2001 Summary of Legislation HEALTH & SAFETY Published by the Iowa General Assembly -- Legislative Service Bureau

HEALTH & SAFETY LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 242 - Authentication Procedures for Medication and Standing Orders - Hospitals (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act directs the Iowa Department of Public Health to adopt rules that require hospitals to establish procedures for authentication of medication and standing orders by a practitioner within a period not to exceed 30 days following a patient's discharge. The Act is repealed June 30, 2007.

SENATE FILE 433 - Public Health Regulation (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act makes several technical and corrective changes relating to the administration of programs under the purview of the Iowa Department of Public Health and related health professional licensing and regulatory boards.

   The Act provides for the following:

• Designates gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) a controlled substance.
• Permits the Director of Public Health to provide a per diem to public members serving on ad hoc advisory boards.
• Establishes a civil penalty provision for violation of the lead hazard notification process under Code Section 135.105C.
• Provides that the regulation of spas does not apply to facilities utilized exclusively for supervised medical purposes.
• Adds "registered nurse" and "licensed practical nurse professional" to the list of titles protected pursuant to Code Section 147.74.
• Allows the Iowa Department of Public Health to provide certain health professional licensure information electronically.
• Eliminates specific provisions regarding the continuing education requirements for optometry.
• Changes the preexpiration notice deadline from 75 days to 60 days for individuals licensed to practice optometry.
• Substitutes the term hearing aid "dispenser" for the term "dealer" throughout Code Chapter 154A.
• Changes provisions relating to the regulation of potable water purification systems.
• Eliminates outdated provisions regarding the licensure of barber assistants.

SENATE FILE 479 - On-Site Wastewater Systems Assistance Program (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. This Act amends provisions enacted in 2000 creating water quality protection programs under Section 466.7 of the Code. The Act strikes and rewrites a provision of that section establishing a program to assist homeowners residing outside the boundaries of a city with improving on-site wastewater systems. This Act provides financing options to assist homeowners and authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to execute agreements with public or private entities required to administer the program.

   The Act also establishes an On-Site Wastewater Systems Assistance Fund to support the program. The fund consists of a financing account used to assist homeowners and an administration account used to defray departmental expenses in carrying out the program. The Act provides that moneys in the fund include General Assembly appropriations, federal moneys available under the federal Clean Water Act, and moneys collected under loan agreements from homeowners. Of moneys deposited into the fund each year, the department must credit at least 96 percent of the moneys to the financing account and any remaining moneys to the administration account. Moneys in the fund do not revert and interest earned on the moneys remains in the fund.

   The Act takes effect April 17, 2001.

HOUSE FILE 179 - Animal Bites and Rabies - Law Enforcement Agency Dogs and Horses (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act provides an exception to the provision requiring confinement of an animal that has bitten a person or is suspected of having rabies. The exemption provides that the local board of health does not have the authority to order the owner of a police service dog or horse to confine the animal if, while acting in the performance of its duties, the animal bites a person.

HOUSE FILE 192 - Access to Criminal History and Abuse Information - Department of Inspections and Appeals (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act authorizes certain criminal history and abuse record and registry access to the Department of Inspections and Appeals for purposes of data verification and record checks of applicants for employment with the department.

   The Act amends Code Section 135C.33, relating to the single contact repository administered by the department for employment record checks of prospective employees of health care facilities, to authorize the department itself to access the repository to verify data transferred to the repository from the department's nurse aide registry and to conduct record checks of applicants for employment with the department.

   The Act amends Code Section 235A.15, relating to the central child abuse registry, to authorize the department to have access to founded child abuse information for purposes of record checks of applicants for employment with the department. The Act authorizes the department, for the same purposes, to have access to dependent adult abuse information other than unfounded information. House File 732 (see Appropriations) authorizes the department to provide access to the registry to agencies required to perform abuse registry and criminal history checks for purposes of employment.

HOUSE FILE 256 - Health Care Facility Regulation (full text of act)

   BY GRUNDBERG. This Act relates to regulation of health care facilities.

   The Act provides that if the State Fire Marshal finds a deficiency during an inspection of a facility prior to issuance of a license, the State Fire Marshal is to provide notice which describes the nature of the deficiency, identifies the law, rule or standard violated, provides options for correction of the deficiency, and specifies the time allowed for correction of the deficiency at the end of which time the State Fire Marshal is to perform a follow-up inspection. The Act provides that rules and standards promulgated by the State Fire Marshal are to be promulgated in consultation with the Department of Inspections and Appeals and, to the greatest extent possible, are to be consistent with the rules adopted by the department under the Health Care Facilities Code chapter.

   The Act provides that in adopting rules which establish minimum standards for health care facilities, the department is to consult with the State Fire Marshal. Rules relating to fire hazards and fire safety are to be promulgated by the State Fire Marshal in consultation with the department and are to be consistent with the rules adopted by the department.

