompte and her daughter, Lizzie White. Lizzie was a March of Dimes baby, born four months premature – over 20 years ago! Life has come full circle as she is now Community Director for March of Dimes. Lizzie is currently organizing the Ft Dodge March for Babies which takes place in April. To participate in this event: http://www.marchofdimes.com/iowa/events/10282_3135343938.html

Presenting a letter of appreciation and recognition from Linn County Representatives of the Iowa House to the 26 Linn County health care providers who have formed a coalition, Linn County Community Partnership, to assist our residents in enrolling for health care coverage. To date, over 6,000 individuals in the Cedar Rapids area have been successfully enrolled! Accepting on behalf of the community are: Jeff Tourdot, Linn Community Care’s ACA Outreach and Education Specialist; Sonja Bammert, HACAP I-Smile Coordinator; Tim Olson, Executive Director of Linn Community Care; and Neal Currell, Director of Outreach at Linn Community Care

An aspect of the Governor’s proposed broadband legislation I hadn’t fully comprehended, was the effect on wireless. Met with Beth Canuteson, AT&T Director of External Affairs, and learned more about fixed and mobile data speeds & connections. From 2000-2012, Iowa has seen: 5% increase in population; 37% decrease in switched access lines; 3,484% increase in broadband subscribers; and 233% increase in wireless phone subscribers! In fact, Iowa’s wireless-only households have almost doubled to 42%. Obviously, broadband legislation will impact a large percentage of Iowans.

One of the highlights of this week: Susan’s mom, Rev. Lucille King leading the prayer in both the Iowa House and Senate. Proud to have this fine lady by my side!