1998 Summary of Legislation Published by the Iowa General Assembly -- Legislative Service Bureau

STATE GOVERNMENT

STATE GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 518 - Department of General Services Practices and Other State Government Administration (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act amends a number of provisions relating to the administration of state government by providing for the administration of the Department of General Services and particularly provisions affecting procurement, state-owned motor vehicles and state printing. The Act amends the Code as follows:

Code Section 18.1 is amended to provide that the definition of "competitive bidding procedure" includes transactions accomplished in an electronic format. The Act also provides that state buildings and grounds under the jurisdiction of the department do not include buildings under the control of the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System.

Code Section 18.3 is amended to provide that the department is not responsible for providing architectural services and contracting oversight for the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System. The Act requires the department to develop and implement procedures to conduct transactions, including purchasing, in an electronic format. The Act also requires the department to insure motor vehicles owned by the state through a self-insurance program or through a private insurer. The Act permits the department to organize by divisions or other subunits to promote the effective and efficient administration of the department.

Code Section 18.6 is amended to provide that the Director of the Department of General Services may contract for the purchase of services as well as items. The Act allows the department to exempt from ordinary competitive bidding procedures the purchase of an item or service based on a determination that it is necessary to protect the health, safety or welfare of persons occupying or visiting a public improvement or property located adjacent to the public improvement. The director may enter into an agreement with the government of another state or the federal government to provide for the cooperative purchase of an item or service of general use in the state. The Act also permits the department to advertise for bids in an electronic format. The Act eliminates provisions regarding share drafts and deposits of moneys used by bidders to provide evidence of financial security. The Act provides that the evidence of financial security is limited to a certified check and a bid bond. The Act eliminates a requirement that a person submitting the proposed contract for the purchase of items must receive information regarding the availability of a waste management review.

Code Section 18.8 is amended to provide that the director may provide telecommunications cabling to state agencies and eliminates a reference to voice and data communications. Code Section 18.8 is also amended to provide that the department is not responsible for assigning office space for buildings under the control of the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System.

Code Section 18.12 is amended to permit the department to dispose of presses, printing equipment, printing supplies, and other machinery or equipment used in the department's printing operation.

Code Section 18.16 is amended to allow a state agency to directly pay the price of a lease or rental costs incurred by the state agency in lieu of the department paying the price of the lease or rental costs on behalf of the state agency.

Code Section 18.18 is amended to remove dates for compliance of recycling mandates that have expired. The Act provides that information regarding recycled content for products that could be starch-based is no longer required to be included on bids. The Act authorizes the department to enter into agreements for the purchase of general use items with any state and the federal government.

New Code Section 18.19 establishes a Recycling Revolving Fund under the control of the department, and provides that the assets of the fund must be used by the department for supporting recycling operations.

Code Section 18.28 is amended by eliminating a provision that prohibits the reproduction of 10 or more copies from an original on an office copier located in Des Moines unless the department approves the copying.

Code Section 18.33 is amended to provide that advertisements for bid specifications shall provide how bids will be accessed as well as opened.

Code Section 18.36 is amended to provide requirements for bids. The Act allows bids to be in a format prescribed by the department. The Act provides that the bid may be submitted in an electronic format that reasonably assures the authenticity of the bid and the bidder's identity.

Code Section 18.37 amends a provision requiring a bidder to post evidence of financial security with the department. The Act eliminates references to credit union share drafts and allows a bidder to provide evidence of financial security by providing a certified check or posting a bid bond.

Code Section 18.38 is amended to provide that bids may be accessed as well as opened. The Act provides that contracts are awarded in a manner designated in the bid specifications.

Code Section 18.43 is amended to remove a reference to credit union certified share drafts in a provision relating to a bidder's evidence of financial security.

Code Section 18.44 is amended to allow the department to enter into contracts the department finds reasonable and which may include factors currently considered by the department.

Code Section 18.45 is amended to allow the department to determine when a bond by a bidder is required.

Code Section 18.46 is amended to eliminate requirements relating to written orders for printing, including detailed specifications relating to the nature of orders. The Act allows the department to determine procedures for completing an order.

Code Section 18.48 authorizes the department to reject printing if it does not meet quality requirements of a first-class printer. It also provides that a contractor may be required to forfeit payment amounts as liquidated damages. The Act permits the department to also reject or refuse delivery on printing that is not of the quality contemplated in the contract. It also provides that the liquidated damages may be deducted from any payment made to the contractor under any state contract.

Code Section 18.49 provides that the director may authorize a state agency located outside of Polk County to secure printing bids. The Act provides that a state agency located outside of Polk County may contract for outside printing. The Act eliminates procedural requirements regarding the authorization and provides that the director must prescribe the manner by which notification and approval are made.

Code Section 18.50 is amended to allow the director of the department to award separate printing contracts for work, material or printing supplies that are not included in a current printing contract. Currently, the department may enter into a special contract for work or materials only if the amount of the contract is $5,000 or less. The Act removes this limitation.

Code Section 18.51 is amended to eliminate a requirement that all paper purchased for use by the state must have a distinguishing mark. The Act also provides accounting requirements involving persons doing printing for the state.

Code Section 18.59 is amended to provide that the department is no longer required to obtain the consent of the Executive Council prior to disposing of printing machinery or equipment. The Act provides that receipts from the sale of presses, printing equipment, printing supplies, and other machinery or equipment used in the printing operation shall be deposited in the department's Printing Revolving Fund.

Code Section 18.60 provides for accounts by state agencies located outside of Polk County that maintain printing equipment. Previous law dealt with agencies outside of Des Moines. The Act provides that the provisions apply to agencies located outside of Polk County.

Code Section 18.63 provides that state agencies located in Des Moines may not expend moneys for the publication or distribution of materials unless required by law or approved by the director. The Act provides that this requirement now applies to state agencies located in Polk County. It removes a provision which provides that a violation of the requirement constitutes misfeasance in office. The Act permits the department to exempt minimal single printing projects from these requirements in order to permit a state agency to timely procure printing, if a state contract is not currently available.

Code Section 18.82 is amended to change the name of the State Printing Superintendent to the State Printing Administrator.

Code Section 18.115 currently provides for the duties and powers of the State Vehicle Dispatcher. The Act changes the name of the State Vehicle Dispatcher to the State Fleet Administrator. The Act also provides that the administrator may notify an elected official as well as the head of a state agency regarding any mishandling or misuse of a state-owned motor vehicle. The Act eliminates language providing procedures for purchasing new motor vehicles. The Act provides that a purchase must comply with competitive bidding procedures. The Act eliminates school buses from the exemptions from the fuel economy requirement currently available for school buses, off-road maintenance work vehicles and vehicles used to pull loaded trailers. The Act changes the date by which the department must annually report on compliance with the standards from January 31 to February 15. The Act eliminates the Department of Management as a recipient of the report. The Act changes the fuel economy standard from a standard that measures combined fuel economy to a standard which measures corporate average fuel economy. Both standards are established by the federal government. The Act removes a requirement that the department establish a system of uniform standards for assigning motor vehicles by rule. The Act provides that the department must assign motor vehicles based on standards which may include the same factors currently used. The Act eliminates a provision referring to promoting the development and purchase of motor vehicle equipment with engines utilizing alternative methods of propulsion. The Act amends provisions regarding the purchase of gasoline used in state-owned motor vehicles. The Act removes a requirement that the department study the accessibility of state-owned sources.

The Act allows the department to provide for the purchase of motor vehicle repair and maintenance in accordance with competitive bidding procedures.

Code Section 18.117 provides for reimbursing state officers and employees who use a privately owned motor vehicle for state business. The Act provides that the amount of reimbursement shall be based on an amount determined by the department in consultation with the Department of Personnel and the Department of Revenue and Finance. The Act provides that this section is not applicable to members and employees of the General Assembly who are governed by policies established by the General Assembly.

