Inside this issue:

Appropriations 1

Agriculture 2

Commerce 4

Economic Growth 5

Education 6

Environmental Protection

6

Human Resources 6

Judiciary 7

Labor 7

Natural Resources 8

Transportation 9

Veterans Affairs 10

Ways and Means 10

Thursday, August 7, 2014 www.IowaHouseRepublicans.com

Last week, the State Auditor released her annual review of the enacted state budget. This year’s review by the Audi-tor claims that the state has a “spending gap” of $171 million, but the Auditor also told the media that Iowa has a sustaina-ble budget. As has been the case in the past several years, the Auditor’s report and calculations vary a bit from the infor-mation provided by the non-partisan Leg-islative Services Agency. The discrepan-cies between the Auditor’s report and what LSA has provided always prompt a few questions about the why there are differences. What is a ‘Transparency Shift’? According to the Auditor’s press release, a transparency shift is the “shifting” of General Fund expenses and revenues to other funds. The funds identified by the Auditor include the state’s proceeds from tobacco and cigarette taxes, which are deposited into the Health Care Trust Fund for the sole use of funding Medi-caid. Another is the Department of Com-merce Revolving fund, which retains the payments made to the Insurance Divi-sion, Utilities Board, and other parts of the department for licensing and regula-tory functions. In their analysis, the Audi-tor claims that $340 million falls into this category. Unfortunately the Auditor’s explanation itself lacks some transparency, as she fails to explain why these items are not included in the General Fund. Virtually all of the identified funds are deposited in separate funds because that is where state law directs them to be placed. It is also interesting that while the Auditor makes a great deal about this issue, she does not include every “shift” that would fit within her definition. An example of this are the fees collected by the Depart-ment of Public Health’s licensing boards. These fees were deposited in the Gen-eral Fund up until 2006, when the Legis-lature voted to allow boards to keep their

revenue. This would seem to fit the Au-ditor’s definition of a “transferability shift,” but they were not included in the list of offending funds. What is a “Sustainability Shift”? This is not defined by the Auditor in her release, but it appears to be a reference to the state’s performance of duty pay-ments for federal disaster assis-tance. The state is required to contribute a matching payment for this assis-tance. The amount and timing of these payments is dependent on the type and size of disaster and when the funded work is completed. Payments must be approved by the Executive Council be-fore they are made to the federal govern-ment. Since these payments are for natural disasters, the Legislature decided in 2011 that the Economic Emergency Fund would be the appropriate source of payment. Iowa Code sections 7D.29 and 8.55 reflect this. For some reason, the Auditor’s budget review continues to not acknowledge these Code provisions.

What are “True Total Expenditures”? This is a category created by the Auditor and is not in the Iowa Code. To get this figure, the Auditor has added together: 1. The General Fund appropriations

passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor ($6.979 billion);

2. The sum of the funds she considers to be “Transparency Shifts” ($340 million);

3. The funds she considers to be “Sustainability Shift” ($29 million); and

4. What is currently projected by the Medicaid Forecasting Group as a potential additional need in FY 2015 ($53 million).

Using their figures, the Auditor says that “True Total Expenditures” are $7.401 billion for FY 2015. This calculation again disregards Iowa Code language on

(Continued on page 2)

Appropriations (Contact Brad Trow at 1-3471)

Auditor Reviews FY 2015 Budget - Methodology Raises Questions

Page 2 House Republican Newsletter

the placement of these funds. It also as-sumes that there will be a need for a Medi-caid supplemental. In her review of the FY 14 budget, the Auditor stated the potential Medicaid need then was $31 million. The Legislature did not appropriate any supple-mental funds for Medicaid, as none were formally requested. How does the Auditor calculate state revenue? Again, the Auditor and her staff use some formulas that are not set out in the Iowa Code. The Auditor adds the REC revenue estimate (reduced by the enacted adjust-ments) and adds the total of the “Transparency Shifts.” This subtotal is then reduced by 1 percent. For FY 15, the Audi-tor’s calculation looks like this: Dec 2013 REC Estimate $6.983 billion (Revenue Adjustments) (0.020) Transparency Shift Revenue 0.340 Total Annual Revenues $7.303 billion Annual Revenue at 99% $7.230 billion

Using this formula, the Auditor claims that annual state revenue is $7.230 bil-lion. Once again, that figure is a creation of the Auditor and is not found anywhere in the Iowa Code.

