Iowa General Assembly Banner

MINUTES

IOWA ADVISORY COMMISSION ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

March 8, 1996 - First Quarterly Meeting for 1996

MEMBERS PRESENT

MEETING IN BRIEF

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

  1. Procedural Business.
  2. Comments - Representative Richard Vande Hoef, Chairperson, Committee on Local Government.
  3. Legislative Update - Legislation Affecting Local Government.
  4. Review of U.S. ACIR Recommendations on Federal Mandates.
  5. 1996 ACIR Study Topics.
  6. Written Materials Filed with the Legislative Service Bureau.

COMMITTEE BUSINESS

1. Procedural Business.
Call to Order. Chairperson Don Meisner called the fourth meeting of the l995-1996 Iowa Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (IACIR) to order at 10:15 a.m., Friday, March 8, 1996, in Committee Room 118 of the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa.
Approval of Minutes. Ms. Bodholdt moved that the minutes of the Commission meeting of December 21, l996, be approved as submitted. Mr. Miller seconded the motion. The motion was adopted.
Guests Present. Representative Richard Vande Hoef, Chairperson, Committee on Local Government; Joanne Strack, League of Iowa Cities; John Easter, Iowa State Association of Counties; Susan Donovan, Iowa State Association of School Boards; and Susan Crowley, Legal Counsel, and John Pollak, Committee Services Administrator, Legislative Service Bureau, were invited guests of the Advisory Commission.
Adjournment. Mr. Miller moved that the Commission meeting adjourn at 12:15 p.m. The motion was seconded by Ms. Bodholdt and adopted.
2. Comments from Representative Richard Vande Hoef, Chairperson, House Committee on Local Government.
Representative Vande Hoef stated that the state and its local governments are on the threshold of change. He added that changes are coming in the tax structure, budgeting structure and procedures, and state-local relations which, hopefully, will be more cooperative. He commented that he has been working on House File 2411 as an attempt to establish new guidelines for county government budgeting and revenue estimating. He does not expect House File 2411 to be enacted this legislative session, but it is a vehicle for discussion of change in county finances. He added that he expects Governor Branstad to call for interim study of the entire state tax system.
3. Legislative Update - Selected Legislation Affecting Local Governments.
Mr. John Pollak, Committee Services Administrator, Legislative Service Bureau, briefed the Commission members on House File 2256 relating to block grants and House File 2427 relating to county mental health services. The block grants legislation is to provide guidelines for planning and expenditure of federal funds by local governments. The legislation allows flexibility, minimizes administrative costs, and prohibits supplanting state and local revenue with federal funds. House File 2256 has passed the House and awaits Senate action.
Mr. Pollak stated that House File 2427 can be described as a "clean up" of Senate File 69, enacted in l995, to restructure mental health services and funding. The bill provides that payments and requirements for mental retardation and mental health services are subject to the county's management plan and that the management plan must be implemented as a condition of county eligibility for state property tax relief funding. Mr. Rothmeyer commented that as a county supervisor, the state-county funding arrangement in Senate File 69 has been very helpful and he anticipates further improvements. He expressed concern relating to the question of continued federal financial support.
Ms. Susan Crowley, Legal Counsel, Legislative Service Bureau, gave additional specifics concerning the county budget proposal in House File 2411. She stated that expenditures would be limited by revenue growth and revenue estimates similar to the approach followed by the state. A county would also be allowed to establish a cash reserve fund and capital improvements fund. Representative Vande Hoef observed that House File 2411 was rewritten twice before it was introduced. Mr. Paulson commented that House File 2411 is a step in the right direction, but home rule should also have a place in the county budgeting process and the election process can take care of careless spending in a county or in other local governments.
Mr. Thane Johnson, Senior Research Analyst, Legislative Service Bureau, updated the Commission on two bills, Senate File 2138 and Senate File 2071. Senate File 2138 removes a possible liability problem for counties by providing that when the moneys in the county mental health services fund are expended, any costs incurred which are otherwise payable from the fund shall be paid by the state. Also, Senate File 2170, which recreates the Iowa Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, has passed the Senate and awaits debate in the House. Senate File 2138 has also passed the Senate and awaits House debate.
4. Review of U.S. ACIR Recommendations on Federal Mandates.
The United States Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, at the direction of the United States Congress, undertook a study to investigate and review the role of federal mandates in intergovernmental relations and, on January 5, l996, submitted a preliminary report on federal mandates for public review and comment. The Iowa Advisory Commission reviewed the U.S. ACIR recommendations and, in some instances, alternative recommendations, to the federal mandates included in the preliminary report. The Iowa ACIR agreed with the U.S. ACIR on ten of the federal mandates and submitted alternative recommendations on the remaining three federal mandates.