Code Section 421.40 provides procedures for the payment of claims by departments, the General Assembly and the courts. The Act provides that departments may enter into contracts for goods or services on payment terms of less than 60 days if the state obtains a financial benefit or incentive which would not otherwise be available from the vendor.

The Act directs the Iowa Code Editor to change references to "Superintendent of Printing" to "State Printing Administrator" and references to "State Vehicle Dispatcher" to "State Fleet Administrator" wherever the references appear in the Code.

The Act repeals a number of sections, including Code Sections 18.41, 18.52, 18.55, 18.56, 18.76, 18.77, 18.78, 18.79, and 18.118. Code Section 18.41 had referred to the acceptance of bids; Code Section 18.52 provided accounting requirements for private printers; Code Section 18.55 required the director to provide accounting requirements when several state agencies are involved in a printing project; Code Section 18.56 provided for vouchers and audit requirements; Code Section 18.76 provided for editing manuscripts; Code Section 18.77 provided for cooperation among agencies in their operations; Code Section 18.78 provided for appeals; Code Section 18.79 provided recordkeeping requirements; and Code Section 18.118 provided penalties for violating rules adopted by the State Vehicle Dispatcher.

SENATE FILE 2029 - Board of Podiatry Examiners (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act provides for a change in the number of members of the Board of Podiatry Examiners. The Act provides that the number of members on the board who are licensed to practice podiatry shall be increased from three to five individuals, with a resulting total Board of Podiatry Examiners membership increase to seven members. Previously, the Board of Podiatry Examiners consisted of a total of only five members, three of whom are licensed to practice podiatry and two who are not licensed to practice podiatry and who represent the general public.

SENATE FILE 2037 - Iowa State Fair Convention and Board (full text of act)

BY DOUGLAS, MCKIBBEN, MCCOY, MCLAREN, RIFE, GETTINGS, FRAISE, SCHUERER, AND JENSEN. This Act amends Code Chapter 173, which provides for the administration of the Iowa State Fair by the Iowa State Fair Board. Each year the board must organize a convention to elect members to the board and conduct other business of the board. The board is partly composed of two persons from each congressional district elected by the convention.

This Act eliminates a number of delegates to the convention, including the president or an accredited representative of the State Horticultural Society, the Iowa State Dairy Association, the Iowa Beef Cattle Producers Association, the Iowa Crop Improvement Association, the Iowa Pork Producers Council, the Iowa Horse Industry Council, the Iowa Sheep and Wool Promotion Board, the Iowa Home Economists Association, the Iowa Dietetics Association, and the State Board of Education, and the chairperson or an accredited representative of the Iowa Arts Council.

The Act provides that congressional board directors must be elected by a majority of convention members from the same congressional district.

The Act also amends provisions relating to the term of office by providing that a director's term begins following the adjournment of the convention rather than at noon on the day following the convention's adjournment. Finally, the Act eliminates a provision limiting a director's term of office to five consecutive terms.

SENATE FILE 2075 - Dental Hygiene Committee (full text of act)

BY IVERSON, SZYMONIAK, HANSEN, DVORSKY, HAMMOND, KIBBIE, CONNOLLY, DOUGLAS, BARTZ, HORN, HARPER, FREEMAN, RITTMER, GETTINGS, NEUHAUSER, GRONSTAL, FINK, LUNDBY, MCKIBBEN, DRAKE, VILSACK, MADDOX, AND BEHN. This Act provides for the creation of a Dental Hygiene Committee within the Board of Dental Examiners, comprised of the two dental hygienist members of the Board of Dental Examiners and one dentist member of the Board of Dental Examiners. The Act provides that the dental hygienist members of the Dental Hygiene Committee shall be licensed dental hygienists who have been Iowa residents engaged in the practice of dental hygiene for a five-year period directly preceding appointment to the board. The dentist member of the Dental Hygiene Committee shall have supervised and worked in collaboration with a dental hygienist for at least the three-year period immediately preceding appointment to the board, and shall be elected to the committee by annual vote of the board membership.

The Act provides that the Dental Hygiene Committee shall carry out duties as assigned by the board, and shall only have regulatory authority over the practice, discipline, examination, and licensure of dental hygienists. The board shall ratify recommendations of the Dental Hygiene Committee unless the board finds that the recommendations exceed committee jurisdiction or scope of authority, create an undue financial impact on the board, or are unsupported based on the record and any information considered by the committee in making the recommendation. The Act provides that the creation and operation of the Dental Hygiene Committee in no way expands the scope of practice of the profession of dental hygiene or authorizes the independent practice of dental hygiene. Expenses of the Dental Hygiene Committee and the board in implementing ratified committee recommendations shall be provided for by the board.

The Act also provides that dental hygienists appointed to the Board of Dental Examiners beginning January 1, 2000, shall not receive any form of remuneration from, nor be employed by, a dental or dental hygiene educational institution.

SENATE FILE 2136 - Substantive Code Corrections (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act contains statutory corrections that adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, delete temporary language, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, update ongoing provisions, or remove ambiguities.

The Act changes the name of the Iowa Highway Safety Patrol to the Iowa State Patrol, changes the name of the Joint Regulations Appropriations Subcommittee to the Joint Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee, makes a change pertaining to owner and operator liability for injury or damage caused by all-terrain vehicles or snowmobiles, conforms several provisions in the Iowa Financial Transaction Reporting Act to the model legislation upon which the Act was originally based, corrects a reference in provisions relating to blood or genetic testing in paternity actions, and corrects references and usage of terms and deletes unused terms in provisions pertaining to economic and other penalties for certain criminal activity.

SENATE FILE 2182 - State Fire Marshal (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act repeals a section that prevents the State Fire Marshal from spending funds for the education of the public in fire safety unless the Legislature appropriates moneys for that purpose.

The Act also increases the new building construction height levels at which approved automatic fire-extinguishing systems must be installed from 65 feet to 75 feet.

Lastly, the Act requires the State Fire Marshal's administrative rules to be in substantial compliance with the standards of the National Fire Protection Association relating to aboveground petroleum storage tanks, flammable liquids and liquefied petroleum gases.

SENATE FILE 2183 - State Records Management (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act transfers the records management duties from the Department of General Services to the Department of Cultural Affairs. Under the Act, the Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs replaces the Director of General Services as the secretary to the State Records Commission and the Department of Cultural Affairs replaces the Department of General Services as the primary agency responsible for providing administrative personnel and services to the commission.

Also under the Act, the State Records Commission submits to the State Archivist all lists and schedules for the proposed disposal of records. The State Archivist determines whether the lists and schedules of records have research or historical value, or any value to other state agencies, and submits recommendations regarding the lists and schedules to the commission.

SENATE FILE 2185 - State Purchase of Biodegradable Hydraulic Fluids (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act provides that when purchasing hydraulic fluids, state agencies must give a preference to biodegradable hydraulic fluids manufactured from soybeans to the extent that the purchase is within their purchasing budgets and is consistent with manufacturer's specifications. The state agencies affected include the Department of General Services and agencies purchasing through that department, the Department for the Blind, community colleges, institutions under the direction of the Board of Regents, the state Department of Transportation, and the Iowa Department of Corrections.

In carrying out this requirement, the affected state agency must include the preference requirements in publications used to solicit bids for hydraulic fluids, describe the preference requirements at bidders' conferences in which bids for the sale of hydraulic fluids are sought, discuss the preference requirements in procurement solicitations or invitations to bid for hydraulic fluids, and inform industry trade associations about the preference requirements.

