April 29, 2010

The Honorable Michael Mauro

Secretary of State

State Capitol Building

L O C A L

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I hereby transmit House File 2531, an Act relating to state and local finances by providing for funding of property tax credits and reimbursements, by making, increasing, and reducing appropriations, providing for salaries and compensation of state employees, providing for matters relating to tax credits, providing for fees and penalties, and providing for properly related matters, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. House File 2531 is approved on this date, with the exceptions noted below, which I hereby disapprove.

I am unable to approve Section 106 of this bill in its entirety. This section requires the Office of Energy Independence to collect and report data on all grants and loans provided under the Iowa Power Fund. I am disapproving this language because it is unnecessary and duplicative. The Office of Energy Independence already collects and provides information about the effectiveness of the Power Fund, which is helping our state become more energy independent and creating jobs.

I am unable to approve Section 112 subsection 3, paragraph a, of this bill in its entirety. Current law requires pharmacy technicians to obtain national certification by July 1, 2010. In addition, current law provides that new technicians who register beginning July 1, 2009, are to be granted one year from the date of their registrations with the Iowa Board of Pharmacy to show proof of having obtained national certification. This one year period is critical because new registrants use this time to obtain on-the-job experience working with licensed pharmacists, which enhances the technicians’ readiness to take the national certification examination. This provision eliminates the one year period until December 31, 2012; this means technicians who have registered since July 1, 2009 now must show proof of having obtained national certification by July 1, 2010, but no longer have the year to prepare for the national certification examination. This will likely affect up to 600 individuals. In addition, new pharmacy technicians would now need to be nationally certified prior to even registering with the board, which will likely affect up to 1,000 new technicians per year.

For the above reasons, I hereby respectfully disapprove the designated items in accordance with Article III, Section 16 of the Constitution of the State of Iowa. All other items in House File 2531 are hereby approved this date.

Sincerely,

Chester J. Culver

Governor

cc: Secretary of the Senate

Chief Clerk of the House

cjc:rco