HOUSE FILE 341 - Abortion Informed Consent - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of act)

   BY BODDICKER, MERTZ, HOVERSTEN, DE BOEF, JOHNSON, TYRRELL, BOAL, MANTERNACH, REKOW, BAUDLER, ALONS, RAYHONS, HEATON, DIX, O'BRIEN, BROERS, ROBERTS, DOLECHECK, KLEMME, GIPP, BRAUNS, BARRY, CORMACK, SUKUP, BRUNKHORST, RANTS, SHEY, SIEVERS, QUIRK, EICHHORN, CARROLL, RAECKER, FINCH, TEIG, HOFFMAN, MILLAGE, LARSON, GARMAN, VAN FOSSEN, CHIODO, EDDIE, VAN ENGELENHOVEN, TREMMEL, SENG, DRAKE, HORBACH, and OSTERHAUS. This bill would have established a new Code chapter, relating to a woman providing informed consent prior to an abortion, to be known and cited as the "Woman's Right to Know Act."

   The bill would have specified the required informed consent provisions, including provision of certain information to a woman by the physician or an agent of the physician, required certification by the woman of provision to the woman of the required information, and receipt of the certification by the physician prior to the performance of an abortion. The bill would have required the Iowa Department of Public Health to publish information relating to options for managing a pregnancy by October 1, 2001.

   The bill included alternatives to providing informed consent as required by the chapter in the case of a medical emergency.

   The bill would have provided criminal penalties, including a criminal penalty of a simple misdemeanor for a person who knowingly or recklessly performs or attempts to perform an abortion in violation of the chapter. The bill would have prohibited the assessment of a criminal penalty against a woman upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted to be performed. The bill also would have prohibited the assessment of a criminal penalty against a woman for failure to comply with certification requirements if the department had not made the printed materials available as required. The bill would have provided for protection of privacy of court proceedings relating to an action under the chapter.

   The bill would have taken effect October 1, 2001.

HOUSE FILE 590 - Communicable and Infectious Diseases and HIV - Care Provider Exposure - Testing (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act relates to the testing of individuals for communicable and infectious diseases or for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) when the individual has been assisted by a care provider.

   The Act defines "care provider" under the "Communicable and Infectious Disease and Poisonings" chapter (Code Chapter 139A) and the "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)" chapter (Code Chapter 141A) for the purposes of identifying who is to be notified if an individual to whom the care provider provided health care or other services is confirmed as having a contagious or infectious disease or HIV following testing of the individual. Care providers under the Act are individuals who are trained and authorized to provide health care services or services of any kind in the course of the provider's official duties, for compensation or in a voluntary capacity, who are health care providers, emergency medical care providers, fire fighters, or peace officers. Care providers also include individuals who render emergency care or assistance in an emergency or due to an accident as described in the section of the Code that provides immunity for certain good faith actions in emergency situations.

   The Act provides for the deeming of consent by individuals who are provided health care or other services by a care provider to testing and to the notification of the care provider of the results of the test, if the care provider submits a report of exposure to the entity to which the individual is delivered by the care provider. These entities include hospitals, corrections institutions, and jails. The Act provides a procedure for the testing of an individual and for the notification of the care provider, for confidentiality of the testing and the test results, and provides immunity from civil and criminal liability for individuals acting in good faith compliance.

   The Act directs the employer of the care provider to pay testing and counseling costs, as applicable under the specific Code chapter, resulting from an employee's report of exposure, and directs the Iowa Department of Public Health to pay the testing and counseling costs related to an exposure report of an individual who renders emergency care or assistance voluntarily and without compensation.

   Under Code Chapter 139A, a violation of the provisions of the Act is a simple misdemeanor. Under Code Chapter 141A, a person who intentionally or recklessly makes an unauthorized disclosure is subject to a civil penalty of $1,000.

HOUSE FILE 655 - Adult Day Services (full text of act)

   BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act directs the Department of Elder Affairs to develop a system of oversight for adult day services. The Act directs the department, in cooperation with the Department of Inspections and Appeals, the Department of Human Services, the Iowa Department of Public Health, the area agencies on aging, industry representatives, and consumers, to develop a system to address requirements for the operation of adult day services in the state; oversight measures, including evaluation of services and assessment of compliance with rules for adult day services; a system for formal investigation of consumer complaints relating to these services; and coordination of requirements and funding sources available to adult day services. The Act also directs the Department of Elder Affairs to adopt rules to implement the system.

   The Act makes conforming changes throughout the Code that relate to the term "adult day services."

   The Act provides that the Department of Elder Affairs is to implement the system on July 1, 2002, or at such time as the General Assembly appropriates sufficient funding for such implementation.

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 63 -- Child Endangerment (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act relates to child endangerment violations and the penalties for these violations under the Criminal Code. The Act is popularly referred to as the "boyfriend bill."