SENATE FILE 2267 - Department of Transportation Records -- Release to Governmental Employees (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act permits an employee of a federal or state agency or political subdivision in the performance of the employee's official duties, or a contract employee of the Department of Inspections and Appeals in the conduct of an investigation, to obtain personal information within the control of the state Department of Transportation based upon the presentation of a registration plate number to the state Department of Transportation. The Act also authorizes an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency to release information based on vehicle registration numbers if the release is necessary in the performance of the law enforcement agency officer's or employee's duties.

SENATE FILE 2269 - Regulation of Massage Therapists and Athletic Trainers (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act provides for the conversion of the existing Athletic Training and Massage Therapy Advisory Boards, presently reporting to the Iowa Department of Public Health, into full regulatory examining boards subject to the general provisions for health-related professions pursuant to Code Chapter 147. The membership of each board remains the same as it existed prior to this Act.

The Act provides, however, that members of the Board of Examiners for Massage Therapists will be appointed by the Governor, rather than the existing procedure of appointment by the Director of Public Health. Members of the Board of Examiners for Athletic Trainers are already appointed by the Governor.

SENATE FILE 2308 - Eligible Alternative Retirement Benefit Systems for Community College Employees (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act provides that commencing July 1, 1998, a person newly employed by a community college may elect retirement coverage under an alternative retirement benefits system in which the person is not currently a member but which is offered by the community college, at the discretion of the community college, in lieu of coverage under the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System. The Act provides that the community college may limit to six the number of alternative retirement benefits systems offered and provides that the selection by the community college of a provider of an eligible alternative retirement benefits system does not constitute an endorsement of that provider.

SENATE FILE 2310 - Professional Engineers -- Requirements for Licensure (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act provides that applicants for licensure as a professional engineer who obtained an associate of science or more advanced degree between July 1, 1983, and June 30, 1988, can qualify to take an examination in fundamental engineering subjects.

Prior to July 1, 1988, an applicant could qualify for the examination if the individual had completed a two-year course in engineering and had six years of practical experience. Beginning July 1, 1988, the qualification requirements were changed to provide that an applicant must have graduated from a four-year course in engineering. However, applicants were given a "window" period, until June 30, 1991, during which they could continue to qualify for the examination with a two-year degree and six years of experience. Individuals who had graduated from a two-year program prior to the law change, and embarked on a six-year period of practical experience, but had not completed the six years by June 30, 1991, were left unable to qualify for the examination after the law change. The Act addresses this by providing that individuals obtaining a two-year degree between July 1, 1983, and June 30, 1988, will be able to qualify for the examination based on the two-year degree, six years of experience requirements previously in effect. The Act provides that an applicant to whom the Act applies has until June 30, 2001, to complete the examination.

SENATE FILE 2319 - Land Surveyors -- Definition of Practice (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act revises the definition of the practice of "land surveying." As defined in the Act, the practice of land surveying involves providing a variety of professional services relating to the location, size, shape, or physical features of the earth, improvements on the earth, and space above the earth. The practice of land surveying includes, but is not limited to, activities relating to the locating of permanent monumentation for property lines and boundaries for tracts or parcels of land, making surveys for the division or subdivision of tracts of land, determination of positions for survey monuments or reference points, creating metes and bounds descriptions, geodetic surveying, and the creation or modification of electronic or computerized data relating to land surveying activities. The Act provides that the definition of land surveying does not prohibit a professional engineer from practicing any aspect of the practice of engineering. The Act additionally specifies activities which, if engaged in, shall be construed to constitute the practice of land surveying, or an offer to practice land surveying.

SENATE FILE 2321 - Confidentiality of Records and Reports of Labor Commissioner (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND LABOR. This Act makes confidential certain records and reports held by the Labor Commissioner of the Division of Labor Services of the Department of Workforce Development.

Currently, the Iowa Code provides that only the names of persons who request the commissioner to inspect possible safety or health violations shall not appear in any record published, released or otherwise made available. The Act replaces the word "name" with the phrase "identifying information," which the Act defines as personal information including, but not limited to, the person's name, home address, telephone number, social security number, handwriting and language idiosyncrasies, or any fact used to identify the person.

The Act provides that records relating to an enforcement action being conducted by the commissioner are confidential until the enforcement action is complete, and any citation and noncompliance notices remain confidential until received by the appropriate employer. The Act sets forth the conditions under which an enforcement action may be considered complete.

Also confidential under the Act are records pertaining to consultation services provided to specific, identifiable employers or workplaces, and records the commissioner holds that contain identifiable financial institution or credit card account numbers.

SENATE FILE 2350 - State Employee Deferred Compensation Trust Fund (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act establishes within the Office of the Treasurer of State an Iowa State Employee Deferred Compensation Trust Fund to be administered by the Director of the Department of Personnel. The fund consists of moneys deferred by employees participating in the state's deferred compensation program to be used for the exclusive benefit of participants in the program pursuant to requirements established in the federal Internal Revenue Code.

The Act provides that the Director of the Department of Personnel shall not be personally liable for any losses to the fund or for losses to trusts as referred to in the federal Internal Revenue Code.

The Act provides that moneys deferred from employees participating in the state's deferred compensation program shall be deposited in the fund or placed in trust as provided by the federal Internal Revenue Code by January 1, 1999.

The Act also provides that Code Section 8.33 concerning the reversion of any moneys in the fund to the General Fund of the State does not apply to moneys in the fund. The Act further provides that any interest on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund and shall be used for the exclusive benefit of participants in the state's deferred compensation program.

SENATE FILE 2356 - Telecommunications and Electric Cabling Revolving Fund and Art Restoration and Preservation Revolving Fund (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act creates two new revolving funds under the administration of the Department of General Services: a Telecommunications and Electric Cabling Revolving Fund and an Art Restoration and Preservation Revolving Fund.

The Telecommunications and Electric Cabling Revolving Fund is created to provide for appropriate telecommunications and cabling, planning cabling layouts, and locating, relocating, installing, and removing telecommunications and electric cable, including peripheral equipment on the State Capitol Complex.

The Art Restoration and Preservation Revolving Fund is created to provide for the restoration, preservation, rehabilitation, and enhancement of art and artifacts of historical or cultural significance or artistic value located in the public areas of the State Capitol Building. The Act also provides that the proceeds from the sale of personal property located on the State Capitol Complex, except motor vehicles and printing equipment, shall be credited to the Art Restoration and Preservation Revolving Fund.

The Act also requires the Department of General Services to submit an annual report on each revolving fund to the General Assembly and the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

SENATE FILE 2383 - Amusement Ride Rider Safety (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act relates to amusement ride rider safety. The Act provides that an amusement ride rider or the rider's parent or guardian shall report in writing to the amusement ride operator any injury sustained by the amusement rider before leaving the operator's premises. If the rider or the rider's parent or guardian is unable to report the injury due to the severity of the injury, the injury must be reported as soon as reasonably possible. The Act requires riders to obey the reasonable safety rules posted and oral instructions given and requires riders to refrain from acting in any manner that may cause or contribute to injuring the rider or others. The Act prohibits a rider from getting on an amusement ride unless the rider has sufficient knowledge of the safe use of the ride, understands warnings and restrictions, knows the limits of the rider's abilities, is not under the influence of alcohol or any drug, and is authorized by the operator, employee, agent, or servant to get on the ride.

The Act requires operators to display signs indicating the applicable rider safety responsibilities and the location of the stations to report injuries. The Act provides locations where these signs must be located. The Act requires an operator to post a sign at each amusement ride. The sign must include the operation instructions of the ride, safety guidelines for riders, restrictions on the use of the ride, behavior and activities that are prohibited, and a warning requiring compliance with the rules and restrictions.

The Act provides that a person failing to obey a safety-related requirement listed on a sign displayed at an amusement ride is subject to a civil penalty of $100.

The Act specifically provides that the provisions of the Act shall not be construed to preclude any criminal or civil action otherwise available under law.

The Act takes effect January 1, 1999.

