POST FUNNEL, ISSUES KEEP MOVING
We’ve been collecting our thoughts and organizing our issues post-funnel. Here are some highlights from last week.
House passed HJR2009 on the floor last Wednesday night, after the democratic members of the House returned late afternoon to the capitol after dramatic walk-out earlier in the day to protest the timing of debate on this gun legislation. HJR2009 proposes an amendment to the Iowa Constitution many believe would add provisions, such as a prohibition on mandatory licensing, registration, or special taxation that go far beyond the rights conferred by the Second Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, and which some contend could have extreme effects when implemented. Democrats originally helped get the bill out of the House Public Safety committee by voting for an amendment to the bill that struck the language of the bill and inserted language mirroring the Second Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, but the original language was added back in on the floor in an amendment. The resolution now reads:
"Article I of the Constitution of the State of Iowa is amended by adding the following new section: Right to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, transfer, and use arms. SEC. 1A. The right of the people to keep and bear arms, as herein expressed, shall not be infringed. The right of an individual to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, transfer, and use arms to defend life and liberty and for all other legitimate purposes is fundamental and shall not be infringed upon or denied. Mandatory licensing, registration, or special taxation as a condition of the exercise of this right is prohibited, and any other restriction shall be subject to strict scrutiny."
Some we have talked to also find the language purporting to instruct the courts which level of scrutiny to use when interpreting the new constitutional provisions perplexing. The bill now goes to the Senate. Recall that, as we blogged earlier, all constitutional amendments in Iowa must be adopted by both chambers two sessions in a row, and then approved by Iowa voters.
The Senate held a public hearing on SF2042, its health insurance exchange bill, last Thursday. The Senate Commerce Committee voted the bill out to eek past the funnel deadline, when bills must come out of a committee in one chamber to continue to move forward. In addition to the general differences in philosophy between the current House and Senate, the Iowa legislature, like many other states, is struggling to move on the issue. With hearings in March, the Supreme Court won’t rule on the lawsuit over the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, of which the state of Iowa is a part, until after the legislative session is over. States have to show enough progress by January 1, 2013 to avoid a federal “takeover” of state exchanges which must be operational January 1, 2014. Despite this uncertainty surrounding the issue, some (in the Senate at least) feel it should move forward anyway.
We’re still closely following two tax increment finance (TIF) reform bills that have been slowly moving forward throughout session. The TIF law or urban renewal law, is used by cities, counties and sometimes community colleges as an economic development tool to structure incentives to draw in businesses. Some feel reforms are needed to tighten up the uses of TIF, prevent abuses, or even lessen the use of TIF all together. HSB540 is the House version in the Ways and Means Committee, which essentially would rewrite the entire urban renewal law in Iowa. Several subcommittees have been held on the bill with many groups providing testimony. Discussions continue on dramatically changing the bill from its original content, which many oppose as an extreme approach to TIF reform, to something more discrete in nature. Meanwhile, the Senate Economic Growth Committee, led by Senator Steve Sodders, held many meetings, starting before session, on a TIF reform bill. Instead of passing the introduced language, which many groups opposed, a shell bill with intent language only passed out of the committee to beat the funnel deadline, leaving the Senate Ways and Means Committee to craft the new contents of the bill. These bills matter a great deal to cities and other local government groups, as well as developers, chambers of commerce, and businesses. The discussion on this legislation also ties closely with property tax reform, so stay tuned…
Thomas E. Stanberry & Jessica S. Harder
Government Relations Report
515.288.2500
www.davisbrownlaw.com