The comments and recommendations of the Iowa ACIR are as follows:
  1. Fair Labor Standards Act. Recommendation: Repeal provisions of the FLSA covering state and local government employees.
  2. Family and Medical Leave Act. Recommendation: Repeal the provisions of the FMLA that cover state and local governmental employees.
  3. Occupational Safety and Health Act. Recommendation: Amend OSHA to give participating state governments as much flexibility in regard to public employees as is authorized for federal agencies. The Iowa Advisory Commission also recommends that the funding of the OSHA program and the impact of OSHA regulations on the private sector be reviewed.
  4. Drug and Alcohol Testing of Commercial Drivers. Recommendation: Repeal provisions of the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 which make some state and local employees subject to the federal drug and alcohol testing requirements for commercial drivers.
  5. Metric Conversion for Plans and Specifications. Recommendation: Repeal requirements of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 that state and local governments convert to metric on a federal timetable as a condition of receiving federal aid.
  6. Medicaid - Boren Amendment. Recommendation: Repeal the language of the Boren Amendment and insert language making states solely responsible for determining Medicaid reimbursement rates.
  7. The Clean Water Act. Recommendation: Relax strict requirements and allow state and local governments discretion in developing standards, control methods, and timetables for state and local governments.
  8. Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Recommendation: Either increase federal funding to the 40 percent authorized level or relieve states from prescriptive and costly administrative mandates. Alternative dispute resolution practices should be required, and any court challenge based on the federal law should be brought by state or federal agencies, not be individuals.
  9. Americans with Disabilities Act. Recommendation: Provide flexibility to state and local governments and federal flexibility in the use of federal grants to comply.
  10. The Safe Drinking Water Act. Recommendation: Enact amendments similar to those approved by the Senate and establish a long-term goal of returning to the states full responsibility for safe drinking water standards.
  11. Endangered Species Act. Recommendation: Give state and local governments an official role in the management and planning decisions affecting the listing process beyond the traditional consultation and full notice and comment requirement currently in effect. In addition, exemptions to the ESA should be applied more extensively to minimize the social and economic impact on state, local, and tribal governments of recovery planning and listing procedures.
  12. The Clean Air Act. Recommendation: Permit states to develop their own ways of meeting federal air quality standards, and eliminate financial aid penalties if states are making good faith efforts to comply.
  13. Davis-Bacon Related Acts. Recommendation: Amend Davis-Bacon related laws to exempt projects below a larger dollar cost than now prevails and below a certain federal percentage of cost sharing from compliance with Davis-Bacon provisions in state and local construction projects.
5. 1996 IOWA ADVISORY COMMISSION STUDY TOPICS.
Members of the Iowa Advisory Commission discussed possible topics for study during the l996 interim. The topics discussed include the following:
  1. Property tax exemptions.
  2. Property assessed valuation rollbacks.
  3. County budget limitations.
  4. Home Rule.
  5. K-12 Infrastructure - General Obligation Bonds and Other Funding Issues.
  6. Tax Increment Financing.
A suggestion was also made to invite testimony concerning economic development plans from the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Chairperson Meisner also requested that a copy of the Iowa State University "Iowa Infrastructure `95 Final Report" be distributed to the Advisory Commission members.
6. WRITTEN MATERIALS FILED WITH THE LEGISLATIVE SERVICE BUREAU.
a. "The Role of Federal Mandates in Intergovernmental Relations", Preliminary Report for Public Review and Comment, U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Washington, D.C., January, 1996.
b. House File 2427, Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Developmental Disabilities.
c. House File 2411, County Budget Limitations.
d. House File 2256, Block Grant Guidelines.
e. Senate File 2017, Iowa Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
f. Senate File 2138, County Liability for Mental Health Services.

OTHER INFORMATION FOR THIS COMMITTEE:

| Charge | Members | Staff | Final Report |

Back to top of Interim Information

Return To Home Iowa General Assembly

index Search: 1996 Interim (76th General Assembly)

© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments about this site or page? webmaster@legis.iowa.gov. Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.

Last update: Wed Jun 18 11:01:03 CDT 1997
URL: /DOCS/GA/76GA/Interim/1996/comminfo/acir/mn960308.htm
sw