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 2004 - Proposed Constitutional Amendments -- State Expenditures and Taxes (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS. This Joint Resolution proposes two amendments which relate to state budgets within a new Article XIII to the Constitution of the State of Iowa.

The first amendment establishes a State General Fund expenditure limitation. The amount of the limitation is 99 percent of the adjusted revenue estimate. The amendment defines adjusted revenue estimate and requires that the estimate be determined by a revenue estimating conference which is to be created by the General Assembly by law. The amendment requires that the expenditure limitation be used by the Governor in preparation of the Governor's budget and by the General Assembly in the budget process. The amendment also provides that, if a new revenue source is established and implemented, 95 percent of the estimate of that new revenue shall be included in the expenditure limitation.

The first amendment also provides that the amount of any surplus that exceeds an amount equal to 10 percent of the adjusted revenue estimate may be included in the adjusted revenue estimate for the following fiscal year. Any surplus equal to 10 percent or less of the amount of the adjusted revenue estimate may be included in the following year's adjusted revenue estimate if approved by a three-fifths majority of each house of the General Assembly. The amendment also requires the state to use generally accepted accounting principles for state budgeting and accounting purposes. The amendment requires the General Assembly to enact laws to implement the amendment.

The second amendment contained in the Joint Resolution requires a three-fifths majority of the General Assembly for certain tax law changes. The amendment provides that any bill which enacts, amends or repeals the state income tax or the state sales and use taxes, and which causes, in the aggregate, an increase in state tax revenues, as determined by the General Assembly, must be adopted by three-fifths of the whole membership of each house of the General Assembly. The amendment also requires a three-fifths majority vote of each house of the General Assembly in order to enact a new state tax to be imposed by the state. A lawsuit challenging a bill pursuant to either three-fifths' majority passage requirement must be filed no later than one year from the date of enactment of the bill. Finally, the amendment provides that the General Assembly shall enact laws to implement the amendment.

The Joint Resolution will be referred to the next General Assembly for consideration. If the next General Assembly adopts this Joint Resolution, the amendments will be submitted to the voters for ratification. When submitted to the voters, each amendment will be voted on individually.

HOUSE FILE 667 - Administrative Procedure Act and Division of Administrative Hearings (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act makes changes to the Iowa Administrative Procedure Act. The Act takes effect July 1, 1999, and applies to initial or remanded proceedings commenced on or after that date.

The Act establishes a Division of Administrative Hearings within the Department of Inspections and Appeals. The department and the division have the authority to employ and assign most administrative law judges (ALJs) to preside over hearings held by state agencies in which the agency head did not preside. New Code Section 10A.801 requires the division to establish rules governing ALJs, including rules imposing on all persons who act as presiding officers a code of administrative judicial conduct similar to the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct. The new section also makes provisions for the specialization of ALJs and the ability of agencies to require a certain level of expertness in ALJs used by that agency. The new section also requires that all newly hired ALJs must be licensed to practice law in this state.

Code Section 17A.3 is amended to provide that agencies shall, to the extent practicable, adopt rules that embody the standards, principles and procedural safeguards that the agency will apply to the law it administers.

Code Section 17A.4 is amended to provide that when agencies adopt rules, the agency shall generally provide in a preamble to the rule a brief explanation of the principal reasons for its adoption, and, if applicable, any reasons for not including a provision providing for the waiver of that rule.

The Act creates new Code Section 17A.4A, requiring agencies to issue a regulatory analysis of proposed rules under certain circumstances. The new Code section replaces prior law that provides for requests for an economic impact of a rule and for a small business regulatory analysis.

Code Section 17A.7 is amended to provide a mechanism for requiring an agency to conduct a formal review of an adopted rule of the agency. The amendment permits the Administrative Rules Coordinator to request a review of a specified rule. The agency need only review a particular rule once every five years.

Code Section 17A.8, subsection 9, is amended to provide a timeline for standing committees of the Legislature to examine and report on a referral of a rule to the committee by the Administrative Rules Review Committee.

Code Section 17A.9 is rewritten by this Act. Previous law provides for agencies to establish rules governing the disposition of requests for declaratory rulings as to the applicability of any law of the agency. The new Code section provides specific guidelines, including specific time standards, concerning the disposition of a petition requesting a declaratory order by an agency. A declaratory order is defined similarly to the current declaratory ruling.

New Code Section 17A.10A is created to provide that a party can request a contested case proceeding even if the facts of the particular case are not in dispute.

Code Section 17A.11, governing presiding officers and administrative law judges, is rewritten. The new Code section provides that if the agency is a party to the hearing and a person requests that an ALJ be used, the agency shall grant the request unless it can provide good cause. The new Code section specifies what constitutes good cause. If an ALJ is used, the ALJ must be from the Office of Administrative Hearings unless the agency or an agency officer is not a party or the real party in interest in the hearing. The new Code section also provides for the disqualification and substitution of presiding officers.

Code Section 17A.12, subsection 3, governing defaults in contested case proceedings, is rewritten, providing the mechanism, including applicable time standards, governing the imposition of a default order.

Code Section 17A.15 is amended to provide that upon appeal from an ALJ to an agency head, the agency may reverse or modify any finding of fact if a preponderance of the evidence supports this, and may reverse or modify any conclusion of law the agency finds to be in error.

Code Section 17A.16 is amended to require that a proposed or final agency decision include reasons why the relevant evidence in the record supports each finding of fact.

Code Section 17A.17, governing ex parte communications and separation of functions, is amended. The Act bars a person from personally investigating a matter and then serving as a presiding officer, or assisting the presiding officer, when the matter is considered. The Act also provides that if a presiding officer has received an ex parte communication prior to the commencement of a contested case, the officer must disclose any material factual information received that has not already been provided through discovery.

New Code Section 17A.18A, governing emergency adjudicative proceedings, is created by the Act. Prior law replaced by this new Code section makes provision only for emergency proceedings concerning licenses.

Code Section 17A.19, governing judicial review, is amended to provide specific guidelines concerning the granting of stays and the review of a grant or denial of a stay. The Act also specifies, in greater detail than prior Code, the standards to be applied by a court when it reviews agency action. The Act also requires a court reviewing any agency finding of fact to use the substantial evidence test and to consider both the evidence that supports and the evidence that detracts from the finding.

Code Section 17A.19 is also amended to provide that a defendant in a suit for civil enforcement of agency action may defend on any of the grounds specified for judicial review of agency action if that defendant could have relied on any of those grounds in a suit for judicial review of that action brought at the time the enforcement suit was filed.

HOUSE FILE 2146 - State Flag Day (full text of act)

BY SCHRADER. This Act requests and authorizes the Governor to issue annually a proclamation designating March 29 as Iowa State Flag Day and to urge all citizens of the state on that day to display the state flag and to reflect on and consider the heritage of the state flag.

HOUSE FILE 2162 - Nonsubstantive Code Corrections (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act makes Code changes and corrections that are considered to be nonsubstantive and noncontroversial, in addition to style changes.

Subject matter areas in which technical, grammatical and other nonsubstantive changes are made include the following: various programs under the jurisdiction of the Department of Economic Development; election balloting; the Public Safety Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident, and Disability System; the names of the Association of Iowa Hospitals and Health Systems, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, and the Iowa Comprehensive Health Insurance Association; lead abatement certification requirements; trespassing of stray livestock; the county single entry point process; runaway assessment centers; youthful offender procedures; fingerprinting and photographing of children; the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children; child support recovery; the Community Health Data Commission; school district budgets; community college vocational-technical technology improvement; child abuse reports; motor carriers; the Anatomical Gift Public Awareness and Transplantation Fund; motor vehicle parking permits; use of a motor vehicle license or nonoperator's identification card by a minor to obtain alcohol; authorized emergency vehicles and police bicycles; proof of motor vehicle financial liability coverage cards; operating while intoxicated; state payments to counties for mental health, mental retardation and developmental disabilities; city civil service commissions; low-income assistance requirements for housing and residential development; Department of Workforce Development requirements; the livestock production tax credit; the Property Tax Relief Fund; permits and licenses for importing fuel in motor vehicle supply tanks; cigarette and tobacco sale and use violation penalties; the Green Thumb Program; various provisions relating to corporations and other business entities; health care coverage; finance charges; certificated securities; statutes of limitations; appointments of guardians; domesticated animal activities; scheduled violations; good conduct time for prisoners; restitution; school searches; and sewage sludge.

