House File 2492
HOUSE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN
RESOURCES
(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 626)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for specified changes regarding programs under
2 the purview of the department of public health, providing a
3 penalty, and making an appropriation.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 5217HV 80
6 rn/cf/24
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 135.39A GIFTS AND GRANTS FUND ==
1 2 APPROPRIATION.
1 3 The department is authorized to accept gifts, grants, or
1 4 allotments of funds from any source to be used for programs
1 5 authorized by this chapter or any other chapter which the
1 6 department is responsible for administering. A public health
1 7 gifts and grants fund is created as a separate fund in the
1 8 state treasury under the control of the department. The fund
1 9 shall consist of gift or grant moneys obtained from any
1 10 source, including the federal government. The moneys
1 11 collected under this section and deposited in the fund are
1 12 appropriated to the department for the public health purposes
1 13 specified in the gift or grant. Moneys in the fund shall not
1 14 be subject to appropriation or expenditure for any other
1 15 purpose. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the public
1 16 health gifts and grants fund at the end of each fiscal year
1 17 shall not revert to any other fund but shall remain in the
1 18 public health gifts and grants fund for expenditure for
1 19 subsequent fiscal years.
1 20 Sec. 2. Section 135.103, Code 2003, is amended to read as
1 21 follows:
1 22 135.103 GRANT PROGRAM.
1 23 The department shall implement a childhood lead poisoning
1 24 prevention grant program which provides matching federal,
1 25 state, or other funds to local boards of health or cities for
1 26 the program after standards and requirements for the local
1 27 program are developed. The state shall provide funds to
1 28 approved programs on the basis of three dollars for each one
1 29 dollar designated by the local board of health or city for the
1 30 program for the first two years of a program, and funds on the
1 31 basis of one dollar for each one dollar designated by the
1 32 local board of health or city for the program for the third
1 33 and subsequent years of the program if such funding is
1 34 determined necessary by the department for such subsequent
1 35 years. The department may also use federal, state, or other
2 1 funds provided for the childhood lead poisoning prevention
2 2 grant program to purchase environmental and blood testing
2 3 services from a public health laboratory.
2 4 Sec. 3. Section 135.104, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code
2 5 2003, is amended to read as follows:
2 6 The program by a local board of health or city receiving
2 7 matching funding for an approved childhood lead poisoning
2 8 prevention grant program shall include:
2 9 Sec. 4. Section 136B.1, subsection 2, Code 2003, is
2 10 amended to read as follows:
2 11 2. The department shall establish programs and adopt rules
2 12 for the certification of persons who test for the presence of
2 13 radon gas and radon progeny in buildings and for buildings,
2 14 the credentialing of persons abating the level of radon in
2 15 buildings, and construction standards for radon abatement
2 16 systems.
2 17 Sec. 5. Section 136B.3, Code 2003, is amended to read as
2 18 follows:
2 19 136B.3 TESTING AND REPORTING OF RADON LEVEL.
2 20 The department or its duly authorized agents shall from
2 21 time to time perform inspections and testing of the premises
2 22 of a property to determine the level at which it is
2 23 contaminated with radon gas or radon progeny as a spot=check
2 24 of the validity of measurements or the adequacy of abatement
2 25 measures performed by persons certified or credentialed under
2 26 section 136B.1. Following testing the department shall
2 27 provide the owner of the property with a written report of its
2 28 results including the concentration of radon gas or radon
2 29 progeny contamination present, an interpretation of the
2 30 results, and recommendation of appropriate action. A person
2 31 certified or credentialed under section 136B.1 shall also be
2 32 advised of the department's results, discrepancies revealed by
2 33 the spot=check, actions required of the person, and actions
2 34 the department intends to take with respect to the person's
2 35 continued certification or credentialing.
3 1 Sec. 6. Section 139A.2, subsection 20, Code Supplement
3 2 2003, is amended to read as follows:
3 3 20. "Quarantine" means the limitation of freedom of
3 4 movement of persons or animals that have been exposed to a
3 5 communicable quarantinable disease within specified limits
3 6 marked by placards for a period of time equal to the longest
3 7 usual incubation period of the disease in such manner as to
3 8 prevent the spread of a communicable quarantinable disease
3 9 which affects people.
3 10 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 139A.13A ISOLATION OR QUARANTINE ==
3 11 EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION.
3 12 1. An employer shall not discharge an employee, or take or
3 13 fail to take action regarding an employee's promotion or
3 14 proposed promotion, or take action to reduce an employee's
3 15 wages or benefits for actual time worked, due to the
3 16 compliance of an employee with a quarantine or isolation order
3 17 issued by the department or a local board.
3 18 2. An employer who violates this section commits a simple
3 19 misdemeanor.