The state’s current expenditure limitation law (Iowa Code section 8.54) is 99 percent of adjusted revenue (on-going revenue + previous year’s ending balance). The ex-penditure limitation calculation for FY 2015 is as follows: Dec 2013 REC Estimate $6.9832 B Legislative Revenue Adjustments (0.0196) FY 2014 Ending Balance (after filling reserve funds) 0.7457 Total Funds Available $7.7093 B FY 2015 Expenditure Limitation(99%) $7.6394 B

The FY 2015 budget is over $650 million below the expenditure limitation set in Iowa Code section 8.54. How does the Auditor come up with a “spending gap”? The Auditor uses her own calculations for spending ($7.401 billion) and revenue ($7.230 billion) to come up with her spend-ing gap calculation. Again, this calculation does not follow Iowa law in regards to budgeting. It is apparent-ly what the Auditor and her staff thinks the law should be. The Auditor does have the authority, under Iowa Code, to submit bills to the Legislature. Staff is not aware of the Auditor submitting a bill to implement their preferred method. Where can I find the actual numbers regarding the state budget? In July, LSA sent out a link to the 2014 Session Fiscal Report – otherwise known as the Graybook. It includes the balance sheet for the FY 2015 state budget – here is a link to it . When the Legislature ad-journed, the on-going revenue for FY 15 was $6.9636 billion and the General Fund appropriations were $6.9589 billion.

(Continued from page 1)

Agriculture (Contact Lew Olson at 1-3096)

RFA Challenges DOE to Update its E85 Data

On July 25, 2014, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) challenged the federal Department of Energy (DOE) to update its data base of E85 in the Department’s Alter-native Fuels Data Center (AFDC) and im-

plored DOE to accurately account for all stations selling E85. RFA uncovered near-ly 1,000 missing stations as it compared the 2,391 stations found in the database on Tuesday to the 3,349 retail locations found

on the “crowd-sourced” website E85pric-es.com (http://www.e85prices.com/) .

(Continued on page 3)

“calculation again

disregards Iowa Code”

The monthly revenue report for July is out,

telling Iowans that state revenue is up 7.5

percent compared to July 2013. While that

is good news after the way state revenue

figures ended FY 2014, it should not be

seen as a clear indication of strong revenue

growth for the entire year.

Personal income tax collections only grew

1.7 percent for the month. That is below

the five percent figure that the non-partisan

Legislative Services Agency says is the

sign of sustained economic growth. Sales

and Use tax are up 12.8 percent, but that

figure is somewhat misleading. Last July

there was a deposit issue with Sales Tax

and Corporate Income tax. Sales tax was

negatively impacted by $23.5 million then,

while corporate collections were the benefi-

ciary.

Much of the July 2014 drop in corporate

collections is the due to last year’s situa-

tion. Even factoring in this anomaly, corpo-

rate tax revenues were still down compared

to last year. Franchise tax collections were

also down significantly compared to 2013,

going from $5.2 million to just $0.2 million

last month.

On the refunds side, the July report shows

a major drop in school infrastructure pay-

ments to schools. Again, this is an account-

ing situation as DOM started paying out

these collections to school districts more

quickly than they had in previous

years. This gives the appearance of a ma-

jor decline as we start FY 2015, but in fact it

will be more accurate as we go along during

the fiscal year.

So in light of these caveats, the strong reve-

nue picture is not nearly as positive as one

could assume. The state needs strong rev-

enue growth in FY 2015 to meet the fore-

cast by the Revenue Estimating Confer-

ence. Based on the preliminary closing

numbers for FY 2014, LSA projects that

Iowa will need to have 6.8 percent revenue

growth for the year to meet the forecast.

This may be a bit of a climb, as commodity

prices - particularly corn - continue to fall

based on the bumper crop projected by

USDA.

July Revenue Shows Positive Start to FY 2015

Page 3 House Republican Newsletter

On Monday, August 4, 2014, the Iowa De-

partment of Natural Resources issued a

press release in which Iowa Secretary of

Agriculture Bill Northey announced that

more than $6.75 million is available to help

farmers and landowners install conserva-

tion practices through the state cost share

program. Farmers can contact their local

Soil and Water Conservation District

(SWCD) offices to apply for assistance of

up to 50 percent of the cost of the project.