HOUSE FILE 2166 - Food Establishments and Food Processing Plants (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS. This Act repeals Code Chapters 137A, Food Establishments; 137B, Food Service Sanitation Code; and 137E, Food and Beverage Vending Machines, and replaces the repealed chapters with new Code Chapter 137F, which reflects the adoption on the federal level of the 1997 Model Food Code.

The Act deletes provisions that allow the Department of Inspections and Appeals to amend the Model Food Code through the administrative rule process, expands the definition of a bed and breakfast home contained in Code Section 137F.1 from a two-guest to four-guest family capacity, and exempts from regulation under Code Chapter 137D, Home Food Establishments, a home food establishment with annual sales of prepared food of $1,000 or less, if the food is labeled to specify the name and address of the individual who prepared the food and the fact that the kitchen producing the food was not subject to inspection.

New Code Chapter 137F defines terms consistent with the definitions adopted in the 1997 Model Food Code and a combination of definitions provided in Code Chapters 137A, 137B and 137E. The Act additionally provides for exceptions to certain provisions of the 1997 Model Food Code, including specifying standards for minimizing food establishment employee contact with exposed, ready-to-eat food.

The Act provides for a revised license fee structure for fees charged for licensing mobile food units or pushcarts, temporary food establishments per fixed location, vending machines, food establishments preparing or serving food for individual portion service, food establishments selling food for off-site preparation or consumption, and food processing plants. The Act establishes a transition between licenses issued under the repealed chapters and licenses issued under Code Chapter 137F.

The Act takes effect January 1, 1999. However, a license issued under Code Chapter 137A, 137B or 137E prior to the effective date of the Act is valid for the remaining term of the license.

HOUSE FILE 2476 - Iowa Communications Network Connection (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE AND REGULATION. This Act provides that the Iowa Telecommunications and Technology Commission shall provide for the construction of a connection to the network for the Quad Cities Graduate Center. The graduate center is responsible for the costs of the connection. Hourly rates to be charged to the center are to be set at an appropriate rate so that no state subsidy results.

HOUSE FILE 2496 - Public Retirement Systems and Related Provisions (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act makes numerous changes pertaining to public retirement systems, including the Public Safety Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident, and Disability System (PORS, Code Chapter 97A), the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS, Code Chapter 97B), the Statewide Fire and Police Retirement System (Code Chapter 411), and the Judicial Retirement System (Code Chapter 602).

PUBLIC SAFETY PEACE OFFICERS' RETIREMENT, ACCIDENT, AND DISABILITY SYSTEM (PORS). The Act contains the following provisions relating to PORS:

1. Increases, from eight to 10 years, the maximum number of years to which the 1.5 percent additional benefit is applied to establish the additional benefit for members for each additional year of service in the system over 22 years of service for members terminating service on or after July 1, 1998.
2. Provides that a member entitled to an ordinary disability pension or an accidental disability pension on or after July 1, 1998, and who has at least five years of service, will receive a benefit equal to the greater of the disability benefit the member is entitled to or the amount the member would have received as a service (nondisability) retirement allowance based on actual years of service.
3. The earnings test applied to determine whether a member's accidental or ordinary disability benefit allowance should be reduced based on the member's outside earnings is changed to provide that outside earnings used for the purpose of paying for health care coverage shall not be counted in applying the earnings test.

IOWA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM (IPERS). The Act contains the following provisions relating to IPERS:

1. The definition of "employee" for purposes of determining who is covered under IPERS is amended. The Act provides that those groups of employees who currently are not members of IPERS unless they elect coverage within, generally, 60 days of employment will, commencing with employees hired on or after January 1, 1999, be members of IPERS unless they already are covered by another retirement system or affirmatively elect not to be covered pursuant to Code Section 97B.42A. Examples of this category of employees are elected officials, including members of the General Assembly, State Board of Regents employees, and city managers. An election to not be covered must be made within 60 days of employment. Those employees who failed to elect coverage under IPERS pursuant to prior law, and who are not in a different public retirement system, will become members of IPERS on January 1, 1999, with the ability to elect out of IPERS coverage on or before January 1, 2000. Individuals who become members of IPERS on January 1, 1999, can purchase IPERS service credit for service in that position prior to January 1, 1999, which was not membership service.
2. The definition of "service" for purposes of determining IPERS benefits is amended. The change provides that service, with only a few exceptions, includes only service in which an employee is paid covered wages. Exceptions to this requirement are military service, unpaid leave taken as a result of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act or other similar leave, and unpaid seasonal breaks for employees of school corporations and educational institutions in which the employee returns to a school corporation or educational institution upon the end of the break.
3. The definition of "three-year average covered wage" for purposes of determining IPERS benefits is amended concerning the method of calculating a computed wage for one of the employee's three years when employment does not end at the end of a calendar year. The amendment provides that the computed year shall not be greater than 103 percent of the member's highest actual calendar year of covered wages.
4. Code Section 97B.45 is amended to provide that a member may retire, without any age reduction penalty, upon reaching 62 years of age with 20 or more years of membership service. Under prior law, a member could retire upon reaching age 62 with 30 or more years of membership service. This change takes effect January 1, 1999.
5. Code Section 97B.48A, concerning reemployment, is amended to provide for a reduction in a member's retirement allowance if the member is under 65 years of age and earns an amount over the dollar limit provided in the section. The Act amends the current limit by increasing the earnings a retired member can keep without penalty from $7,440 to $12,000. In addition, Code Section 97B.48A is amended to provide that if the member's reemployment period of service is not used for recalculation of the member's annuity, the member receives both the employee and employer contributions, plus interest, on the contributions made for the reemployment period of service upon termination of the reemployment period of service. Prior law only provided for the return of the employee contributions plus interest.
6. Code Section 97B.49 is reorganized into new Code Sections 97B.49A through 97B.49G.
7. New Code Section 97B.49B, concerning members of a protection occupation, is amended to eliminate probation and parole officers III from the list of occupations covered by this section.
8. New Code Section 97B.49C, concerning sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and airport fire fighters, provides that a member covered by this section will receive an additional 1.5 percent for each additional year of service after 22 years of service for up to eight additional years. Previously, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and airport fire fighters received only an additional 1 percent for up to five years of service beyond 22 years of service.
9. New Code Section 97B.49F establishes a favorable experience dividend applicable to members who retire on or after July 1, 1990. Commencing January 1, 1999, members who retired from IPERS on or after July 1, 1990, and who have been retired for at least one year, are eligible to receive a favorable experience dividend. The dividend shall be payable, if at all, from moneys deposited in a favorable experience reserve account within the IPERS Retirement Fund.
   Moneys shall be deposited in the reserve account based upon a determination by the actuary that the most recent valuation of the retirement fund indicates that the actual actuarial status of the retirement fund is better than what was anticipated by the actuary. In addition, money sufficient to pay the dividend for five years will be credited to the account in January 1999. The section establishes the process for determining the amount of the favorable actuarial experience of the system that shall be deposited in the reserve account.
   The dividend shall be payable on the last business day of January following a determination by the actuary that there are sufficient moneys in the account to pay a dividend. The dividend shall be calculated by multiplying the member's annual benefit by the number of years the member has been retired and by a percentage, not to exceed 3 percent, determined by the department. A member's beneficiary or contingent annuitant is also eligible to receive a dividend.
10. Beginning with monthly retirement payments made on or after January 1, 1999, members who retired prior to July 1, 1986, shall have their monthly retirement allowances increased by 15 percent, while members who retired on or after July 1, 1986, and prior to July 1, 1990, shall have their monthly retirement allowances increased by 7 percent.
11. New Code Section 97B.49H establishes active member supplemental accounts, sometimes referred to as gainsharing accounts, for IPERS members. Amounts shall be deposited in these accounts only after the actuary determines that the system does not have an unfunded actuarial liability as of the most recent actuarial valuation of the system. If an amount is payable, the new Code section then provides that IPERS shall deposit in each active member's account, in the year following the actuary's determination that the system does not have an unfunded liability, an amount determined by multiplying the member's covered wages by a supplemental percentage rate as determined by the actuary. The supplemental rate is the rate that reflects the difference between the statutory contribution rate for both employers and employees and the contribution rate the actuary determines is necessary to fund the future benefits of the system. Amounts in a member's supplemental account are payable upon a member's termination from covered service under certain circumstances, a member's death, or a member's retirement. The establishment of an active member supplemental account is subject to IRS approval.
12. Code Section 97B.52A is amended to provide that a retiree is required to be out of any employment with an employer covered under IPERS following termination from service and initiation of retirement benefits from one to four months, as applicable, in order to continue receiving benefits.
13. Code Section 97B.53 is amended to provide that a member who terminates employment under IPERS prior to retirement may be paid, in addition to the total of their employee contributions plus interest, a portion of the total employer contributions paid on their behalf plus interest. This change provides that the member shall receive the total employer contributions paid, plus interest, multiplied by the member's number of years of the member's service divided by the number of years the member would have to serve in order to receive a 60 percent retirement allowance. This change takes effect July 1, 1999.
14. Beginning July 1, 1999, the contributions required for a purchase by a member of IPERS of additional service credit through a buy-in or buy-back of service shall be based upon the actuarial cost of the additional service and not based upon the employee and, if applicable, employer contributions that would have been required for the service purchased.
15. Code Section 509A.13A is amended to provide that a spouse of a retired member under IPERS is entitled to continue to purchase group insurance coverage from the applicable employer upon the death of the retired member until reaching age 65. This amendment takes effect May 8, 1998, and is retroactively applicable to July 1, 1994.
16. The Act creates a provision entitled "Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System--Eligibility for Retirement Allowance," which provides that a person who was designated as a contingent annuitant by a member of IPERS but who did not receive an allowance as a contingent annuitant shall receive an allowance and a lump-sum payment once the person files a valid application for such benefits no later than June 30, 1999, and meets the requirements of this provision. The lump-sum payment shall be an amount the contingent annuitant would have received had the member met the requirements to receive a retirement allowance. In order to be eligible to receive an allowance pursuant to this Act, the member must have submitted a valid application for retirement benefits between January 1, 1992, and January 1, 1995; was otherwise eligible to receive an allowance but died prior to the Department of Personnel issuing payment of the member's first retirement allowance; and survived into the month for which the member's first retirement allowance would have been payable. In addition, the Act provides that the person must make arrangements with the system to repay any death benefits received from the system prior to receiving an allowance pursuant to this provision.
17. The Act provides that the IPERS Division shall conduct several studies. The division shall continue its study concerning the possible establishment of a statewide deferred compensation plan for IPERS members and shall study the establishment of a benefits advisory board for IPERS and submit its report as to these studies to the General Assembly by January 1999. The IPERS Division shall also conduct a study concerning the issue of whether adjunct instructors should be allowed to become members of IPERS and must submit its report to the Legislative Service Bureau on or before September 1, 1999.

