House File 147
HOUSE FILE
BY SMITH, TYMESON, and
RAYHONS
(COMPANION TO LSB 1829SS
BY BOETTGER)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to anatomical gifts including bone marrow and
2 organ donation by state employees and grants from the
3 anatomical gift public awareness and transplantation fund.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 1829HH 80
6 pf/sh/8
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 70A.39 BONE MARROW AND ORGAN
1 2 DONATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
1 3 1. For the purposes of this section:
1 4 a. "Bone marrow" means the soft tissue that fills human
1 5 bone cavities.
1 6 b. "Vascularized organ" means a heart, lung, liver,
1 7 pancreas, kidney, intestine, or other organ that requires the
1 8 continuous circulation of blood to remain useful for purposes
1 9 of transplantation.
1 10 2. Beginning July 1, 2003, state employees, excluding
1 11 employees covered under a collective bargaining agreement
1 12 which provides otherwise, shall be granted leaves of absence
1 13 in accordance with the following:
1 14 a. A leave of absence of five workdays for an employee who
1 15 requests a leave of absence to serve as a bone marrow donor if
1 16 the employee provides written verification that the employee
1 17 will serve as a bone marrow donor.
1 18 b. A leave of absence of thirty workdays for an employee
1 19 who requests a leave of absence to serve as a vascular organ
1 20 donor if the employee provides written verification that the
1 21 employee will serve as a vascular organ donor.
1 22 3. An employee who is granted a leave of absence under
1 23 this section shall receive leave without loss of seniority,
1 24 pay, vacation time, personal days, sick leave, insurance and
1 25 health coverage benefits, or earned overtime accumulation.
1 26 The employee shall be compensated at the employee's regular
1 27 rate of pay for those regular work hours during which the
1 28 employee is absent from work.
1 29 4. An employee deemed to be on leave under this section
1 30 shall not be deemed to be an employee of the state for
1 31 purposes of workers' compensation or for purposes of the tort
1 32 claims Act.
1 33 Sec. 2. Section 142C.15, subsection 4, paragraph c, Code
1 34 2003, is amended to read as follows:
1 35 c. Not more than fifty percent of the moneys in the fund
2 1 annually may be expended in the form of grants to hospitals
2 2 which perform heart, lung, liver, pancreas, or kidney
2 3 transplants. As a condition of receiving a grant, a hospital
2 4 shall demonstrate, through documentation, that the hospital,
2 5 during the previous calendar year, properly complied with in=
2 6 hospital anatomical gift request protocols for all deaths
2 7 occurring in the hospital at a percentage rate which places
2 8 the hospital in the upper fifty percent of all protocol
2 9 compliance rates for hospitals submitting documentation for
2 10 cost reimbursement under this section. The transplant
2 11 recipients, transplant candidates, or a transplant recipient's
2 12 or transplant candidate's legal representative. A transplant
2 13 recipient, transplant candidate, or a transplant recipient's
2 14 or transplant candidate's legal representative shall submit a
2 15 grant application with supporting documentation provided by a
2 16 hospital shall submit an application on behalf of a patient
2 17 requiring that performs transplants, verifying that the grant
2 18 applicant requires a transplant in and specifying the amount
2 19 of the costs associated with the following, if funds are not
2 20 available from any other third=party payor:
2 21 (1) The costs of the organ transplantation procedure.
2 22 (2) The costs of post=transplantation drug or other
2 23 therapy.
2 24 (3) Other transplantation costs including but not limited
2 25 to food, lodging, and transportation.
2 26 EXPLANATION
2 27 This bill establishes a bone marrow and vascular organ
2 28 donation incentive program for state employees. The bill
2 29 provides that beginning July 1, 2003, state employees,
2 30 excluding employees covered under a collective bargaining
2 31 agreement which provides otherwise, are to be granted leaves
2 32 of absence of five workdays for an employee who requests a
2 33 leave of absence to serve as a bone marrow donor if the
2 34 employee provides written verification that the employee will
2 35 serve as a bone marrow donor and a leave of absence of 30
3 1 workdays for an employee who requests a leave of absence to
3 2 serve as a vascular organ donor if the employee provides
3 3 written verification that the employee will serve as a
3 4 vascular organ donor.
3 5 An employee granted a leave of absence under the bill is to
3 6 receive the leave without loss of seniority, pay, vacation
3 7 time, personal days, sick leave, insurance and health coverage
3 8 benefits, or earned overtime accumulation. The employee is
3 9 also to be compensated at the employee's regular rate of pay
3 10 for those regular work hours during which the employee is
3 11 absent from work. Under the bill, an employee on leave is not
3 12 deemed an employee of the state for purposes of workers'
3 13 compensation or for purposes of the tort claims Act.
3 14 The bill also changes the allowable expenditures from the
3 15 anatomical gift public awareness and transplantation fund to
3 16 provide that instead of expending not more than 50 percent of
3 17 the moneys in the fund annually in the form of grants to
3 18 hospitals which perform heart, lung, liver, pancreas, or
3 19 kidney transplants, this amount would be awarded to transplant
3 20 recipients, transplant candidates, and the legal
3 21 representatives of transplant recipients and transplant
3 22 candidates. The bill requires that the transplant recipient,
3 23 transplant candidate, or the transplant recipient's or
3 24 transplant candidate's legal representative submit a grant
3 25 application with supporting documentation provided by a
3 26 hospital that performs transplants, verifying that the grant
3 27 applicant requires a transplant and specifying the amount of
3 28 the costs associated with the transplantation.
3 29 LSB 1829HH 80
3 30 pf/sh/8