House Study Bill 637

                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
                                            AGRICULTURE BILL BY
                                            CHAIRPERSON DRAKE)


    Passed House, Date                Passed Senate,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act allocating moneys used to support groundwater protection
  2    programs.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 6091YC 80
  5 da/sh/8

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  Section 455E.11, subsection 2, paragraph b,
  1  2 subparagraph (3), subparagraph subdivision (a), Code
  1  3 Supplement 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  1  4    (a)  Thirty=five Thirty=four and one=half percent is
  1  5 appropriated annually for the Leopold center for sustainable
  1  6 agriculture at Iowa state university of science and
  1  7 technology.
  1  8    Sec. 2.  Section 455E.11, subsection 2, paragraph b,
  1  9 subparagraph (3), subparagraph subdivision (b), unnumbered
  1 10 paragraph 1, Code Supplement 2003, is amended to read as
  1 11 follows:
  1 12    Two and one=half percent is appropriated annually to the
  1 13 department and, except for administrative expenses, is
  1 14 transferred to the Iowa department of public health for the
  1 15 purpose of administering grants to counties and conducting
  1 16 oversight of county=based programs for the testing of private
  1 17 rural water supply wells, private rural water supply well
  1 18 sealing, and the proper closure of private rural abandoned
  1 19 wells and cisterns.  Not more than thirty=five percent of the
  1 20 moneys is appropriated annually for grants to counties for the
  1 21 purpose of conducting programs of private rural water supply
  1 22 testing, private rural water supply well sealing, the proper
  1 23 closure of private rural abandoned wells and cisterns, or any
  1 24 combination thereof.  An amount agreed to by the department of
  1 25 natural resources and the Iowa department of public health
  1 26 shall be retained by the department of natural resources for
  1 27 administrative expenses.
  1 28                           EXPLANATION
  1 29    This bill amends Code chapter 455E, which provides
  1 30 policies, programs, and expenditures for groundwater
  1 31 protection, including by creating the groundwater protection
  1 32 fund in Code section 455E.11.  The fund includes various
  1 33 accounts.  One account is the agricultural management account,
  1 34 which is supported in part by fees collected under Code
  1 35 chapter 200 regulating fertilizers and soil conditioners and
  2  1 Code chapter 206 regulating pesticides.  After initial moneys
  2  2 are appropriated, the remaining amount is allocated according
  2  3 to a formula.  The first 35 percent is appropriated to the
  2  4 Leopold center for sustainable agriculture at Iowa state
  2  5 university of science and technology.  The next 2 percent is
  2  6 appropriated to the department of natural resources, which,
  2  7 after taking an amount for administrative expenses, transfers
  2  8 the moneys to the Iowa department of public health for the
  2  9 purpose of administering grants to counties.  The grants are
  2 10 to be used for the testing of private rural water supply
  2 11 wells, private rural water supply well sealing, and the proper
  2 12 closure of private rural abandoned wells and cisterns.
  2 13    The bill reduces the appropriation made to the Leopold
  2 14 center by one=half percent and increases the appropriation
  2 15 made to support the grants to counties by the same amount.
  2 16 LSB 6091YC 80
  2 17 da/sh/8