Iowa has 100 SWCD offices across the

state, one in each county and two in Potta-

wattamie, that set priorities and use the

funds to work with farmers that are doing

conservation on their land. Conservation

practices eligible for assistance through

this program include terraces, waterways,

ponds, buffers, cover crops, and several

other conservation practices.

In addition to the statewide cost share, at

least five percent of the funds will be used

to protect several publicly owned lakes and

cost share in these projects is available for

up to 75 percent of the cost of the project.

Eligible lakes are:

Badger Creek Lake (Dallas SWCD and

Madison SWCD)

Big Creek Lake (Boone SWCD and

Polk SWCD)

Hawthorn Lake (Mahaska SWCD)

Lake Darling (Washington SWCD)

Lake Geode (Des Moines SWCD and

Iowa Ag Secretary Notes $6.75 Million in Cost Share Available

In a letter sent to the DOE’s Office of Ener-gy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, the RFA illustrates the central role of the data-base in crucial policy decisions, stating, “EPA’s mistaken belief that existing E85 refueling infrastructure is insufficient to distribute the 2014 RFS volumes specified in the statute is based in large part on infor-mation from the AFDC. As a result, the Agency wrongly proposed to reduce re-quired renewable fuel blending volumes in 2014.” RFA stressed the urgent need for updated, accurate information as the EPA decides the final 2014 RFS blending re-quirements. The letter concludes, “The correctness and completeness of the data-base has never been more important, as crucial policy and regulatory decisions are being informed by the information. Inade-quate data leads to ill-informed policy deci-sions, which can have significant conse-quences for affected industries. - See more at: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/news/entry/rfa-to-doe-update-your-e85-data/#sthash.eG59pbhV.dpuf The Obama administration has now gone nearly two-thirds of the way through calen-dar year 2014 with an EPA proposed scale back in the RFS which establishes a floor on the amount of biofuels that is to be blended into fuel for U.S. motorists and still has yet to make a final decision. As the year slips past, it becomes increasingly likely that the proposed level set last fall will become the ‘de-facto’ level even if the EPA makes an ‘election year’ announcement in the upcoming months to revise the level upward as it will be very difficult for retailers and to market the higher levels in a de-creasing portion of calendar year 2014. It is very disappointing that the current Ad-ministration is missing several economic opportunities to strengthen the U.S. econo-my that restoring the RFS to levels speci-

fied by Congressional action for 2014. If it would do so, it would provide more U.S. motorists with less expensive fuel for their vehicles, utilize a larger share of looming bumper crop of U.S. grains that will de-press grain prices below cost-of-production costs, and would further increase the num-ber of good paying rural jobs created by biofuel production, especially in Iowa. On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 the RFA issued a press release stating that ethanol pro-duced in the United States has been the most economically competitive motor fuel in the world over the past four years and has played an important role in reducing consumer fuel costs. The analysis, con-ducted by ABF Economics, examined actu-al wholesale prices paid for ethanol, gaso-line, and alternative octane sources in sev-eral key U.S. and world markets in the 2010–2013 timeframe. Based on the mar-ket data, the report concludes that “…U.S.-produced ethanol is an exceptionally com-petitive additive and fuel source…” and that “…U.S. ethanol has emerged as the lowest cost transportation fuel and octane source in the world over the past several years.” Commenting on the analysis, RFA Presi-dent and CEO Bob Dinneen said, “As prov-en by the recent boom in exports, Ameri-can-made ethanol has evolved into the most cost competitive transportation fuel and octane source in the world. Through rapid technology adoption and innovation, U.S. producers have proudly earned the distinction of being the global leader and low-cost producer of clean-burning, renew-able ethanol.” The ABF Economics study found that even after accounting for trans-portation costs to the reference markets of Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, “The ‘spread’ between ethanol and Reformulat-ed Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending gas-oline (RBOB) has averaged 30 to 40 cents per gallon over the past four years in these

