House Study Bill 622
SENATE/HOUSE FILE
BY (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
BILL)
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to programs administered by the commission on
2 volunteer service by establishing Iowa summer youth corps and
3 green corps programs, creating the Iowa summer youth corps
4 account and making appropriations from the account, excluding
5 certain payments provided to an AmeriCorps volunteer from
6 state income tax, and providing a retroactive applicability
7 provision.
8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
9 TLSB 5497XD 82
10 jp/nh/24
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 15H.5 IOWA SUMMER YOUTH CORPS.
1 2 1. For the purposes of this section, "service=learning"
1 3 means a teaching and learning strategy that integrates
1 4 meaningful community service with instruction and reflection
1 5 to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility,
1 6 and strengthen communities.
1 7 2. The Iowa summer youth corps program is established to
1 8 provide meaningful summer enrichment programming to Iowa
1 9 youth. The program shall be administered by the Iowa
1 10 commission on volunteer service by issuing grants for projects
1 11 implemented in accordance with program requirements. The
1 12 commission shall adopt administrative rules for the program,
1 13 including but not limited to incentives, grant criteria, and
1 14 grantee selection processes.
1 15 3. The program shall provide grants for projects that
1 16 utilize a service=learning approach during the summer months
1 17 to enhance student achievement and summer learning retention,
1 18 teach meaningful job skills to Iowa youth, engage Iowa youth
1 19 in their communities, and provide positive youth development
1 20 experiences. The service=learning approach shall be
1 21 integrated into the program using science, technology,
1 22 engineering, mathematics, social studies, civic literacy, or
1 23 other appropriate curricula identified by the department of
1 24 education.
1 25 4. The program shall involve the youth participating in
1 26 the program in service=learning activities with one or more of
1 27 the following focuses:
1 28 a. Energy conservation in the youth's community, including
1 29 conducting educational outreach on energy conservation and
1 30 working to improve energy efficiency in low=income housing and
1 31 public spaces.
1 32 b. Emergency and disaster preparedness.
1 33 c. Improving access to and obtaining the benefits from
1 34 providing computers and other emerging technologies in public
1 35 settings, including in low=income or rural communities, senior
2 1 centers and communities, schools, libraries, and other public
2 2 settings.
2 3 d. Mentoring of middle school youth while involving all
2 4 participants in service=learning to address unmet human,
2 5 educational, environmental, public safety, or emergency
2 6 disaster preparedness needs in the participants' community.
2 7 e. Establishing or implementing summer of service projects
2 8 during the summer months. Budgeting for a summer of service
2 9 project shall include the cost of recruitment, training, and
2 10 placement of service=learning coordinators. A summer of
2 11 service project shall comply with all of the following
2 12 requirements:
2 13 (1) Youth participating in a project will be enrolled in
2 14 grades six through twelve in the school year which begins
2 15 immediately following the end of a project.
2 16 (2) The focus of each project shall be community=based
2 17 service=learning activities that address unmet human,
2 18 educational, environmental, emergency and disaster
2 19 preparedness, and public service needs. Environmental needs
2 20 addressed may include energy conservation, water quality, and
2 21 land stewardship.
2 22 (3) The activities for each project shall be intensive,
2 23 structured, supervised, and designed to produce identifiable
2 24 improvements to the community. The activities may include the
2 25 extension of school year service=learning programs into the
2 26 summer months.
2 27 5. a. Funding for the Iowa summer youth corps program
2 28 shall be paid from appropriations and other funds credited to
2 29 the Iowa summer youth corps account for purposes of the
2 30 program, which account shall be created within the department
2 31 of economic development under the authority of the commission.
2 32 Moneys available in the account for a fiscal year are
2 33 appropriated to the commission to be used for the program.
2 34 b. The commission shall manage the program in a manner to
2 35 maximize the leveraging of federal, local, and private funding
3 1 opportunities that increase or amplify program impact and
3 2 service=learning opportunities. The commission shall also
3 3 encourage collaboration with, and utilization of, other
3 4 national and community service programs.
3 5 c. The commission shall give priority consideration to
3 6 approving those projects that target communities that have
3 7 disproportionately high rates of juvenile crime or low rates
3 8 of high school graduation.
3 9 d. The commission shall include progress information
3 10 concerning implementation of the program in the quarterly
3 11 reports made to the governor and general assembly in
3 12 accordance with section 15H.2.