STATEWIDE FIRE AND POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM (Code Chapter 411). The Act contains the following provisions relating to the Code Chapter 411 retirement system:

1. Increases, from 0.6 percent to 1.5 percent, the additional benefit for members for each additional year of service in the system from 22 to 30 years of service for members terminating service on or after July 1, 1998.
2. A member entitled to an ordinary disability pension or an accidental disability pension on or after July 1, 1998, and who has at least five years of service, will receive a benefit equal to the greater of the disability benefit the member is entitled to or the amount the member would have received as a service (nondisability) retirement allowance based on actual years of service.
3. The earnings test applied to determine whether a member's accidental or ordinary disability benefit allowance should be reduced based on the member's outside earnings is changed to provide that outside earnings used for the purpose of paying for health care coverage shall not be counted in applying the earnings test.
4. Code Section 411.6 is amended to provide that retirement benefits payable to a member for an accidental disability or an ordinary disability shall be offset against any amounts the member is receiving as unemployment compensation as a result of the member's unemployment due to the ordinary disability or accidental disability.
5. Code Section 411.15 is amended to provide that a city may pay the medical costs incurred by members of that city's police or fire department who are injured in the performance of their duties through insurance, by self-insuring the obligation, or by a local government risk pool established for this purpose. The Act also permits the payment of these costs from amounts held in the city's trust and agency fund. Previously, the medical costs incurred could be paid only from an appropriation to the department to which the injured person belongs or belonged.
6. New Code Section 411.24 establishes representative payee procedures and provides that the board of trustees shall adopt rules to provide for payment to a representative of an adult or minor applicant entitled to payment.
7. Code Section 411.36 is amended to provide that a city financial officer or city clerk involved with the financial matters of the city, and not just a city treasurer as previously provided under law, is eligible for selection to the board of trustees of the retirement system.

JUDICIAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM. The Act contains the following provisions relating to the Judicial Retirement System:

1. Full-time associate juvenile judges and full-time associate probate judges hired on or after July 1, 1998, shall be members of the Judicial Retirement System and not members of the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS). Current full-time associate juvenile judges and associate probate judges have the option of remaining in IPERS, changing to judicial retirement but leaving their contributions in IPERS, or changing to judicial retirement and transferring a portion of their IPERS money in order to purchase additional service credit under judicial retirement. This portion of the Act takes effect May 8, 1998.
2. The maximum percentage multiplier used in calculating a retirement allowance for a judge shall be increased from 50 percent to 52 percent as of July 1, 1998. In addition, the Act provides that it is the intent of the General Assembly that this percentage be eventually increased to 60 percent based on whether the system can afford any particular increase.
3. New Code Section 602.9107B provides that a judge, or a survivor of a judge, who retired before July 1, 1977, shall receive a minimum monthly annuity under the Judicial Retirement System of $500 a month beginning with annuity payments made after July 1, 1998.

GENERAL PROVISIONS. The Act provides for the establishment of a study which shall be a comprehensive examination of the plan designs concerning the portion of IPERS that deals with the members of special classifications within IPERS, the Statewide Fire and Police Retirement System, and the Public Safety Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident, and Disability System. The study shall be coordinated by the Chief Benefits Officer of IPERS, the Executive Director of the Statewide Fire and Police Retirement System, and the Director of the Financial Division of the Department of Public Safety for the Public Safety Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident, and Disability System who shall, upon approval of the Public Retirement Systems Committee, employ a consultant to assist in conducting the comprehensive examination. The Act provides that a report concerning this study shall be issued to the Public Systems Retirement Committee by November 2, 1998.

THE GOVERNOR ITEM VETOED THE FOLLOWING PROVISION CONCERNING IPERS:

A provision creating a new Code section to provide, effective July 1, 1999, for disability retirement benefits under IPERS for members of a protection occupation and for sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and airport fire fighters.

HOUSE FILE 2502 - Underground Facilities -- Statewide Notification Center -- Notice of Excavation (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act provides that the Board of Directors of the Statewide Underground Facility Notification Center, in lieu of establishing a competitive bidding procedure to select a vendor to provide the notification service, may elect to retain necessary and sufficient staff to provide the notification service. If the board retains staff to provide the notification service, the board may review the notification service and decide at a later time to use the competitive bidding procedure to select a vendor.