3 20 3. An employee whose employer violates this section shall
3 21 also be entitled to recover damages from the employer
3 22 including, but not limited to, actual damages, court costs,
3 23 and reasonable attorney fees. The employee may also petition
3 24 the court for imposition of a cease and desist order against
3 25 the person's employer and for reinstatement to the person's
3 26 previous position of employment.
3 27 Sec. 8. Section 148.3, subsection 3, Code 2003, is amended
3 28 to read as follows:
3 29 3. Present to the medical examiners satisfactory evidence
3 30 that the applicant has successfully completed one year of
3 31 postgraduate internship or resident training in a hospital
3 32 approved for such training by the medical examiners.
3 33 Beginning July 1, 2006, an applicant who holds a valid
3 34 certificate issued by the educational commission for foreign
3 35 medical graduates shall submit satisfactory evidence of
4 1 successful completion of two years of such training.
4 2 Sec. 9. Section 152.1, subsection 6, paragraph b, Code
4 3 Supplement 2003, is amended to read as follows:
4 4 b. Execute regimen prescribed by a physician, an advanced
4 5 registered nurse practitioner, or a physician assistant.
4 6 Sec. 10. Section 154A.18, Code 2003, is amended to read as
4 7 follows:
4 8 154A.18 DISPLAY OF LICENSE.
4 9 A person shall not engage in business as a hearing aid
4 10 dispenser, or display a sign, or in any other way advertise or
4 11 claim to be a hearing aid dispenser after January 1, 1975,
4 12 unless the person holds a valid license issued by the
4 13 department as provided in this chapter. The license shall be
4 14 conspicuously posted in the person's office or place of
4 15 business primary location of practice. The department shall
4 16 issue duplicate licenses to valid license holders operating
4 17 more than one office. A license confers upon the holder the
4 18 right to operate a business practice as a hearing aid
4 19 dispenser.
4 20 Sec. 11. Section 155.9, subsection 3, unnumbered paragraph
4 21 2, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows:
4 22 The board may also accept the voluntary surrender of such
4 23 license without necessity of a hearing. In the event of the
4 24 inability of the regular administrator of a nursing home to
4 25 perform the administrator's duties or through death or other
4 26 cause the nursing home is without a licensed administrator, a
4 27 provisional administrator may be appointed on a temporary
4 28 basis by the nursing home owner or owners, to perform such
4 29 duties for a period not to exceed six months one year.
4 30 Sec. 12. NEW SECTION. 156.16 UNLICENSED PRACTICE ==
4 31 INJUNCTIONS, CIVIL PENALTIES, CONSENT AGREEMENTS.
4 32 1. If the board has reasonable grounds to believe that a
4 33 person or establishment which is not licensed under this
4 34 chapter has engaged, or is about to engage, in an act or
4 35 practice which requires licensure under this chapter, or
5 1 otherwise violates a provision of this chapter, the board may
5 2 issue an order to require the unlicensed person or
5 3 establishment to comply with the provisions of this chapter,
5 4 and may impose a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand
5 5 dollars for each violation of this chapter by an unlicensed
5 6 person or establishment. Each day of a continued violation
5 7 constitutes a separate offense.
5 8 2. The board may conduct an investigation as needed to
5 9 determine whether probable cause exists to initiate the
5 10 proceedings described in this section. To aid in such an
5 11 investigation or in connection with any other proceeding under
5 12 this section, the board may issue subpoenas to compel
5 13 witnesses to testify or persons to produce evidence consistent
5 14 with the provisions of section 272C.6, subsection 3.
5 15 3. The board, in determining the amount of a civil penalty
5 16 to be imposed, may consider any of the following:
5 17 a. Whether the amount imposed will be a substantial
5 18 economic deterrent to the violation.
5 19 b. The circumstances leading to the violation.
5 20 c. The severity of the violation and the risk of harm to
5 21 the public.
5 22 d. The economic benefits gained by the violator as a
5 23 result of noncompliance.
5 24 e. The interest of the public.
5 25 4. The board, before issuing an order under this section,
5 26 shall provide the person or establishment written notice and
5 27 the opportunity to request a hearing. The hearing must be
5 28 requested within thirty days after receipt of the notice and
5 29 shall be conducted in the same manner as provided for
5 30 disciplinary proceedings involving a licensee under this
5 31 chapter.
5 32 5. The board may request the attorney general to bring an
5 33 action to enforce the subpoena.
5 34 6. A person or establishment aggrieved by the issuance of
5 35 an order or the imposition of a civil penalty under this
6 1 section may seek judicial review pursuant to section 17A.19.
6 2 7. If a person or establishment fails to pay a civil
6 3 penalty within thirty days after entry of an order imposing
6 4 the civil penalty, or, if the order is stayed pending an
6 5 appeal, within ten days after the court enters a final
6 6 judgment in favor of the board, the board shall notify the
6 7 attorney general. The attorney general may commence an action
6 8 to recover the amount of the penalty, including reasonable
6 9 attorney fees and costs.