3 13 6. a. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of chapter
3 14 8A, subchapter IV, or chapter 96, a person participating in
3 15 the Iowa summer youth corps program shall be exempt from merit
3 16 system requirements and shall not be eligible to receive
3 17 unemployment compensation benefits.
3 18 b. If a stipend is provided to a youth participating in
3 19 the program, the youth shall be age fourteen through eighteen.
3 20 c. A youth participating in a summer of service project
3 21 that either has an education award or no compensation shall
3 22 comply with the grade level requirements specified for summer
3 23 of service project participation.
3 24 d. A project that uses funding for an AmeriCorps young
3 25 adult component within the project design shall limit
3 26 participation in the component to young adults who are age
3 27 eighteen through twenty=five at the time of enrollment in the
3 28 project.
3 29 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 15H.6 IOWA GREEN CORPS PROGRAM.
3 30 1. The Iowa commission on volunteer service, in
3 31 collaboration with the department of natural resources, the
3 32 department of workforce development, and the utilities board
3 33 of the department of commerce shall establish an Iowa green
3 34 corps program. The commission shall work with the
3 35 collaborating agencies in developing a strategy for leveraging
4 1 additional financial resources for the program from private
4 2 utilities, local municipalities, and federal funding sources.
4 3 2. The program shall utilize AmeriCorps or Iowa summer
4 4 youth corps program volunteers to provide capacity building
4 5 activities, training, and implementation of major
4 6 transformative projects in communities. The project selection
4 7 shall emphasize energy efficiency, historic preservation, and
4 8 storm water reduction and management.
4 9 3. The capacity building activities shall be targeted in
4 10 communities that are already working with existing community
4 11 improvement programs, including but not limited to the Iowa
4 12 great places program established under section 303.3C and the
4 13 green streets program administered by the department of
4 14 economic development.
4 15 Sec. 3. Section 422.7, Code Supplement 2007, is amended by
4 16 adding the following new subsection:
4 17 NEW SUBSECTION. 23. Subtract, to the extent included, the
4 18 amount of AmeriCorps living allowance payments and federal
4 19 Segal education award payments.
4 20 Sec. 4. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. The provision of this
4 21 Act amending section 422.7 is retroactively applicable to
4 22 January 1, 2008, and is applicable on and after that date.
4 23 EXPLANATION
4 24 This bill relates to programs administered by the
4 25 commission on volunteer service by establishing Iowa summer
4 26 youth corps and green corps programs, creating the Iowa summer
4 27 youth corps account and making appropriations from the
4 28 account, excluding certain payments provided to an AmeriCorps
4 29 volunteer from state income tax, and providing a retroactive
4 30 applicability provision.
4 31 New Code section 15H.5 establishes the Iowa summer youth
4 32 corps program under the authority of the commission to provide
4 33 meaningful summer enrichment programming to Iowa youth,
4 34 requires the program to be implemented by grants for projects,
4 35 defines the term "service=learning", requires the
5 1 participating youth to be engaged with various specified
5 2 service=learning activities, outlines requirements for "summer
5 3 of service" projects for youth who will be entering grades six
5 4 through 12, creates an Iowa summer youth corps account, and
5 5 appropriates any funding available in the account to the
5 6 commission for the program.
5 7 A participant in the youth corps program is exempt from
5 8 state merit system requirements and is not eligible to receive
5 9 unemployment compensation benefits. If a stipend is provided,
5 10 the participant must be age 14 through 18. If a project uses
5 11 funding for an AmeriCorps young adult component, participation
5 12 in the component is limited to young adults who are age 18
5 13 through 25 at the time of enrollment.
5 14 New Code section 15H.6 directs the commission on volunteer
5 15 service, in collaboration with the departments of natural
5 16 resources and workforce development, and the utilities board,
5 17 to establish an Iowa green corps program. The program is
5 18 required to use AmeriCorps or Iowa summer youth corps program
5 19 volunteers to provide capacity building activities, training,
5 20 and implementation of major transformative projects in
5 21 communities. The project selection shall emphasize energy
5 22 efficiency, historic preservation, and storm water reduction
5 23 and management. The capacity building activities are required
5 24 to be targeted to communities that are already working with
5 25 existing community improvement programs.
5 26 Code section 422.7 is amended to exclude from state
5 27 individual income tax the amount of AmeriCorps living
5 28 allowance payments and federal Segal education award payments.
5 29 This provision applies retroactively to January 1, 2008, for
5 30 tax years beginning on or after that date.
5 31 LSB 5497XD 82
5 32 jp/nh/24.1