The Act establishes separate information to be provided with respect to the location of a proposed excavation, depending on whether the location is rural or within a municipality.

HOUSE FILE 2516 - Marital and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling -- Licensure -- Board of Behavioral Science Examiners (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act provides for the mandatory licensure of individuals engaged in the professional practice of marital and family therapy or mental health counseling and adds marital and family therapy and mental health counseling to the list of professions for which a license is required in Code Section 147.2. Requirements previously established in Code Chapter 154D regarding qualifications to utilize the professional designation of marital and family therapist or mental health counselor did not mandate licensing in order to practice.

The Act also provides that members of other professions authorized to provide marital and family therapy or mental health counseling services within the scope of their own profession pursuant to Code Section 154D.4 shall not practice marital and family therapy or mental health counseling beyond that scope without obtaining licensure as a marital and family therapist or mental health counselor.

Licensure requirements of the Act are made inapplicable to students and individuals practicing marital and family therapy under the supervision of a person licensed pursuant to Code Chapter 154D as part of a clinical experience requirement, and to the provision of children, family or mental health services through the Department of Human Services or juvenile court, or agencies the department or juvenile court have contracted with, by persons who do not represent themselves to be either a marital and family therapist or a mental health counselor.

The Act exempts individuals seeking licensure prior to July 1, 2000, from the examination requirements contained in Code Section 154D.2, subsection 1, paragraph "c," provided that the education and clinical experience requirements contained in Code Section 154D.2 are met, or in lieu of the clinical experience requirements, that 4,000 hours of practice have been performed.

The Act provides that applicants possessing a lapsed license who seek license reinstatement prior to July 1, 1998, shall not incur a financial penalty or continuing education requirements for the period of the lapse in licensure. Applicants for reinstatement shall complete a reinstatement application and pay renewal and application fees.

The Iowa Department of Public Health shall be authorized, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, and ending June 30, 1999, to retain any fees generated by the adoption of the Act in excess of anticipated revenue.

Additionally, the Act strikes Code Section 154D.3, subsection 5, which relates to the number of Board of Behavioral Science Examiners' meetings required to be held annually.

The Act takes effect April 2, 1998.

HOUSE FILE 2560 - Aircraft Registration Fees and Sales Tax Exemptions (full text of act)

BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS. This Act provides for changes to aircraft registration fees in Code Section 328.21. The Act establishes the general fee based upon a formula which starts with 1 percent of the manufacturer's list price for the first year of registration and is reduced in the second and subsequent years. However, a registration fee shall not be less than $35 or greater than $5,000.

When an aircraft other than a new aircraft is registered in Iowa, the registration fee is based upon the number of years for which the aircraft was previously registered.

The Act also amends Code Section 328.26, relating to applications for registration, and repeals Code Section 328.22, relating to used aircraft, to conform to the changes made in Code Section 328.21.

Under law, the purchase of tangible personal property for resale is exempt from the sales and use taxes. Thus, a sale of an aircraft to an aircraft dealer for resale by the dealer is exempt. However, this exemption is lost if the dealer rents or leases the aircraft or uses the aircraft for any purpose but resale. The Act provides that an aircraft dealer may rent or lease the aircraft without losing the exemption if the aircraft is kept in the inventory of the dealer for sale at all times and the aircraft will be immediately taken from the renter or lessee when a buyer is found and the renter or lessee is aware of this situation. The Act further provides that if the dealer uses the property for other than renting or leasing or does not meet the other conditions, the dealer is liable for the tax that would have been paid when the dealer purchased the aircraft.

The Act also exempts from the sales and use taxes the sales or rentals of tangible personal property that is permanently affixed or attached to aircraft used in air carrier operations and services on such aircraft and such tangible personal property.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2003 - State Public Defender -- Fort Dodge Office (full text of act)

BY KREMER. This Joint Resolution conveys the approval of the General Assembly of proposed action by the State Public Defender to convert the Fort Dodge satellite public defender office to a separate public defender office. Under Code Section 13B.8, the State Public Defender is required to provide a written report detailing the reasons for establishing or abolishing a local public defender office. The State Public Defender submitted the required report, which contained a request for approval of the conversion of an existing satellite office in Fort Dodge to a separate office. The request cited the distance between that office and current separate offices as creating difficulties in administration, and the low cost per case ratio, as reasons in support of the request. The request also noted that there are sufficient funds in the budget to cover the cost of converting the existing office to a separate office.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2004 - Highest Elevation in State (full text of act)

BY VANDE HOEF, BRAUNS, MASCHER, BARRY, KLEMME, MUNDIE, HUSEMAN, WHITEAD, WELTER, VEENSTRA, O'BRIEN, HOLMES, MERTZ, OSTERHAUS, AND RANTS. This Joint Resolution provides for the designation of a site located in Osceola County, approximately five miles north of the town of Sibley as the official highest elevation in the state of Iowa. The Joint Resolution provides that the official highest elevation shall be designated and referred to as Hawkeye Point and that official state publications referencing the highest elevation in the state, or describing other state symbols or features, shall be encouraged to refer to the official highest elevation in the state as Hawkeye Point.

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 187 -- Fishing and Hunting -- Licenses and Fees (Complete summary under NATURAL RESOURCES & OUTDOOR RECREATION.)

This Act provides for the issuance of licenses and collection of fees for hunting, fishing, fur harvesting, and related wildlife and game activities by the use of electronic means.

SENATE FILE 2090 -- Compensation for Indigent Defense (Complete summary under CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS.)

This Act provides that, effective March 31, 1998, claims for costs and expenses in postconviction actions relating to forfeiture of reductions in sentence based on good conduct time earned by an inmate against the sentence are to be forwarded to the State Public Defender for payment from the Indigent Defense Fund, and provides that claims paid by counties before the effective date of the Act for which the county has not received full reimbursement from the Executive Council may be submitted to the State Appeal Board for reimbursement of the difference.

SENATE FILE 2174 -- Agricultural Code Provisions Update (Complete summary under AGRICULTURE.)

This Act amends a number of provisions relating to agriculture and the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship in order to reflect current practice. The Act also transfers various Code provisions to other locations in the Code in order to enhance the Code's readability.

SENATE FILE 2186 -- Validity and Enforceability of Veterans Advance Directive Documents (Complete summary under CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION.)

This Act provides that an advance directive declaration or similar document executed by a veteran of the armed forces, which complies with the federal Department of Veterans Affairs requirements for advance directives, is deemed valid and enforceable in Iowa under the Life-Sustaining Procedures Act and the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Code chapter.

SENATE FILE 2285 -- Anatomical Gifts -- Hospital Reimbursement Grants -- Annual Donation and Compliance Report (Complete summary under HUMAN SERVICES.)

This Act contains provisions included in the November 17, 1997, recommendation of the Anatomical Gift Referral Study Committee. The Act provides that the Iowa Department of Public Health, in conjunction with the Iowa Statewide Organ Procurement Organization, shall prepare and submit a report to the General Assembly on or before January 1 each year regarding organ donation rates and voluntary compliance efforts by physicians, hospitals and other health systems organizations. The Act also provides for a change in the threshold protocol compliance rate for hospitals to qualify for Anatomical Gift Public Awareness and Transplantation Fund reimbursement grants.

SENATE FILE 2351 -- Time for Review of Public Utility Reorganization (Complete summary under BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE.)

This Act provides that the Utilities Board, for good cause shown, may extend the deadline for acting on an application for the reorganization of a public utility for an additional period not to exceed 90 days.

SENATE FILE 2406 -- Iowa Empowerment Board, Community Empowerment Areas, and Community Empowerment Area Boards (Complete summary under LOCAL GOVERNMENT.)

