Government : Statehouse News, February 19‏

House Commerce Committee Update: Transportation Network Company Legislation Making Moves

This week, I floor managed through the House Commerce Committee a bill that helps transportation network companies (like Uber and Lyft) integrate into the state. House File 2219 provides insurance provisions for transportation network companies. This topic is not new to the Iowa Legislature, as last year, the House attempted to move a bill addressing the same companies –but with some differences. Last year’s bill established regulation of transportation network companies and their services, prohibiting political subdivisions from adopting contrary laws or ordinances. The bill made it out of the House Commerce committee with only 2 nay votes, and out of the full House with only 5 nay votes. However, the bill was not considered in the Senate. There were attempts to add the bill to the DOT omnibus, but they were unsuccessful.

This year’s bill addresses the insurance requirements only. It sets important definitions, the most important of which is a “transportation network company” (TNC) which is defined as an entity operating in this state that uses a digital network to connect TNC riders to TNC drivers who provide prearranged rides. A TNC does not control, direct or manage a TNC driver that connects to the TNC’s digital network, or the driver’s personal vehicle, except as agreed to pursuant to contract. Digital networks are defined as online-enabled application that allows TNC riders to prearrange rides with TNC drivers, while prearranged rides begin when a TNC driver accepts a ride request through the TNC’s digital network and ends when the last requesting rider leaves the vehicle. This section also defines: personal vehicle, TNC drivers and TNC riders.

It requires drivers or TNCs on behalf of their drivers to maintain insurance coverage; $50,000 for bodily injury/death for one person, $100,000 for two or more people when the driver is not engaged in ride, but logged on to receive riders and $1.0 million for bodily injury/death for one or more people when the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride. There are also provisions addressing when how the company’s insurance kicks in should a driver’s coverage not be adequate, including claims defense information. Further, it allows insurers to opt out of this type of coverage. The bill requires the companies to disclose insurance information to all drivers. Nothing in the bill requires insurers to either provide this insurance or not. The bill made it out of subcommittee, with all members signing on to move it forward.

As a quick recap, these types of transportation network companies, like Uber, include a ridesharing program that is facilitated via phone application; users download the app, summon a car, track it in real time and pay all through the app –users even tip on the app. The concept began in San Francisco, and has since spread across the world with generally positive feedback. Uber credits itself as being a personal driver for anyone, and differentiates the concept by using local drivers –people who do not credit chauffeuring as their day-job, to pick up Uber users. To become a driver, one goes to the Uber website, submits documentation including: vehicle status, driving record and insurance papers in addition to allowing the company to run a background check among other technical steps. After submitting the documentation and following the company’s step-by-step process, a potential driver just waits until hearing the company decision. This bill is just a small step in helping to regulate these companies.

Legislation to Recognize Military Museum Clears Committee

House Study Bill 559 passed the House Veteran Affairs Committee this week. The bill gives recognition in the Iowa code to the Gold Star Military Museum located at Camp Dodge. The name of the museum comes from the Women's Committee of National Defenses recommending that during WWI American women wear a black band on the upper left arm adorned with a gold star representing a family member who had given his or her life for their country.

House Study Bill 559 provides that the Department of Public Defense includes the Iowa Gold Star Museum located at Camp Dodge. It also provides that that Adjutant General shall administer the museum and may appoint a museum director to maintain and operate the museum.

The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum displays artifacts and tells the stories of Iowa veterans from the Mexican War of 1846 to present day. It also has a reference library on military subjects and Iowa veterans. Last year, the museum unveiled a new Vietnam War exhibit. The new interactive exhibit features a UH-1H “Huey” helicopter, a “Mule” half-ton utility vehicle, and other artifacts from the era. A full-scale jungle diorama and mural shows what the tunnel systems and guerilla warfare was like for soldiers to endure.

The Gold Star Military Museum is open Monday – Friday 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M. and Saturday 10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. It is located at Camp Dodge in Johnston and admission is free.

Iowa House Passes an Election Bill that Could Help Overseas Voters.

On Wednesday February 10th, HF2147 was passed on the Iowa House Floor. This bill was proposed by the Secretary of State’s Office and will help give overseas military members and overseas citizens greater access to voting.

