SSB 3196 (LSB 6069XC (7) 83)

SENATE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON REBUILD IOWA BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HOGG)

A BILL FOR

An Act creating a disaster recovery fund and including effective date and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 8.55, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  The maximum balance of the fund is the amount equal to two and one-half percent of the adjusted revenue estimate for the fiscal year. If the amount of moneys in the Iowa economic emergency fund is equal to the maximum balance, moneys in excess of this amount shall be transferred to the general disaster recovery fund created in section 8.56A.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  8.56A  Disaster recovery fund.
   1.  A disaster recovery fund is created. The fund shall be separate from the general fund of the state and the balance in the fund shall not be considered part of the balance of the general fund of the state. The moneys credited to the fund are not subject to section 8.33, and shall not be transferred, used, obligated, appropriated, or otherwise encumbered except as provided in this section.
   2.  The maximum balance of the fund is the amount equal to ten percent of the adjusted revenue estimate for the fiscal year. If the amount of moneys in the disaster recovery fund is equal to the maximum balance, moneys in excess of this amount shall be transferred to the general fund of the state.
   3.  a.  If the president of the United States, at the request of the governor, has declared a major disaster to exist in this state, not more than fifty million dollars or twenty percent of the unencumbered, unobligated balance of the disaster recovery fund, whichever is less, as of the issuance date of the executive council’s determination in accordance with this subsection, is appropriated to the department of management to be used in accordance with this subsection to address necessary disaster-related expenses, serious needs, or other assistance for citizens of this state who are adversely affected by the major disaster. The appropriation made in this subsection is contingent upon the executive council issuing a determination that the expenses, needs, and other assistance to be addressed by the appropriation are within the purposes authorized in paragraph “b” and cannot be funded by any other source.
   b.  The amount appropriated in this subsection shall only be used for one or more of the following purposes:
   (1)  For the department of human services to provide case management services for disaster-affected individuals to identify sources of federal, state, local, private, and charitable support.
   (2)  For the department of human services to provide grants of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars to reimburse disaster-affected families for unmet needs. The unmet needs addressed by the grants may include expenses associated with lost personal property, home repair, food assistance, mental health assistance, utility assistance, child care, and temporary housing.
   (3)  For the department of economic development to provide case management services for disaster-affected businesses and nonprofit organizations to identify sources of federal, state, local, private, and charitable support.
   (4)  For the department of economic development to provide assistance to disaster-affected businesses and nonprofit organizations to repair property damaged in the disaster or to maintain the wages and benefits of all or some of the persons employed prior to the disaster whose employment is impacted by the disaster.
   (5)  For the Iowa finance authority to provide grants to temporarily or permanently repair or replace disaster-affected housing.
   (6)  For the homeland security and emergency management division of the department of public defense to provide disaster assistance to units of local government. The disaster assistance may include but is not limited to debris removal, repair of infrastructure and facilities damaged in the disaster, local case management services, services to address local individual unmet needs, local housing assistance, and local business or nonprofit organization assistance.
   (7)  For the department of management to provide matching funding for the disaster-related necessary expenses or serious needs of units of local or state governments in accordance with section 29C.6, subsection 17.
   c.  Assistance provided under paragraph “b” shall not be used to supplant any other financial support, assistance, or grants provided by any federal or other state agency.
   4.  a.  Moneys in the fund may be used for cash flow purposes during a fiscal year provided that any moneys so allocated are returned to the fund by the end of that fiscal year.
   b.  Except as provided in section 8.58, the disaster recovery fund shall be considered a special account for the purposes of section 8.53 in determining the cash position of the general fund of the state for the payment of state obligations.
   5.  Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys deposited in the disaster recovery fund shall be credited to the fund. Such credited moneys, if appropriated, may be used for the expenses of providing ongoing training and staffing for disaster response and recovery by the department of human services, department of economic development, Iowa finance authority, or division of homeland security and emergency management of the department of public safety.