three key markets, and the difference aver-aged more than 60 cents per gallon in 2012.” As a result of this cost differential, “…ethanol blended with RBOB to produce reformulated gasoline at a 10 percent (E10) blend has reduced the cost of motor fuel to consumers.” Importantly, the author notes that ethanol’s impact on gas prices goes far beyond the wholesale price spread: “This does not include the additional downward impact ethanol has on gasoline prices as a result of extending supplies and reducing de-mand for crude oil.” U.S. ethanol isn’t just outcompeting gasoline on price—it is also outperforming ethanol from other key ex-porting countries, like Brazil. According to the report, “…even with depreciation of the real, U.S. ethanol has been more cost com-petitive than Brazilian ethanol in key U.S. and world markets over the past several years.” This has particular relevance in the California market, according to the study, because that state’s fuel policies strongly compel fuel suppliers to import Brazilian ethanol in lieu of U.S. ethanol. “Use of Bra-zilian ethanol in place of U.S. ethanol theo-retically raised the price of E10 for Califor-nia consumers by 8 cents per gallon over the past four years,” the study found. In closing, the study indicates that the com-petitiveness of U.S. ethanol will only im-prove in the future: “This competitive ad-vantage is expected to increase further, as U.S. ethanol and feedstock producers adopt new technologies and crude oil pric-es continue to trend higher.” The full report, titled “The Economic Com-petitiveness of U.S. Ethanol,” is available at: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/page/-/rfa-association-site/studies/Economic_Competitiviness_Study.pdf?nocdn=1

(Continued from page 2)

Page 4 House Republican Newsletter

Commerce (Contact Dane Schumann at 1-3626)

The ACA Goes to Court, Again

The Supreme Court isn’t the only court to

review Obamacare recently, but it will prob-

ably take another look at it soon. Two

weeks ago, two federal appeals courts is-

sued opposite decisions about whether the

subsidies offered on federal insurance ex-

changes were permissible under the ACA.

The District of Columbia Circuit addressed

the portion of the law that makes tax credits

available as a form of subsidy to individuals

who purchase health insurance through

exchanges. It considered whether the law

authorizes such credits for insurance pur-

chased on an exchange established by one

of the fifty states or the District of Colum-

bia. But the IRS had interpreted the provi-

sion to also authorize the subsidy for insur-

ance purchased on exchanges established

by the federal government. The appeals

court disagreed with the IRS and conclud-

ed that the "ACA unambiguously restricts

the . . . subsidy to insurance purchased on

Exchanges ’established by the State.’"

Hours later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for

the Fourth Circuit upheld the subsidies

within federal exchanges, finding that the

statutory language was ambiguous and

subject to multiple interpretations. Thus, it

applied deference to the IRS’ determination

and upheld it as "a permissible exercise of

the agency’s discretion."

Because the divergent cases have created

a circuit split--where federal law has two

different meanings in two parts of the coun-

try--the Supreme Court is almost certain to

hear the case sometime after it reconvenes

in October.

The tax credits are still available, but Iowa’s

federal-state partnership exchange would

not be eligible for credits if the Supreme

Court agrees with the D.C. Circuit. Such a

ruling would have other effects also be-

cause an individual’s receipt of tax credits

to purchase insurance affects the employer

shared responsibility mandate--otherwise

known as the “play or pay” provision. That

part of the law requires businesses to offer

employee health insurance or pay a penal-

ty for every employee that receives a tax

credit through their insurance exchange. If

the Supreme Court rules that tax credits

aren’t available in the federal exchanges

that cover 36 states (including Iowa), no

dropped employees would receive the

credits and, therefore, businesses would

escape the penalty.

On Thursday, July 24, 2014, the Iowa De-

partment of Agriculture and Land Steward-

ship (IDALS) issued a press release in

which Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill

Northey encouraged farmers, rural resi-

dents and other Iowans that use propane to

consider taking steps to ensure adequate

supply this fall and winter.

Actions that farmers and other propane

users can take now in order to prepare for

this fall and winter include:

Making sure propane supplies for grain

drying, livestock facilities, homes and

machine sheds are full going into the

fall season;

Take advantage of early buy/booking

programs;

Consider expanding on-site capacity at

facilities and homes;

Communicate early and regularly with

propane suppliers.

Crop projections continue to suggest a rec-

ord corn and soybean harvest in Iowa and

the nation. With a large crop in Iowa and

neighboring states, the demand for propane

use for grain drying could be significant

again this year. Fortunately, crop maturity

is significantly ahead of last year and slight-

ly ahead of the five year average, which

could limit some of the need for propane.

