IOWA ADVISORY COMMISSION ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

MINUTES

December 21, 1995
Third Quarterly Meeting for 1995-1996

MEMBERS PRESENT

• Mr. Don Meisner, Chairperson
• Mr. Barry Stetzel, Vice Chairperson
• Senator Albert G. Sorensen
• Senator Lyle E. Zieman
• Representative Bob Renken
• Ms. Judith A. Bodholdt
• Ms. Betty L. Grandquist
• Ms. Cynthia P. Eisenhauer
• Mr. Robert Paulson
• Ms. Janet Phipps

MEETING IN BRIEF

Minutes prepared by Richard Nelson, Legal Counsel
Organizational staffing by Thane Johnson, Senior Research Analyst

1. Procedural Business.
2. School Mandate Proposals.
3. State-County Management Committee Report.
4. Iowa State Association of Counties Legislative Objectives.
5. 1995 Recommendations.
6. Additional Discussion Points.
7. ACIR Enabling Legislation.
8. Written Materials Filed With the Legislative Service Bureau.

COMMISSION BUSINESS

1. Procedural Business.

Call to Order. Committee Chairperson Mr. Don Meisner called the third meeting of the 1995-1996 Iowa Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (IACIR) to order at 10:12 a.m., Thursday, December 21, 1995, in Committee Room 22 of the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa.

Approval of Minutes. Senator Sorensen moved that the minutes of the Commission meeting of September 8, 1995, be approved as submitted. The motion was unanimously adopted.

Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 12:35 p.m.

2. School Mandate Proposals.

Commissioner Judith Bodholdt submitted two proposed school mandates for consideration for full state funding:

• Gifted and talented children program. Funding for the gifted and talented children program, provided in section 257.46, is a combination of district funds and property taxes. The program is designed to target talented and gifted students for challenging instruction. Section 257.46 contains a formula prescribing that at least one-fourth of the program cost is derived from the district cost of the school district and up to three-fourths by an increase in allowable growth.
• Special education funding. Section 280.8 provides for adequate educational provisions being made for special education students appropriate to the severity of their condition. The special education foundation base is currently 79 percent of the state cost per pupil, as opposed to 83 percent for regular curriculum students. Discussion and commission consideration focused on special education funding. It was noted that the proportionate number of students classified as special education has grown significantly, at least in part attributable to the increased eligibility for state aid that results. Testing classifications vary, and are being implemented by a large group of individuals with differing backgrounds and interpretations. Support was given to the idea of local school district control, as opposed to state or federal mandates. Several commission members indicated that education in Iowa is not receiving sufficient funding, and that some revenue source other than property taxes needs to be secured. Demographics are shifting -- while there are fewer children in the system, the education costs per child have steadily increased. Additional revenue sources mentioned as possibilities included gambling revenue and a 1 cent sales tax. Commissioner Bodholdt made a motion to recommend that the Special Education foundation base be increased up to the 83 percent regular base level. The motion passed unanimously by short-form vote. It was noted that, if enacted, this change would cost approximately $15 million, and that this does not represent an increased amount of funding, but rather a reallocation from property taxes to state aid.

3. State-County Management Committee Report.

Mr. John Pollak, Committee Services Administrator, Legislative Service Bureau, presented an overview of the primary issues and recommendations under consideration by the State-County Management Committee. The Committee was created to make recommendations for joint state and county planning, implementing and funding of mental health, mental retardation, and developmental disabilities services, and is jointly staffed by the Department of Human Services and the Iowa State Association of Counties.

The major points to be contained in the Committee's January report will include the following:

a. Consistency of services throughout the state for mental health and developmental disabilities.

b. County management authority over mental health and developmental disabilities services.

c. Voluntary pooling of mental health and developmental disabilities funds through regional entities.

d. Service cost growth factor for mental health and developmental disabilities costs.

e. Revision of administrative rules governing service providers focusing on outcomes rather than prescriptive standards.

f. State abuse registry access by community-based adult service providers for staff screening purposes.

g. Confidentiality requirements applicable to counties.

h. Service payments under an approved county plan with the county having a contract with a provider.

i. Combining fragmented state mental health and developmental disabilities funding streams.

j. Distribution of property tax relief moneys to counties.

Remaining on a "to do" list is a concern regarding legal issues relative to the consequences of a county running out of available money, and benchmark and quality measures in the delivery of mental health and developmental disabilities services. Discussion points centered around the question of consistency between counties, focusing on how consistent counties may need to be and the feasibility of achieving consistency between urban vs. rural counties.

4. Iowa State Association of Counties Legislative Objectives.

Mr. John Easter, Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC), distributed a Legislative Objectives handout. The discussion focused primarily on the question of achieving consistency and accountability in the implementation of federal block grants in Iowa, which are designed to shift responsibility for programs from the federal to state and county government levels. This has become a top priority issue with ISAC.

