Senate Study Bill 1245
SENATE FILE
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL
BY CHAIRPERSON QUIRMBACH)
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for the recognition and promotion of certified
2 retirement communities.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 2197SC 83
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 303.3F CERTIFIED RETIREMENT
1 2 COMMUNITIES.
1 3 1. PROGRAM PURPOSE.
1 4 a. The department shall establish a certified retirement
1 5 communities program to recognize communities in the state that
1 6 have made themselves attractive destinations for retirees.
1 7 b. The purposes of the program shall be to encourage
1 8 retirees to make their home in Iowa, to help communities
1 9 promote and market themselves as retirement destinations for
1 10 retirees, to assist the economic development of rural
1 11 communities by encouraging retirees to live, work, and
1 12 volunteer there, and to encourage tourism in Iowa by enhancing
1 13 the marketing of the state to retirees everywhere.
1 14 2. PROGRAM FUND.
1 15 a. A certified retirement communities fund is created in
1 16 the general fund of the state under the control of the
1 17 department consisting of fees collected from applicants to the
1 18 certified retirement communities program and any moneys
1 19 appropriated to the fund by the general assembly.
1 20 b. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department
1 21 for purposes of administering the certified retirement
1 22 communities program. The department may allocate a portion of
1 23 the moneys in the fund to cover administrative costs and shall
1 24 use the balance of the moneys to provide assistance, as
1 25 described in subsection 6, to applicants certified under the
1 26 program.
1 27 c. Moneys in the fund are not subject to section 8.33.
1 28 Notwithstanding section 12C.7, interest or earnings on moneys
1 29 in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
1 30 3. ELIGIBILITY. A community in the state is eligible to
1 31 be named a certified retirement community. For purposes of
1 32 this section, "community" includes but is not limited to a
1 33 city, county, region, neighborhood, or district. For purposes
1 34 of this section, a community can, but need not, be coterminous
1 35 with a political subdivision of the state or with a particular
2 1 geographic boundary. In an application for recognition as a
2 2 certified retirement community, the applicant shall clearly
2 3 articulate how the applicant defines community for purposes of
2 4 seeking certification.
2 5 4. APPLICATIONS. Each community seeking certification
2 6 shall meet the following requirements:
2 7 a. The community shall submit an application to the
2 8 department containing basic demographic and statistical
2 9 information including crime statistics, tax=related
2 10 information, recreational opportunities, housing prices and
2 11 availability, health care and emergency medical service
2 12 availability, and other factors deemed relevant by the
2 13 department.
2 14 b. The community shall demonstrate the support and active
2 15 involvement of the local governing body, churches, clubs,
2 16 businesses, media outlets, or other entities with an interest
2 17 in the future of the community.
2 18 c. The community shall submit with the application a plan
2 19 describing the community's long=term care facility and service
2 20 capabilities and the community's strategy for marketing the
2 21 community to retirees. The plan shall include a target
2 22 market, a list of competing communities, an analysis of the
2 23 community's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and dangers,
2 24 and the steps the community will employ to achieve the goals
2 25 of the plan.
2 26 d. The community shall submit an application fee of five
2 27 thousand dollars to the department.
2 28 5. APPLICATION REVIEW.
2 29 a. The department shall accept and review applications for
2 30 certification and determine which communities qualify for
2 31 certification.
2 32 b. In determining which communities qualify, the
2 33 department shall develop a set of criteria for evaluating and
2 34 scoring the applicants and comparing each applicant against
2 35 the other applicants. The criteria developed by the
3 1 department shall include all of the following:
3 2 (1) The competitiveness of the tax burden on residents in
3 3 the community.
3 4 (2) Housing availability and cost.
3 5 (3) Climatic factors.
3 6 (4) Personal and community safety.
3 7 (5) Work, volunteer, and community service opportunities.
3 8 (6) Health care and emergency medical services available
3 9 to residents of the community.
3 10 (7) Public transportation and transportation
3 11 infrastructure.
3 12 (8) Educational quality and opportunities.