However, there are some significant chang-

es within the energy sector, and specifically

affecting propane, that will continue to im-

pact supplies in Iowa:

On July 1, 2014, Kinder Morgan Part-

ners MLP, reversed the Cochin Pipe-

line that once delivered Canadian pro-

pane to Iowa. This pipeline provided

approximately 13% of Iowa’s annual

use and 38% of Minnesota’s annual

use.

While the USA is now producing record

amounts of natural gas liquids (NGL’s),

energy companies are also exporting

record amounts of propane from the

Gulf of Mexico region.

Increased rail movement of propane is

challenging due to limited capacity and

already high demand from other sec-

tors.

Northey has also reached out to a number

of Iowa agriculture organizations and the

Iowa Propane Gas Association to encour-

age them to work with their members and

partners to continue to prepare to meet

propane demands this fall and winter.

Henry SWCD)

Lake Icaria (Adams SWCD)

Lake Macbride (Johnson SWCD)

Lake Miami (Monroe SWCD)

Little River Lake (Decatur SWCD)

Mariposa Lake (Jasper SWCD)

Prairie Rose Lake (Shelby SWCD)

Three Mile Lake (Adair SWCD, Union

SWCD)

Twelve Mile Lake (Adair SWCD, Union

SWCD)

A map of the targeted lake projects is avail-

able on the Iowa Department of Agriculture

and Land Stewardship’s website at

www.IowaAgriculture.gov.

(Continued from page 3)

Iowa Ag Secretary Encourages Iowans to Prepare for Propane Needs this Fall

Page 5 House Republican Newsletter

Economic Growth (Contact Dane Schumann at 1-3626)

What Role Do Taxes Play in Net Migration to and from Iowa?

Iowa’s business tax climate is among the

nation’s worst. A trio of groups released a

new report last week that ranked Iowa 40th

out of 50 for its tax climate, citing a narrow

tax base exposed to high tax rates.

As with many other studies examining state

tax competiveness, the Tax Foundation

survey indicates states in the northeastern

U.S. and Great Lakes regions fair relatively

poorly while states out west do relatively

well. Iowa’s corporate income tax rate is

12 percent, and it scored a little better than

Minnesota and Wisconsin. But other

neighbors did much better: Missouri, Indi-

ana and South Dakota worst in the nation,

according to a report released Tuesday,

which looked at the state’s tax system and

economy. South Dakota has no corporate

income tax and Indiana’s will drop from 8.5

to 4.9 percent within a few years.

The report also looked at Iowa’s sales tax,

which has tripled from 2 percent to 6 per-

cent since it’s inception in 1934. This is

primarily due to the state’s shrinking tax

base as Iowa has seen a net loss of more

than 60,000 people over the last 20 years.

On that point, the study provided an inter-

esting set of data on which state Iowans

migrate to and which states lose population

to Iowa. Since 1992, Minnesota and Mis-

souri have captured the most Iowans. But

Illinois and California have lost 34,000 of

their people to the Iowa.

The ten states with the best tax climate were:

1. Wyoming

2. South Dakota

3. Nevada

4. Alaska

5. Florida

6. Washington

7. Montana

8. New Hampshire

9. Utah

10. Indiana

The ten worst states were:

50. New York

49. New Jersey

48. California

47. Minnesota

46. Rhode Island

45. Vermont

44. North Carolina

43. Wisconsin

42. Connecticut

41. Maryland

Page 6 House Republican Newsletter

Education Contact Jason Chapman at 1-3015)

Iowa Withdraws from Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

There has been much controversy over the

set of “Next Generation” assessments cur-

rently being developed around the country

and Iowa has been a part of the discussion.

Iowa joined the Smarter Balanced Assess-

ment Consortium (SBAC) in 2010 with a

couple dozen other states. This week, the

Director of the Department of Education

stated in an email to the field that Iowa will

be withdrawing from the consortium.

The SBAC is a state-led consortium work-

ing to develop next-generation assess-

ments. It is one of two multistate consortia

awarded funding from the U.S. Department

of Education in 2010 to develop an assess-

ment system aligned to the Common Core

State Standards (CCSS), the other consor-

tia being Partnership for Assessment of

Readiness for College and Careers

(PARCC). Both have had their share of

troubles as they’ve progressed in their

work. Iowa’s exit from the SBAC makes it

the 4th state to withdraw from that consor-

tia, following Alaska, Kansas, and South

Carolina.

The reason cited by the Director for leaving

the consortia is largely due to last year’s

creation of an Assessment Task Force.