Possible approaches include the following:

a. Emphasis on savings to taxpayers rather than shifting costs to state and local taxpayers.

b. State and county officials would jointly generate and publish a plan for expenditures, with accountability for use of funds addressed in the plan.

c. Allocation of block grant funds to general purpose local governments where service delivery systems are in place, with regard to health, social services, employment, community and economic development, and criminal justice.

d. Reasonable transition time for moving from categorical programs to block grants and adjustment time for counties to accommodate changes in federal and state policy.

e. Local flexibility provided within the context of meeting broad national objectives.

f. Capping state administrative costs when reasonable and justifiable.

g. Comparable local level waiver of federal mandates waived or eliminated for a state.

Discussion. Mr. Easter emphasized that ISAC is seeking orderliness, not additional dollars. The Committee members indicated support for ISAC's position. Mr. Paulson made a motion that block grant implementation be placed first on the agenda for the next ACIR meeting. The motion was unanimously approved. It was also determined that state agency input from state agency directors regarding handling downsizing would be useful, and that this should be added to the agenda for the next meeting.

5. 1995 Recommendations.

The Committee reviewed a list of recommendations developed during 1995, to determine if support remains for those which were not enacted in the 1995 Legislative Session. The following recommendations were retained:

a. Repeal of the requirement that names on the general election ballot be rotated for the election of all officials.

b. Removal from the general election ballot of nonpolitical (changed from "nonpartisan") office, with those offices to instead be appointed by county boards of supervisors.

c. Polling hour reduction of one hour, from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m.

d. Prohibition of private and public haulers from making intrastate transfers of waste outside their planning area without certified approval.

e. Continued full reimbursement for leaking underground storage tanks from the Underground Storage Tank Fund for cleanup performed by a city or county on property which has reverted via tax deed to the city or county.

f. Review by the General Assembly and the Department of Natural Resources of underground storage tank-based assessment standards to reflect changes in technology, and review of cleanup standards by the DNR with the objective of making them more stringent than federal standards as well as enhancing flexibility.

g. Reconsideration by the State-County Management Committee of the significance of legal settlement when a plan for joint state and county funding of mental health and developmental disabilities services is finalized.

h. Development of a funding formula whereby the state pays two-thirds of mental health and developmental disabilities services costs.

i. Amendment of Iowa Code section 804.28 to provide that the Department of Public Safety is responsible for medical costs incurred for injury treatment suffered during an arrest by a detainee.

j. Promotion of the fact that a jail population annual report is available by the Iowa State Association of Counties and other organizations representing county sheriffs.

An additional recommendation relating to juvenile justice costs was tabled pending additional research by Legislative Service Bureau staff.

6. Additional Discussion Points.

Mr. Stetzel raised two issues for general discussion. The first concerns a criminal justice-related provision concerning the positions of jailer and dispatcher. His understanding is that a requirement exists prohibiting the same individual from holding both positions. A general discussion ensued with indications that this practice appears to vary.

Second, a bond rating test is required by the county prior to landfill closure. Mr. Meisner indicated he intends to check with the landfill planning group for additional information. Mr. Paulson revisited the solid waste issue, relating that there is support for the idea of the county charging a tipping fee for out-of-state solid waste disposal. It was determined that solid waste disposal issues would be added to the next meeting agenda. Senator Zieman notified the Commission that a bill will be processed enabling a sheriff to charge room and board to anyone detained who is over the age of 18 and (potentially) permitting a lien to be placed against property if incarcerated.

7. ACIR Enabling Legislation.

Mr. Thane Johnson updated the Commission regarding removal of the sunset provision in chapter 28C to permit the IACIR to continue as a statutory commission. The new chapter designation would now be 28J. The bill is entitled "A Bill For An Act creating an advisory commission on intergovernmental relations, specifying its members and powers and duties, providing for other properly related matters, and providing an effective date." The new sunset date would be July 1, 2002.

8. Written Materials Filed With the Legislative Service Bureau.

• a. Proposed School Mandates Recommendations, submitted by Commissioner Judith Bodholdt.
• b. State-County Management Committee Briefing, submitted by Mr. John Pollak, Legislative Service Bureau.
• c. Legislative Objectives handout, submitted by Mr. John Easter, Iowa State Association of Counties.
• d. Recommendations handout, submitted by the Legislative Service Bureau staff.
• e. Proposed Iowa Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations bill, LSB 3260IC, prepared by the Legislative Service Bureau.

OTHER INFORMATION FOR THIS COMMITTEE:

| Charge | Members | Staff | Final Report |

Back to top of Interim Information

Iowa General Assembly

Search: 1995 Interim (76th General Assembly)

© 1996 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments? webmaster@legis.iowa.gov.

Last update: Fri Feb 9 01:41:44 CST 1996
URL: /DOCS/GA/76GA/Interim/1995/comminfo/acir/mn951221.htm
sw