Government : Statehouse News

By State Representative, Dawn Pettengill Large Majority of Iowan's Support Election Integrity Law On Sunday, the Des Moines Register reported that "a majority of Iowan's say they think voters should have to present a government-issued identification card before casting a ballot."� This poll, distributed by the Des Moines Register and Mediacom, is timely as House Study Bill 93, which addresses this very issue, was assigned to the House State Government Committee this week. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate first released his proposal for a voter integrity bill at the beginning of the legislative session. Secretary Pate's proposal was turned into HSB 93, and will be considered by the State Government Committees in both the House and the Senate before the end of next week. This proposed bill strengthens the integrity of Iowa's election system, encourages the use of new voting technology, provides a system of checks and balances to ensure voter identity fraud is not occurring, and aligns some of Iowa's voting regulations with many of our Midwestern neighbors; all without suppressing or infringing voter rights. House Study Bill 93 Proposed Changes: Voter Verification: Ensures that registered voters are who they say they are when they vote and that they vote only once. This applies to currently registered voters as well as absentee ballots. Require ID of all voters at polling site: use existing Iowa Driver's License/passports/military or veteran IDs for all who have them, and a new and free ID to all active voters who don't have DOT-issued IDs will be provided Require ID number on all absentee ballot requests.Requests without ID numbers will be returned to voter to revise, and then sent back in. Election officials verify signatures, with the signature presumed to be valid unless obviously signed by someone else. Forms a revolving loan fund to enable counties to deploy electronic poll book systems in all precincts and update electronic poll book data security. IDs will be scanned on the electronic poll books. Shoring up voter confidence related to absentee voting and voter registration: Create an "earliest date to request"� for an absentee ballot at 120 days. The requests would not be filled until the ballots are ready, about 45 days before a general election. Presently voters can mail an absentee ballot request AT ANY TIME, even years before an election. This causes confusion, and often times those forms are misplaced before the ballot is ready to be sent. Moves the latest date to request an absentee ballot by mail to 10/11 days before election. This moves the mailed-in request time frame to accommodate current postal office delivery standards. Presently, the deadline is the Friday before the election, making it impossible to get the ballot to and from the voter before the polls close on Election Day. Cancels voter registration of people who swear on jury questionnaire they are not U.S. citizens. Currently, if it is proven that someone who is registered to vote in Iowa is not a citizen of the state or the country, nothing happens to their voter registration status. Improved transparency in election administration: Establish post-election audits to affirm the results or illuminate problems that need to be addressed. Require county auditors to certify their completion of mandated election training, logic and accuracy tests, and publications. Copy of certification filed with county and state. Historically, Iowa has not had many instances of voter fraud. Opponents of Voter ID laws argue this is reason enough that Iowa's voting system does not need any change. However, if Iowa wants to remain a state with the most secure elections, then changes proposed in HSB 93 are needed to protect election integrity. One of the biggest benefits resulting from HSB 93 is the increase in use of electronic poll books across the state. A large number of Iowa's 99 counties are already using the electronic poll book program; and the ones who have implemented it have benefited from its security, how easy it is for precinct official's to use, and the speed and accuracy of results. The cost to implement the system can be burdensome for smaller counties but HSB 93 sets up a revolving loan fund to help with the initial expenses of enacting the system. House Republicans are committed to ensuring the integrity of Iowa's election system, and eliminating voter fraud in every circumstance possible. HSB 93 would ensure the integrity of Iowa's proven secure election system. Below is a breakdown of how Iowa's current Voter ID law is structured: Voter ID laws differ from state to state, and are classified into two groups: strict and non-strict. Iowa's current Voter ID laws are considered non strict; meaning that some voters without acceptable identification have an option to cast a ballot that will be counted without further action on the part of the voter. Current Requirements: Iowa Code Section 48A.5 outlines the qualifications to register to vote in Iowa. Any person wishing to register to vote must have one of the following: Possess a valid passport or identity card and registration issued under authority of the United States secretary of state, or An alternative form of identification consistent with the provisions of applicable federal and state requirements All alternative forms of identification that are currently accepted under the Iowa Secretary of State office are: Iowa driver's license or non-driver ID card Out-of-state driver's license or non-driver ID card U.S. Passport U.S. Military ID ID card issued by employer Student ID issued by Iowa high school or college If a voter in Iowa does not have any of these identifications, they may still be able to vote if: They cast a provisional ballot They sign an affidavit of eligibility Early voting in the state of Iowa for presidential election years lasts 40 days and is allowed until the day before the national Election Day, one of the longest in the country. Early voting in Iowa is primarily done via absentee voting. Absentee Voting: If a resident of Iowa chooses to vote absentee, they may download the application for a ballot online and mail to their county auditor's office, or request to have one mailed to their home address. They may also choose to cast their ballot in person at their county auditor's office any time during the 40 day early voting window. If someone opts to cast their ballot in person at their county auditor's office, they may not walk out of the office with that ballot - it must be completed and submitted in the office. However, if the ballot is mailed to their home address they may hang onto that ballot until Election Day, and it must be returned by the time polls close. Voting on Election Day: Iowa election polling places are open from 7 am- 9 pm, one of the longest hours of operation in the country. All of Iowa's Midwest neighbors close