The Task Force was created by House File

215 in 2013 and charged with surveying

options for a new state-wide assessment

and providing recommendations to the leg-

islature by January 15. Director Buck not-

ed that the SBAC will still be under consid-

eration by the Task Force but felt it was

critical that the next state assessment be

chosen through an impartial process.

The need for the consortia came about as

the Common Core State Standards were

released to the country and states began

revising their academic standards. The

U.S. Department of Education (ED) award-

ed the two assessment consortia $330

million in competitive grants to develop

assessments aligned to the Standards:

$186 million to Partnership for Assess-

ment of Readiness for College and

Careers (PARCC)

$176 million to Smarter Balanced As-

sessment Consortium (SBAC).

To ensure that the assessments match

individual state needs, states participate in

each consortia either as a governing state

or as a participating/advisory state. Iowa

started as an advisory state in the SBAC

before converting to a governing state.

For more information on the Assessment

Task Force work being done by the Iowa

Department of Education, visit their web-

site.

Environmental Protection (Contact Lew Olson at 1-3096)

EPC to consider CAFO Rules at August 19 meeting in Des Moines

On Thursday, July 31, 2014, the Iowa De-partment of Natural Resources (DNR) is-sued is weekly electronic newsletter ‘EcoNewsWire” which contained an article in which DNR announced that the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) will consider adopting rules for con-centrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) at its August 19, 2014 meeting. The Commissioners have moved the meet-ing to the Wallace State Office Building Auditorium, 502 E. Ninth St., Des Moines. If adopted, the rules will incorporate the federal rules that require CAFOs to comply with national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permits. The Iowa Legis-lature directed adopting the federal rules. Adoption was also a condition of a work plan agreement signed between the DNR and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Sept.11, 2013. The federal rules

require confinement feeding operations that are CAFOs and discharge to waters of the U.S. to seek an NPDES permit. Generally, confinements are animal feeding opera-tions that are totally roofed. The U.S. EPA defines a large CAFO as one that confines at least 1,000 cattle or cow/calf pairs, 700 mature dairy cattle, 2,500 finishing swine or 55,000 turkeys. In other business, commissioners will be asked to approve contracts for watershed projects, statewide groundwater analysis, a food waste study. The EPC will also re-view the water use and allocation annual permit fee, and the State of Iowa Public Drinking Water Program 2013 Annual Compliance Report. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. with public comments to follow. The meeting is open to the public.

The complete agenda as well as individual agenda items (when posted) can be ac-cessed follows DNR webpage-- http://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/epc/2014-08-19%20EPC.pdf which as of August 6, 2014 is 46-pages long. Find more information on the EPC agenda items at www.iowadnr.gov/InsideDNR/BoardsCommissions.aspx The members of the commission are Mary Boote, Des Moines, chair; Max Smith, Knoxville, vice-chair; Nancy Couser, Neva-da, secretary; Cindy Greiman, Garner; Chad Ingels, Randalia; Brent Rastetter, Ames; Bob Sinclair, Sigourney; Gene Ver Steeg, Inwood; and LaQuanda Hoskins, LeClaire. The director of the DNR is Chuck Gipp. For more information contact Jerah Sheets at 515-313-8909 or Je-rah.Sheets@dnr.iowa.gov.

Human Resources (Contact Carrie Malone at 5-2063)

Changes Made to Food Stamps Under Farm Bill The Iowa Department of Human Services

is alerting retailers that, because of chang-

es under the 2014 Farm Bill, they will soon

have to pay for equipment and supplies, or

pay transaction fees, to accept the elec-

tronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards used by

Food Assistance recipients. The change

will impact about 1,100 retailers in Iowa

who use free machines.

DHS administers the federally-funded Sup-

(Continued on page 7)

Page 7 House Republican Newsletter

Judiciary (Contact Amanda Freel at 1-5230)

Federal Judge Overturns D.C. Gun Ban

Last week, a Federal Judge in the District

of Columbia overturned the city’s ban on

residence carrying firearms outside of their

homes. While this decision may be ap-

pealed, at this time it appears residents of

Washington D.C. may soon be able to le-

gally carry firearms outside of their homes

for self defense.