SENATE FILE 114 -- Health Care Entities, Organizations, and Institutions - Names and Composition (Complete summary under HUMAN SERVICES.)

   This Act relates to the composition of the Medical Assistance Advisory Council, which advises the Director of Human Services concerning the Medicaid Program.

SENATE FILE 185 -- Factory-Built Structures - Manufactured Home Installer Certification (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act modifies the definition of a factory-built structure to specifically include a mobile home, manufactured home, or a modular home and provides for the certification of manufactured home installers pursuant to rules of the State Building Code Commissioner.

SENATE FILE 186 -- County Hospital Fund Tax Levy (Complete summary under LOCAL GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act authorizes a tax levy of $2.05 per $1,000 of taxable value for improvements and maintenance of a county hospital in a county having a population of more than 225,000, commencing with the levy of taxes payable in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2001. The Act takes effect April 25, 2001.

SENATE FILE 258 -- Tobacco Settlement Authority - Extension of Time (Complete summary under BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE.)

   This Act provides for the extension of the existence of the Tobacco Settlement Authority Act, Code Chapter 12E, until December 31, 2001. The Act takes effect March 1, 2001. However, S.F. 532 (see Business, Banking & Insurance) repeals the Code section this Act amends.

SENATE FILE 265 -- Nonoperative Air Bags - Installation, Distribution, or Sale - Penalty (Complete summary under TRANSPORTATION.)

   This Act prohibits a person from installing or reinstalling for compensation, distributing, or selling a nonoperative air bag that is part of an inflatable restraint system for a motor vehicle if the person knows that the air bag is nonoperative.

SENATE FILE 267 -- Supplemental Appropriations and Reductions (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act relates to state budgetary matters by making reductions to appropriations made for FY 2000-2001 from the General Fund of the State and includes reductions in certain health program appropriations.

SENATE FILE 354 -- Administration of Decedents' Estates - Medical Assistance Claims (Complete summary under CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION.)

   This Act provides time limitations on filing medical assistance claims against a decedent's estate.

SENATE FILE 355 -- Custody of Newborn Infants - Release at Institutional Health Care Facilities - Parental Rights (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act, known as the "Newborn Safe Haven Act," allows a parent of a newborn infant to voluntarily release custody of that infant at an institutional health facility. The Act includes various civil and criminal immunity provisions for persons involved with making or receiving the custody release.

SENATE FILE 452 -- Uniform Prescription Drug Information Cards (Complete summary under BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE.)

   This Act requires the issuance of a uniform prescription drug card or technology by providers of third-party payment or prepayment of prescription drug expenses and directs the Commissioner of Insurance to adopt rules for the information cards or other technology applicable to those entities subject to regulation by the commissioner, and directs the Director of Public Health to adopt rules for the information cards or other technology applicable to organized delivery systems. The Act specifies the content and the format of the card and specifies exemptions to the requirements of the Act. The Act applies to a health insurance or health benefits policy or contract issued and delivered, amended or renewed on or after July 1, 2003.

SENATE FILE 525 -- Federal Block Grant Appropriations (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act appropriates federal block grant and other nonstate moneys to state agencies for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 2001, and ending September 30, 2002. The Act includes funding for maternal and child health, preventive health and health services, substance abuse, and other health-related programs.

SENATE FILE 532 -- Tobacco Settlement Program - Miscellaneous Changes (Complete summary under BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE.)

   This Act provides for securitization of funding received from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The Act takes effect May 29, 2001.

SENATE FILE 537 -- Tobacco Settlement Fund Appropriations (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act relates to and makes appropriations from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Fund and the Healthy Iowans Tobacco Trust for various health services providers and health programs.

HOUSE FILE 154 -- Paid Time Off for Injured Department of Public Safety Peace Officers (Complete summary under LABOR & EMPLOYMENT.)

   This Act provides that peace officer members of the Department of Public Safety who are excluded from the provisions of the Public Employment Relations Act shall receive paid time off in the same manner as peace officer members who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement when they are injured in the line of duty.

HOUSE FILE 178 -- Child Abuse and Protection - Drug Manufacture or Possession in Child's Presence (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act applies child in need of assistance and child abuse provisions of the Juvenile Justice Code to children whose parent, guardian or caregiver has manufactured or possessed a dangerous substance in the presence of a child.

HOUSE FILE 354 -- Determination and Pronouncement of Death (Complete summary under CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION.)

   This Act authorizes a physician assistant, a licensed practical nurse, or a registered nurse to pronounce death for a patient whose death occurs in a licensed hospital, a licensed health care facility, a Medicare-certified home health agency, or a Medicare-certified hospice program.

HOUSE FILE 526 -- Reciprocity Standards for Barbers - Study (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act provides for a study regarding reciprocity standards for barbers in other states.

