Government : Hello District 75 from the State Capitol! Week 11

Rep. Gerhold (left) & Senator Driscoll (right) visits with Ethan & Pastor Joshua Graber on March 22nd.

Mark Bierschenk, left, visited on March 23rd to discuss the benefits of biofuels.

Benton County Farm Bureau members Al Schafbuch, left, and Michael Hopper, right.

Week 11 turned out to be a pretty productive week as the Iowa House has now passed about two-thirds of the budgets for the year.

House File 2567 makes changes to the Board of Educational Examiners (BOEE) rules. One change is it's now mandatory to report child abuse of a child over 12 years old, not optional. Also, schools must keep written records of all complaints. This should help protect our kids.

SF384 is a bill we passed that allows counties to enter a 28E agreement to share a county assessor, chief deputy assessor, and their assistants. This will be especially helpful in the more rural counties.

SF2245 creates a personal use exemption for people who butcher their own animals. A person butchering their own livestock no longer requires a paying meat processing license, including non-paying guests and non-paying employees. This now goes to Governor Reynolds' desk.

SF2296 now makes it legal for law enforcement to search garbage that is on the curb for pickup for evidence without a warrant. This is another way to help law enforcement be more efficient.

The House also passed HF2355, which makes changes to unemployment benefits. The bill codifies that an employer shall not be responsible for unemployment overpayments if it was no fault of their own. It reduces the number of unemployment benefits from six months to four months. Iowa has far more job openings than unemployed people, so there are opportunities available. Kansas and Arkansas also have 16 weeks of unemployment, for example.

The House passed SF522, a bill that in my opinion is definitely needed to protect older individuals (over 60) against assault, theft, and financial exploitation. These charges can be initiated by a social service agency, attorney general, county attorney, or law enforcement. Penalties range from a serious misdemeanor to a class "B" felony.

It was great to have many constituents from the district visit the Capitol, I appreciate them all!

Please be careful and have a wonderful week!