Residents brought the lawsuit against the

City four years ago after D.C. police reject-

ed an application to register a handgun that

may be used for self defense outside of the

home. Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. ruled

that the right to bear arms, as guaranteed

by the 2nd Amendment, does extend out-

side of the home. Therefore, Washington

D.C. laws that prohibit the carrying of fire-

arms outside of the home are unconstitu-

tional.

In 2008 and 2010 the United States Su-

preme Court issued two major rulings sup-

porting the 2nd Amendment. Judge Scullin

referred to both of these rulings and con-

cluded that it is not possible for the Wash-

ington D.C. gun ban to be constitutional

based on previous Supreme Court rulings.

“There is no longer any basis on which this

court can conclude that the District Of Co-

lumbia’s total ban on the public carrying of

ready-to-use handguns outside the home is

constitutional under any level of scrutiny.”

This ruling appears to give both residents

and non-residents the right to carry fire-

arms in the City. However, there is a 90

day stay on the ruling, giving officials time

to respond. Anyone who is considering

carrying a weapon in Washington D.C. is

advised to carefully review the status of the

current law before bringing any weapons in

to the city.

Iowans have been able to carry outside of

the home for self defense for years. Any

Iowan who meets the legal qualifications

can take a class and apply for a conceal

and carry permit. Additionally, Iowa has

reciprocity with other states to allow non-

residence the right to carry in our state.

Before carrying a weapon in Iowa, every-

one is urged to review the laws on the Iowa

Department of Public Safety website and to

review local ordinances to avoid any con-

flicts with the law.

While the decision in Washington D.C.

does not have a large impact for most Io-

wans, it shows that the courts are recogniz-

ing the right of all Americans to defend

themselves outside of their home.

Labor (Contact Colin Tadlock at 1-3440)

On July 25, Tyson Foods announced that they would be ceasing operations in Chero-kee, Iowa due to recent consumer demand. The plant, which employed 450 Iowans, is one of three plants being closed nation-wide, including Buffalo, New York and San-ta Teresa, New Mexico. The Tyson plant is the second largest employer in Cherokee.

The Cherokee closure is planned for Sep-tember 27 and the Buffalo and Santa Tere-sa closures are expected in early 2015. In response Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) announced that they would be part-nering with the city of Cherokee to dispatch

a Rapid Response program to help the displaced workers. IWD staff will be work-ing out of the Cherokee Community Center five days a week, beginning August 6th, at hours convenient for Tyson workers. The office will remain open for an undetermined time period as of this writing.

(Continued on page 8)

Workforce Development Launches Rapid Response Team to Cherokee

plemental Nutrition Assistance Program

(SNAP) in Iowa. Previously, the state used

federal funds to provide free point-of-sale

equipment and pay transaction costs for

retailers who averaged $100 per month or

more in EBT transactions. Under the new

Farm Bill, that’s no longer allowed. DHS

will continue to watch this situation to see

how the federal law will impact smaller re-

tailers and the ability of low-income Iowan’s

to access food.

Iowa’s EBT retailer is Xerox. Xerox says

retailers will be receiving more information

in the coming week. The option Xerox will

be offering is leasing point-of-sale equip-

ment with a $50 set-up fee and a $75

monthly service fee. Another option for

retailers is to check with their current pro-

cessor of debit/credit services to see if EBT

can be added to their system.

There are some exceptions under the Farm

Bill, and the following users will continue to

have access to free point-of-sale equip-

ment and services: eligible farmers’ mar-

kets, direct-marketing farmers, military

commissaries, non-profit co-ops and organ-

izations, group living arrangements, treat-

ment centers and prepared meal services.

The 1,100 Iowa retailers currently using

point-of-sale machines will be allowed to

continue using them until October 25,

2014. They must arrange for lease of

equipment and services through Xerox

before that date, or integrate EBT with ex-

isting debit/credit systems in order to con-

tinue to accept EBT benefits.