HOUSE FILE 550 -- Sex Offender Registration - Criminal HIV Transmission (Complete summary under CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTION.)

   This Act includes persons who commit the offense of criminal transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in the Sex Offender Registry. The Act takes effect April 24, 2001.

HOUSE FILE 560 -- Regulation of Child Foster Care (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act relates to child foster care regulations involving medical care and to foster family respite care delivered by child care providers.

HOUSE FILE 598 -- Child Protection Center Grant Program (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act establishes a Child Protection Center Grant Program in the Iowa Department of Public Health if funding is available for the program. State funding was not appropriated for FY 2001-2002.

HOUSE FILE 662 -- Community Empowerment Initiative (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act relates to Iowa's Community Empowerment Initiative and provides for the Legislative Council to convene a summit meeting to address various community empowerment issues.

HOUSE FILE 663 -- County Public Hospital Trustee Eligibility - Health Care Practitioners (Complete summary under LOCAL GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act amends provisions relating to qualifications for service as a trustee for a county public hospital.

HOUSE FILE 680 -- Child and Dependent Adult Abuse Reporting (Complete summary under CHILDREN & YOUTH.)

   This Act relates to child and dependent adult abuse reporting, including mandatory reporters of abuse, abuse reporter training, and training curriculum responsibilities by license examining boards and the Director of Public Health..

HOUSE FILE 694 -- Housing Trust - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (Complete summary under ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.)

   This bill would have required the Iowa Department of Public Health to cooperate with a newly created Housing Trust Commission in developing recommendations relating to housing issues.

HOUSE FILE 726 -- Appropriations - Health and Human Rights (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act provides for appropriations to the Department for the Blind, the Iowa State Civil Rights Commission, the Department of Elder Affairs, the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy, the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Rights, and the Commission of Veterans Affairs. The Act requires the Department of Public Health to adopt rules regarding model regulations to be used in instances in which a child is confirmed as lead poisoned. The Act also provides for a study regarding comprehensive cancer control in the state, to be conducted by the Director of the Department of Public Health in consultation with an ad hoc committee comprised of public health officials, health care providers, consumer groups, educators, representatives from the state cancer registry, representatives from the cancer chapter team of Healthy Iowans 2010, and other members to be chosen by the director.

HOUSE FILE 727 -- Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Developmental Disabilities Services (Complete summary under HUMAN SERVICES.)

   This Act relates to mental health, mental retardation, and developmental disability services and services funding, and to court orders for placement of persons with a serious mental impairment.

HOUSE FILE 732 -- Appropriations - Human Services (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act provides appropriations to the Department of Human Services and includes health care provisions involving use of the early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment funding under the Medical Assistance (MA) Program (Medicaid) for screening through the school system; provides for reimbursement of health care providers under the MA Program; and provides for maintenance of the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

HOUSE FILE 740 -- Senior Living Trust Fund Appropriations and Nursing Facility Reimbursement (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act makes appropriations from the Senior Living Trust Fund to the Department of Elder Affairs and Department of Human Services.

HOUSE FILE 745 -- Regulation of Foot and Mouth Disease (Complete summary under AGRICULTURE.)

   This Act authorizes the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to establish security measures to control outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in this state, including measures for the prevention, suppression and eradication of the disease and the compensation of owners for the loss of condemned animals or other property resulting from departmental regulation. The Act takes effect May 1, 2001.

HOUSE FILE 746 -- Compensation for Public Employees (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act creates and funds a Terminal Liability Health Insurance Fund to pay the expenses at the conclusion of the current state health insurance contract and provides for health insurance incentive programs for state employees.

HOUSE FILE 755 -- Miscellaneous Appropriations, Reductions, and Other Provisions (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   Division V of this Act makes psychiatric services provided by a licensed physician part of the medical services that may be provided under the Volunteer Health Care Provider Program.

HOUSE FILE 759 -- Miscellaneous Funding Restoration, Reductions, and Other Provisions - SECOND EXTRAORDINARY SESSION (Complete summary under APPROPRIATIONS.)

   This Act addresses public funding and regulatory matters, primarily making supplemental appropriations to restore appropriations that were subject to the Governor's across-the-board reductions of 4.3 percent to executive branch allotments and includes supplemental appropriations for purposes of public defense, public safety, and state-administered health or nursing care facilities.

HOUSE FILE 762 -- Homeland Security and Defense - Military Duty and Emergency Management Services - SECOND EXTRAORDINARY SESSION (Complete summary under STATE GOVERNMENT.)

   This Act authorizes the Department of Public Health to conduct and maintain a statewide risk assessment of any present or potential danger to the public health from biological agents, including the examination of public or private property for potentially dangerous biological agents with the use of administrative search warrants, if necessary. Based on the risk assessment and findings, the director of the department may order safeguards to protect the public health pursuant to rules adopted to implement this authority.

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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