    Sec. 3.  Section 8.58, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   8.58  Exemption from automatic application.
   1.  To the extent that moneys appropriated under section 8.57 do not result in moneys being credited to the general fund under section 8.55, subsection 2, moneys appropriated under section 8.57 and moneys contained in the cash reserve fund, rebuild Iowa infrastructure fund, environment first fund, disaster recovery fund, and Iowa economic emergency fund shall not be considered in the application of any formula, index, or other statutory triggering mechanism which would affect appropriations, payments, or taxation rates, contrary provisions of the Code notwithstanding.
   2.  To the extent that moneys appropriated under section 8.57 do not result in moneys being credited to the general fund under section 8.55, subsection 2, moneys appropriated under section 8.57 and moneys contained in the cash reserve fund, rebuild Iowa infrastructure fund, environment first fund, disaster recovery fund, and Iowa economic emergency fund shall not be considered by an arbitrator or in negotiations under chapter 20.
    Sec. 4.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT AND APPLICABILITY.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment and is applicable to moneys transferred from the Iowa economic emergency fund pursuant to section 8.55, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, as amended by this Act, beginning with the close of the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2010.
EXPLANATION
   This bill creates a disaster recovery fund in new Code section 8.56A.
   Under current state financing law, surplus state general fund moneys are first credited to the cash reserve until it reaches its maximum balance equal to 7.5 percent of the adjusted revenue estimate for the applicable fiscal year, the surplus moneys are credited to the Iowa economic emergency fund until it reaches its maximum balance equal to 2.5 percent of the adjusted revenue estimate. The bill provides for the surplus moneys to flow to the disaster recovery fund once the first two funds have reached the maximum balance. Under current law, the surplus funding is transferred to the general fund of the state. The bill provides that if the disaster recovery fund reaches its maximum balance equal to 10 percent of the adjusted revenue estimate, surplus moneys then flow to the general fund.
   The bill provides a contingent appropriation from the fund to address the effects of a major disaster. The appropriation amount is limited to the lesser of $50 million or 20 percent of the amount available in the fund.
   The appropriation is contingent upon the president of the United States having declared a major disaster to exist in this state and the executive council issuing a determination that the expenses, needs, and other assistance to be addressed by the appropriation cannot be funded by any other source.
   The appropriation can only be used for addressing necessary disaster-related expenses, serious needs, or other assistance for citizens of this state who are adversely affected by the major disaster through one or more of the following authorized purposes: case management and assistance provided by the department of human services to disaster-affected individuals and families; case management and assistance provided by the department of economic development to disaster-affected businesses and nonprofit organizations to address property damage and the wages and benefits of disaster-affected employees; for assistance provided by the Iowa finance authority to repair or replace housing; for assistance provided to local governments by the homeland security and emergency management division of the department of public defense; and for the department of management to provide matching funding of up to 25 percent for federal assistance for the disaster-related necessary expenses or serious needs of units of local or state governments in accordance with Code section 29C.6, subsection 17. The moneys from the contingent appropriation cannot be used to supplant any other financial support, assistance, or grants provided by any federal or other state agency.
   Moneys credited to the new fund are otherwise not subject to transfer, use, obligation, appropriation, or other encumbrance except for disaster recovery. However, during the course of a fiscal year moneys in the fund may be used for cash flow purposes provided that any moneys so allocated are returned to the fund by the end of that fiscal year. 
   Interest or earnings on moneys in the fund are retained by the fund instead of the general fund as otherwise provided in Code section 12C.7. These retained moneys may be appropriated for training and staffing of disaster and recovery functions of the state agencies receiving funding from the contingent appropriation in the bill.
   Code section 8.58 is amended to include the disaster recovery fund in the list of various reserve funds that are exempted from being considered to be available for any formula, index, or other statutory triggering mechanism which would affect appropriations, payments, or taxation rates or being considered by an arbitrator or in negotiations under Code chapter 20, relating to public employee collective bargaining.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies to transfers of surplus moneys from the Iowa economic emergency fund beginning with the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2010.