Since the passage of the “1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), members of the seven uniformed services, members of the U.S. Merchant Marines, eligible family members of the above, U.S. citizens employed by the federal government residing out-side the U.S. and all other private U.S. citizens residing outside the U.S. [have had] the right to cast an absentee ballot in federal elections.” UOCAVA was later amended by The Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE), which “requires States to send absentee ballots to UOCAVA voters at least 45 days before federal elections.” If an overseas voter requests a ballot but fails to receive it, the voter may “use the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), which is a ‘back-up’ ballot available to all military and overseas voters.” Although federal law puts these requirements in place, individual states may go above and beyond federal law to be more accommodating to overseas voters.

HF2147 goes above and beyond to be more accommodating toward overseas voters. This bill addresses absentee voting by uniformed and overseas citizens by extending the time for when one can apply for an absentee ballot and under what circumstances these voters can validly use a FWAB.

Previously, Iowa law mandated that voters could apply for an absentee ballot no more than 90 days before the general election. This bill ex-tends that time frame to 120 days before the general election. The Secretary of State’s Office believes that change in the law will allow for more time for those who are overseas to request their ballots, receive the ballots, and vote.

In regards to FWABs, previously Iowa law stated that in order for a FWAB to be valid and counted, the overseas citizen or military member must have submitted an absentee ballot request. HF2147 eliminated the requirement for an absentee ballot application and instead allows for a FWAB to be valid and count, as long as the person who submits it is a registered voter. The Secretary of State’s Office believes that this change was necessary, as “[previous] wording serve[d] as a dead end, and force[d] county Auditors to reject otherwise complete and valid ballots.”

DOT Bridge Report

On February 16, 2016 the House Transportation Committee passed HF 2241, which, if signed into law, would require the DOT to submit an annual report to the legislature detailing the status of structurally labeled bridges. This bill is a product of last year’s Gas Tax, which raised the fuel tax by 10 cents. Several legislators voted for the Gas Tax with the understanding that the additional dollars going toward the Road Use Tax Fund would be accounted for and go toward insufficient infrastructure.

This year, when the legislature asked to see where these additional dollars were spent, the Department of Transportation produced a report that detailed how funding had been allocated toward roads and highways. Although this report intended to gather information from all the counties in Iowa, not all counties reported how the funding had been spent on their roads and highways.

House Republicans saw two main problems with this report. The first problem was that the DOT did not report on how the money from the Gas Tax had impacted structurally deficient bridges. House Republicans saw this as a problem because legislators had the understanding that the Gas Tax, in part, to help fund the several deficient bridges across Iowa. The second problem with this report was that not all counties submitted any data at all. House Republicans saw the failure of counties to report as a problem because they had been reassured there would be transparency in dollars spent.

To solve these problems HF 2241 was proposed. This bill specifically requires the county engineer of each county to certify and file a report with the DOT detailing the use of the road use tax fund moneys to replace or repair bridges that are structurally deficient. The report should include: (1) bridges replaced or repaired to function at full capacity, (2) bridges that have been partially replaced or repaired, (3) the number of bridges in the process of being replaced or repaired, and (4) the number of bridges structurally deficient and a timeline for their repair. This report must be filed between December 1 and December 15 of each year. After receipt of these reports, the DOT must compile a cumulative report and present it to the General Assembly by February 15, 2015 of each year.

This bill passed the House Transportation Committee on February 16, 2015 by a vote of 21-0. To get signed into law the bill must pass the House Floor, the Senate Floor, and be signed by the Governor.

Intensive Summer Reading Pilot Study Announced

Governor Branstad announced this week that funding has been secured to move forward with a 2016 Intensive Summer Reading Program pilot study, a project dedicated to assisting school districts in helping young students who struggle to read.

The amount raised makes a total of $1.9 million to be used for the study. $1.3 million is from private gifts with the remain ning funding coming from transfers from state agencies such as the Department of Education and the Board of Regents.

The move is an attempt to get some best practices in place this summer before a state law kicks into effect next school year in which students who are not proficient in reading by the end of 3rd grade may face retention. The law was passed as part of an education reform initiative in 2012 and became Iowa Code 279.68, Iowa’s Early Reading Initiative.

Iowa’s Early Reading Initiative

The law set up a process in which a student’s reading proficiency would be tracked starting from the earliest grades with early warning assessments (that might take a few minutes of a student’s day when given) that would determine if the student was on track to reach proficiency. Students who are in danger of not reaching proficiency would receive additional resources to catch them up and their parents would be notified of the concern and the steps taken to correct the issues.