This Act creates the Iowa Empowerment Board and authorizes local communities to create community empowerment areas and community empowerment area boards. The stated purpose of the Act is to create a partnership between communities and state government by gradually implementing a statewide system of community empowerment areas. An important initial emphasis is to improve the well-being of families with young children. An additional emphasis is to reduce duplicative requirements that are barriers to community efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of local education, health and human services programs. The Act provides for many state government activities to support community empowerment area efforts.

SENATE FILE 2410 -- Human Services Appropriations and Related Provisions (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

This Act makes appropriations to the Department of Human Services and includes numerous provisions involving health and health-related services, including the Medical Assistance (Medicaid) Program, mental health and developmental disabilities services, prevention of disabilities, and substance abuse services.

SENATE FILE 2418 -- Appropriations -- State Government Technology and Operations (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

This Act provides for monthly reports from the executive branch agencies and departments, the Board of Regents, the Judicial Department, the Legislative Computer Support Bureau, and each office of a statewide elected official other than the Governor, regarding the implementation of century date change programming. This provision takes effect May 21, 1998.

The Act also establishes the IowAccess System for the purpose of allowing electronic access to public records.

S.J.R. 9 -- Proposed Constitutional Amendment -- Qualifications of Electors (Complete summary under ELECTIONS, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE.)

This Joint Resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa providing that conviction of any felony, rather than of any infamous crime, disqualifies the convicted offender from voting or holding certain elective offices. The Joint Resolution also removes the words "idiot" and "insane" from the constitutional provision and substitutes "mentally competent." The Joint Resolution will be referred to the next General Assembly before being submitted to the electorate for ratification.

HOUSE FILE 2135 -- Mid-America Port Commission Agreement (Complete summary under ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.)

This Act provides that the Mid-America Port Commission Agreement is entered into and enacted into law with the State of Illinois and the State of Missouri if those states join the agreement in substantially the same form. The agreement provides that the Mid-America Port Commission shall be governed by a nine-member port commission and provides a list of certain powers and duties the port commission shall have related to the operation of the port commission. The Act provides that the Iowa counties of Lee, Henry and Des Moines shall be included in the jurisdiction of the agreement.

HOUSE FILE 2153 -- State Tax Status of Certain Public Retirement System Contributions (Complete summary under TAXATION.)

This Act provides that employee contributions to certain public retirement systems in this state shall not be considered part of the employee's income for state income taxation purposes.

HOUSE FILE 2271 -- Obsolete and Unnecessary Code Provisions Corrections (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

This Act includes sections of the Iowa Code and Session Laws which state agencies, funded through the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on Administration and Regulation, found to contain requirements for unneeded reports, unfunded requirements or obsolete provisions.

HOUSE FILE 2275 -- Health Care Facility Inspection Records and Health Care Provider Record Checks (Complete summary under HEALTH & SAFETY.)

This Act directs the Department of Inspections and Appeals to establish a report card system for the recording of the results of inspections of health care facilities. The Act makes the requirements of child, dependent adult and criminal record checks that are currently applicable to prospective employees of health care facilities applicable to the prospective employees of various home care providers, hospices, and recipients of federal home and community-based services waivers if the providers are regulated by the state or receive state or federal funding. The Act is further amended by H.F. 2395 (see Appropriations) to apply to prospective employees of assisted living facilities and elder group homes.

HOUSE FILE 2281 -- Mandatory Recording of Certain Real Estate Contracts (Complete summary under CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS.)

This Act requires that installment contracts for the sale of residential real estate be recorded with the county recorder by the seller within 180 days of the signing of the contract in order to avoid a monetary penalty.

HOUSE FILE 2340 -- Volunteer Health Care Provider Program -- Inclusion of Dental and Certain Medical Services (Complete summary under HEALTH & SAFETY.)

This Act includes dentists in the definition of "health care provider" for purposes of eligibility under the Volunteer Health Care Provider Program. The Act also provides that medical services to be provided under the program include obstetrical and gynecological medical services.

HOUSE FILE 2348 -- Department of Human Services Institutions and Services -- Miscellaneous Provisions (Complete summary under HUMAN SERVICES.)

This Act relates to institutions and facilities administered by the Department of Human Services.

HOUSE FILE 2395 -- Supplemental and Other Appropriations and Miscellaneous Provisions (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

This Act relates to various public expenditure and regulatory matters by making supplemental appropriations for FY 1997-1998, appropriations for subsequent fiscal years, and various statutory changes. The Act makes additional appropriations and amends previous appropriations for capital projects.

HOUSE FILE 2424 -- County Issuance of Motor Vehicle Licenses (Complete summary under TRANSPORTATION.)

This Act expands the system of county issuance of motor vehicle licenses to include up to 42 additional counties. As clusters of counties are authorized to issue licenses, state Department of Transportation (DOT) license issuance teams will be correspondingly reduced. Each county authorized to issue licenses must execute an agreement with other counties in its cluster, as well as one with DOT. Provisions are made for opt-out periods, and replacement of counties choosing to opt out of issuance, or for reversion to DOT services in the alternative. Issuance of commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) is separately addressed, and counties must comply with all federal and state CDL standards to retain the right to issue CDLs. The department shall retain supervisory authority. Counties shall retain $3.75 of the license fee for each license issued. The department shall purchase all equipment used primarily for issuance activities, including any purchase or lease of digitized photolicensing equipment.

HOUSE FILE 2429 -- Physical Exercise Clubs -- Definition (Complete summary under BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE.)

This Act excludes from the definition of "physical exercise club" a facility owned and operated on a not-for-profit basis by a person or contractor of a person if operated solely for the purpose of serving employees and family members of the employees. The result of this exclusion is to make the various requirements that relate to physical exercise clubs, such as requirements relating to contracts with members, membership contract cancellation requirements, and registration of the club with the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, inapplicable to these facilities.

HOUSE FILE 2456 -- Designation of Judicial Department as Judicial Branch (Complete summary under CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION.)

This Act changes the designation of the judiciary in the Code from the Judicial Department to the judicial branch.

HOUSE FILE 2465 -- Workers' Compensation -- Division and Commissioner Name Change -- Compensation During Healing Period (Complete summary under LABOR & EMPLOYMENT.)

This Act changes the name of the Division of Industrial Services of the Department of Workforce Development to the Division of Workers' Compensation, and changes the title "Industrial Commissioner" to "Workers' Compensation Commissioner."

HOUSE FILE 2478 -- Mediation Confidentiality (Complete summary under CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION.)

This Act creates new Code Chapter 679C relating to confidentiality in mediation.

HOUSE FILE 2498 -- Appropriations -- Administration and Regulation (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

This Act funds the Auditor of State; Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board; Department of Commerce; Department of General Services; Office of Governor, including the Lieutenant Governor and Terrace Hill; Department of Inspections and Appeals; Department of Management; Department of Personnel; Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System; Department of Revenue and Finance; Secretary of State; Office of State-Federal Relations; and Treasurer of State. The Act also appropriates funding for the state's membership on the Commission on Uniform State Laws, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators, and the National Governors Association. The Act also provides for an annual reimbursement to the City of Des Moines for police and fire protection for state-owned facilities. However, the reimbursement provision was item vetoed by the Governor.

HOUSE FILE 2532 -- Prizes Awarded in Raffles and Games (Complete summary under GAMING.)

This Act increases the maximum value of a prize that may be awarded in a raffle or game of skill or chance, excluding bingo, from $200 to $1,000.

HOUSE FILE 2553 -- Compensation for Public Employees (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

This Act relates to and appropriates moneys for the fiscal year beginning July 1, l998, to fund salary adjustments for state appointed nonelected officers, justices, judges, magistrates, employees subject to collective bargaining agreements, and noncontract employees.

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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Last update: THU July 30 1998
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