3 13 (9) Recreational and leisure opportunities.
3 14 (10) The availability of cultural and performing arts,
3 15 sporting events, festivals, and other activities.
3 16 (11) The availability of services and facilities necessary
3 17 to assist retirees as they age.
3 18 6. RECOGNITION AND ASSISTANCE.
3 19 a. If the department determines that a community qualifies
3 20 for certification, the department shall issue to the community
3 21 a certificate recognizing the status of the community as an
3 22 attractive destination for retirees.
3 23 b. In addition to recognizing the community, the
3 24 department shall, as monetary and staff resources allow,
3 25 provide the following assistance to certified retirement
3 26 communities:
3 27 (1) Assistance in training community residents in the
3 28 development of services and infrastructure.
3 29 (2) Assistance in the marketing of the community.
3 30 (3) Inclusion in the department's public relations and
3 31 promotional program.
3 32 (4) Financial assistance for the development of
3 33 promotional materials including brochures, pamphlets, and
3 34 internet sites.
3 35 (5) An assessment of the community's efforts to promote
4 1 itself.
4 2 7. EXPIRATION AND RECERTIFICATION.
4 3 a. A community's certification expires on the fifth
4 4 anniversary of the date of initial certification.
4 5 b. To be recertified, a community must submit a new
4 6 application as described in subsection 4 and include a report
4 7 on the success or failure of the community's past efforts to
4 8 market itself to retirees.
4 9 8. RULES. The department shall adopt rules for the
4 10 administration of this section.
4 11 EXPLANATION
4 12 This bill establishes a certified retirement communities
4 13 program within the department of cultural affairs for the
4 14 recognition and promotion of communities in Iowa that have
4 15 made themselves attractive destinations for retirees.
4 16 The purpose of the program is to encourage retirees to make
4 17 their home in Iowa, to help communities promote and market
4 18 themselves as retirement destinations for retirees, to assist
4 19 the economic development of rural communities by encouraging
4 20 retirees to live, work, and volunteer there, and to encourage
4 21 tourism in Iowa by enhancing the marketing of the state to
4 22 retirees everywhere.
4 23 The bill creates a fund consisting of fees paid by
4 24 applicants to the program and moneys appropriated to the fund.
4 25 Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the department for
4 26 purposes of administering the program. Moneys in the fund do
4 27 not revert to the general fund and interest or earnings on
4 28 moneys in the fund are credited to the fund.
4 29 Any community in the state is eligible to be named a
4 30 certified retirement community. For purposes of the program,
4 31 "community" includes but is not limited to a city, county,
4 32 region, neighborhood, or district. A community can, but need
4 33 not, be coterminous with a political subdivision of the state
4 34 or with a particular geographic boundary. Each community
4 35 applying to the program must clearly articulate how it defines
5 1 community for purposes of seeking certification.
5 2 Each community seeking certification must submit an
5 3 application to the department. The application must include
5 4 the following: (1) certain basic demographic and statistical
5 5 information; (2) information demonstrating the support and
5 6 active involvement of certain entities with an interest in the
5 7 future of the community; (3) a plan describing the community's
5 8 long=term care facility and service capabilities and the
5 9 community's strategy for marketing the community to retirees;
5 10 and (4) an application fee of $5,000.
5 11 The department must accept and review applications for
5 12 certification and determine which communities qualify for
5 13 certification according to a list of certain criteria.
5 14 If the department determines that a community qualifies for
5 15 certification, the department must issue a certificate of
5 16 recognition to the community and provide the following
5 17 assistance: (1) assistance in training community residents in
5 18 the development of services and infrastructure; (2) assistance
5 19 in the marketing of the community; (3) inclusion in the
5 20 department's public relations and promotional program; (4)
5 21 financial assistance for the development of promotional
5 22 materials including brochures, pamphlets, and internet sites;
5 23 and (5) an assessment of the community's efforts to promote
5 24 itself.
5 25 A certification expires after five years, but the community
5 26 may reapply by submitting another application.
5 27 The department is required to adopt rules for the
5 28 administration of the program.
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