their polls at 8 pm, which allows them to report results in a timely and efficient manner. Iowa is usually the last of the Midwest states to report results for national elections. Election officials at polling places are not allowed to substitute shifts throughout the day, meaning that workers in Iowa are putting in a full 9 hour day before beginning to tally the overwhelming amount of ballots they received throughout the day. This fatigue adds to the delay in reporting results, and adds a greater possibility for error when counting. Budget Season Approaches As the calendar approaches March and many in the capitol focus their attention on the first funnel deadline of the session, the warming temperatures outside also tell us that it's time to focus work on the budget plans for the next fiscal year. How much the Legislature is allowed to spend in the budgeting process is set by the state's expenditure limitation law. Iowa Code section 8.54 says that the General Assembly can only spend 99% of the Revenue Estimating Conference's revenue estimate after including any remaining ending balance and revenue adjustments. According to the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency, the calculation for the FY 2018 budget looks like this:   7.5563 (FY 2018 Revenue Estimate) x 0.99 7.4807 billion + Revenue Adjustments enacted by the Legislature 0 + Remaining Ending Balance from FY 2017 0 _______________________________________ FY 2018 Expenditure Limitation $7.4807 billion   The maximum amount allowed under law is $7.4807 billion. That figure will be reduced by another $25.2 million, as House Republicans have agreed with the Governor and Senate Republicans to make this reduction due to the use of certain funds in the FY 2017 budget. So, the maximum that the FY 2018 budget will be is $7.4555 billion. There are other factors that come into play as the state budget is set for a fiscal year. Filling the state's reserve accounts is one item that has to be accounted for in this process. Each year, the combined totals of the Cash Reserve Fund and the Economic Emergency Fund are to equal ten percent of the General Fund budget. For the past several years, this has happened automatically as the state's ending balance was sufficient to make the deposits. That will not be the case at the end of Fiscal Year 2017, due to actual revenue not meeting projections. The Legislature will have to set aside the amount necessary to raise the funds to the statutory level and pay for the state's share of federal disaster aid claims. LSA estimates that this amount will be $20.4 million for FY 2018. All of this is based on the Revenue Estimating Conference's forecast from mid-December. The three-person panel will meet again at some point in March to review its projections for FY 2017 and FY 2018, as well as make the first preliminary forecast for Fiscal Year 2019. If the REC lowers its FY 18 forecast, state law requires the Legislature to use the lower revenue figure. Much of the discussion about how much the state has to spend in Fiscal Year 2018 could be changed after that meeting. US House Votes to Stop Some ESSA Regulations The US House earlier this month voted to put a stop on several federal regulations meant to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA was signed by President Obama at the end of 2015 and was a bipartisan effort to roll back some of the federal overreach that occurred under ESSA's previous incarnation, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The rules were put into place in November of 2016. The House voted to stop those rules by a vote of 234-190 along party-lines. ESSA requires all fifty states and the District of Columbia to update their NCLB-era education policies and practices, including their school accountability systems, if they want to continue receiving federal funds. New frameworks are due for submission to the Department of Education this year; as part of its Consolidated State Plan, a state may opt for a deadline of April 3 or September 18. Iowa has been working on its plan for some time now, with a set of 9 public meetings across the state last fall to receive input on the Department of Education's plan. With a new President and a new Secretary of Education, there is a bit of uncertainty moving forward as the rules were put in place prior to the change in administrations. It is likely that many states will have to take a wait and see approach with ESSA rules and see how the new education leaders move forward. What this leads to a bit of uncertainty for the path forward. For Iowa, this means possible questions around state-wide assessments, accountability systems, teacher and administrator evaluation systems, and a host of other items. Veteran's Trust Fund Assisting with Housing Needs House File 131 passed the House Veterans Affairs Committee by a unanimous vote this week. The bill will authorize disbursements from the Veteran's Trust Fund to be used for certain forms of housing assistance for veterans. The Veterans Commission will still need to vote affirmatively (as they do with all disbursements) to use the money in this way. Under the bill, monies from the Veteran's Trust Fund are allowed to be used for rental housing assistance for homeless veterans (as defined in federal code), payment of rental deposits and application fees, and reimbursement of costs for getting records needed to obtain rental housing (birth certificates, etc). Veterans must meet specific income and asset guidelines to qualify for trust fund assistance. The veteran and their family must have less than $15,000 in liquid assets and have a household income below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Specific types of assistance have a lower qualifying asset level. These requirements were put in place to prevent over utilization of the fund and to ensure it helps those most in need. The Iowa General Assembly has determined areas of eligible expenditures for Iowa veterans from the trust fund: Travel expenses for service-related medical care Unemployment or underemployment assistance due to service-related causes Job training or tuition assistance Assistance with vision, hearing, dental care, durable medical equipment, and prescription drugs Counseling and substance abuse services Emergency vehicle and housing repair Transitional housing in an emergency Emergency room and ambulance transportation assistance Funding to determine whether a deceased veteran is the father or mother of a child Funding for family support groups Grants for providing honor guard services at veteran's funerals Matching funds to veterans service organizations to provide for accredited veteran service officers House File 131 would add the specific types of housing assistance enumerated above to the list of eligible expenditures. Applications to the trust fund can be found here: https://va.iowa.gov/media/4ef36ecd-b984-436f-8e93-e4932f4469c5.