The retention piece is a last resort effort to ensure those severely in need of reading assistance are not promoted to the next grade unprepared. The law allows for multiple measures to be used to determine proficiency, including assessments, alternative assessments, or portfolio work; several good cause exemptions; and finally a required summer school option. If students meet any of those, they will be promoted to 4th grade, even if by the end of the summer school program they do not meet required proficiency.

The concern at this point is the current reading proficiency levels. Nearly 25% of third-graders did not read proficiently in 2014-2015 on state tests. Beginning in 2017, school districts around Iowa will be required to provide high-quality summer reading programs for students with difficulty reading at the end of third grade. Given the current levels of proficiency, the summer reading programs might be highly-utilized. Making sure they are working as they should is important.

The Pilot Study

The money raised for this pilot study will assist school districts in preparing for the requirement to offer those reading programs. More than 40 school districts are expected to participate in the pilot project, which will involve 1,800 students. The programs will last about four to six weeks with local school districts responsible for transportation and meal costs in some cases, as well as local administrative expenses.

The goal will be to determine what works and what doesn’t for other school districts to implement their required reading programs for next summer. It’s a positive step in ensuring the programs implemented are effective.

It is important to note that this $1.9 million initiative does not replace any funding requests for the summer reading program statewide. The pilot program is for the 2016 summer, while the statewide summer reading program is to be in place for the 2017 summer. The Department of Education estimated the cost statewide to be around $9 million, which was included in their budget request to the Governor last fall.

The Governor’s budget proposal he submitted to the legislature earlier this year does not specifically include any funding for the summer reading programs but he has stated he views the funding as critical and intends to urge the legislature to fund it moving forward. There are efforts underway by both parties in both chambers to secure that funding.

Significant Bills Pass the Public Safety Committee

House File 2161- Peace Officer Personal Information

This bill allows a peace officer to file a request with local officials to have the officer’s name, address and telephone number removed from any internet site maintained by the local official. Local officials include, a county auditor, county treasurer, county recorder, or local assessor. This does not remove the Officer’s information from the public record, but it does remove it from websites maintained by the local officials

House File 2332- Narcan

House File 2332 allows first responders to obtain a supply of opioid antagonists (such as Narcan), to be administered in the event of a drug overdose. Narcan and other drugs like it, can delay an overdose long enough for first responders to get the victim necessary help.

House Study Bill 558- Banning Sanctuary Cities

HSB 558 prohibits the State of Iowa and any city or county from enforcing any law, rule or policy that restricts enforcement of federal immigration laws. This would prohibit any city or county from refusing to enforce federal immigration laws and would require they cooperate with federal authorities.

House File 2049- Synthetic Drugs

House File 2049 focuses on Iowa’s fight against synthetic drugs. HF 2049 reorganizes the synthetic drug list and adds additional chemicals approved by the Board of Pharmacy. Additionally, the bill gives the legislature two years (instead of 60 days) to approve synthetic drugs temporarily designated as schedule I substances by the pharmacy board. Finally HF 2049 treats simulated substances and imitation substances the same for prosecution. The bill was amended in committee to include a new offense for people charged, for the first time, with possession of crack or cocaine. A first time offender who possessed 3 grams or less would be charged with a class “D” felony.

What Happens If Senate Democrats Refuse to Act on Coupling?

House Coupling Bill

On January 28th, during the third week of the session, the House passed House File 2092. The bill speaks to tax year 2015 only. It is silent on tax year 2016 and subsequent years. It creates a mechanism by which Iowa Code couples with the federal tax code for tax year 2015 for many tax provisions recently extended by Congress, including the Section 179 enhanced expensing limits.

The more significant federal tax changes that the bill couples with include:

Deduction of up to $250 for out-of-pocket expenses for teachers

Tuition and fees deduction for higher education expenses

Election to deduct state sales/use tax in lieu of state income tax as an itemized deduction

Deduction for mortgage insurance premiums as deductible qualified residence interest

Nontaxable IRA transfers to eligible charities

Small businesses expensing (instead of depreciate) the first $500,000 of equipment cost (Section 179 deduction)

What happens if there is no agreement on coupling?

You have a significant tax increase.