6 10 8. An action to enforce an order under this section may be
6 11 joined with an action for an injunction pursuant to section
6 12 147.83.
6 13 9. The board, in its discretion and in lieu of issuing or
6 14 enforcing an order or imposing a civil penalty for an initial
6 15 violation under this section, may enter into a consent
6 16 agreement with a violator, or with a person who aided or
6 17 abetted a violator, which acknowledges the violation and the
6 18 violator's agreement to refrain from any further violation.
6 19 EXPLANATION
6 20 This bill provides for a number of technical and
6 21 substantive changes regarding programs under the purview of
6 22 the department of public health.
6 23 The bill provides for the establishment of a gifts and
6 24 grants fund, and provides that the department is authorized to
6 25 accept gifts, grants, or allotments of funds from any source
6 26 to be used for programs the department is authorized to
6 27 administer. The bill provides that the fund shall consist of
6 28 gift or grant moneys obtained from any source, including the
6 29 federal government, and that the moneys are appropriated to
6 30 the department for the public health purposes specified in the
6 31 gift or grant. The bill provides that moneys in the fund
6 32 shall not be subject to appropriation or expenditure for any
6 33 other purpose, and shall not revert to the general fund.
6 34 The bill provides for changes in funding provisions
6 35 concerning the childhood lead poisoning prevention grant
7 1 program. The bill provides for the deletion of language
7 2 currently providing for funding of $3 by the state for every
7 3 $1 provided locally for the first two years of a program,
7 4 changing to a dollar=for=dollar basis thereafter if determined
7 5 necessary. Instead, the bill provides that the department may
7 6 also use federal, state, or other funds provided for the
7 7 childhood lead poisoning prevention program to purchase
7 8 environmental and blood testing services from a public health
7 9 laboratory; and deletes the word "matching" with regard to
7 10 funding provided through the program.
7 11 The bill provides, with reference to the radon testing and
7 12 abatement program contained in Code chapter 136B, that the
7 13 department shall establish programs and adopt rules relating
7 14 to construction standards for radon abatement systems. The
7 15 bill also provides that inspections and testing of premises as
7 16 a spot=check of radon contamination, currently conducted by
7 17 the Iowa department of public health, may be performed either
7 18 by the department or its duly authorized agents.
7 19 The bill provides employment protection provisions relating
7 20 to individuals complying with a quarantine or isolation order
7 21 issued by the department. The bill provides that an employer
7 22 shall not discharge an employee, or take or fail to take
7 23 action regarding an employee's promotion or proposed
7 24 promotion, or take action to reduce an employee's wages or
7 25 benefits for actual time worked, due to such compliance, and
7 26 that an employer who violates these provisions commits a
7 27 simple misdemeanor. The bill also provides that employees
7 28 shall be entitled to recover damages from an employer
7 29 including, and may petition the court for, imposition of a
7 30 cease and desist order against an employer and for
7 31 reinstatement to their previous position of employment.
7 32 The bill provides for changes relating to the definition of
7 33 "quarantine", clarification that the practice of nursing
7 34 includes execution of a regimen prescribed by an advanced
7 35 registered nurse practitioner or physician assistant, and
8 1 expansion of the amount of postgraduate training for
8 2 international medical graduates from one year to two years
8 3 beginning July 1, 2006. The bill additionally provides for
8 4 terminology changes regarding engaging in business as a
8 5 hearing aid dispenser, providing that a license shall be
8 6 displayed in the person's primary location of practice as
8 7 opposed to the current requirement of posting in their office
8 8 or place of business, and characterizing the business as the
8 9 "practice" of hearing aid dispensing. The bill provides for
8 10 an extension of time from six months to one year regarding the
8 11 duration during which it is permissible for a provisional
8 12 nursing home administrator to perform such duties prior to
8 13 obtaining licensure.
8 14 The bill authorizes the board of mortuary science examiners
8 15 to impose civil penalties upon a finding of unlicensed
8 16 practice. The bill provides that the board may impose a civil
8 17 penalty upon an unlicensed person or establishment not to
8 18 exceed $1,000 for each violation of Code chapter 156, and that
8 19 each day of a continued violation constitutes a separate
8 20 offense. The bill provides for board authority to conduct
8 21 investigations consistent with the provisions of Code section
8 22 272C.6, imposes notice and hearing requirements, specifies
8 23 factors to consider regarding determination by the board of
8 24 the amount of a civil penalty to be imposed, and includes
8 25 other provisions related to board authority to act in
8 26 unlicensed practice situations.
8 27 LSB 5217HV 80
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