(Continued from page 6)

“impact about 1,100

retailers in Iowa”

“legally carry firearms

outside of their homes”

Page 8 House Republican Newsletter

Emerald Ash Borer Confirmed in Boone County

Two Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetles have been collected from a trap in a resi-dential tree in Boone and have been posi-tively identified as EAB by a federal offi-cial. Iowa now has twelve infested coun-ties. A statewide quarantine restricting the movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states was issued in February and remains in place. The city of Boone Parks Department has already taken several steps to prepare for a potential infestation of the EAB. They have inventoried 100% of the street trees in the community and are assessing the condition of ash trees. The city council established funding for removal of street trees and the

purchase of specialized equipment to chip large diameter trees. The Iowa EAB Team provides EAB diag-nostic assistance to landowners and in-cludes officials from Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Ser-vice and the USDA Forest Service. The Iowa EAB Team cautions Iowans not to transport firewood across county or state lines, since the movement of firewood throughout Iowa or to other states increas-es the risk of spreading EAB infestations. Most EAB infestations in the United States have been started by people unknowingly transporting infested firewood, nursery plants or sawmill logs. Besides being trans-

ported by vehicle, the adult beetle can also fly short distances of approximately two to five miles. With the exception of trunk injection, the window has closed for using other preven-tive methods against emerald ash borer this year. Trunk injections can be done by certified pesticide applicators until Septem-ber 1, 2014. Other control measures will need to wait until April 2015. Please contact Iowa EAB Team members to have suspicious looking trees checked in counties not currently known to be infested. The State of Iowa will continue to track the movement of EAB on a county-by-county basis. To learn more, please visit www.IowaTreePests.com.

On Thursday, July 31st, the Wisconsin

Supreme Court upheld 2011 Wisconsin Act

10, also known as the Wisconsin Budget

Repair Bill. The law is seen as a win for

taxpayers as it has reduced state spending

by over $3 billion since it took effect in

2011. The case was a 5-2 decision.

Act 10 largely reformed state government

and collective bargaining practices in Wis-

consin. The law now requires public em-

ployees to pay for at least 12.6% of their

health insurance, contribute additional

money to their pension, ended the practice

of automatic dues deduction from worker

paychecks, and prohibited workers from

negotiating over anything except wages.

Justice Michael Gabelman wrote in his lead

opinion “No matter the limitations or

'burdens' a legislative enactment places on

the collective bargaining process, collective

bargaining remains a creation of legislative

grace and not constitutional obligation.”

Gabelman continued “The First Amend-

ment cannot be used as a vehicle to ex-

pand the parameters of a benefit that it

does not itself protect.”

Since Act 10 has gone into place Wiscon-

sin has turned a deficit into a surplus, has

cut taxes, and employment is up.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds 2011 Union Law

Natural Resources (Contact Carrie Malone at 5-2063)

The IWD team will work with Tyson em-ployees Wednesday through Friday from 4:00-8:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00-12:00 pm. According to IWD’s

press release, the team will provide “career counseling, access to training, and an op-portunity to access and certify existing skill sets.” Additional resources are available to affected workers at local workforce access points at Western Iowa Tech Community

College, the Cherokee Public Library, and the Marcus Public Library. IWD Rapid Response Team Details Where: Cherokee Community Center When: Wednesday-Friday – 4:00-8:00 pm Saturday-Sunday – 10:00-12:00 pm

(Continued from page 7)

Lake Darling State Park is Open

Lake Darling State Park, located in Bright-

on, Iowa, has reopened to visitors but re-

mains a work in progress as contractors

put the finishing touches on a complete

makeover of the park.

The park and lake have both undergone

total renovation in partnership with the

Lake Darling Friends Group, local commu-

nities, landowners, residents, businesses

and the Iowa DNR. The new campground

has fewer campsites but each site was

enlarged to include a living area. The reno-

vation included new electrical service to the

campsites, two new restrooms and about

four miles of new roads through the

campgrounds and the rest of the park.

This fall, the landscaping and seeding will

be installed. Lake Darling will not be on the

state park campsite reservation system this

year. They will have a fist come, first

served system. Camping cabins are cur-

rently available. This fall, six new year-

round cabins will be added to the park. A

formal grand opening is scheduled for Sep-

tember 17.

Page 9 House Republican Newsletter

Transportation (Contact Brittany Telk at 1-3452)

Home School House Rock for Driver’s Education Programs

In 2013, the Iowa Legislature passed House File 215 which allows parents who home school their children to teach driver education in certain circumstances. The law requires the Iowa DOT to develop rules for approved courses suitable for home school parents and, once courses have been identified and approved, to post them on the Iowa DOT's website.

Here are a few basic guidelines from the law:

A “teaching parent” is a parent, guardi-an, or legal custodian of a student that is currently providing competent pri-vate instruction to the student accord-ing to Iowa Code sections 299A.2 or 299A.3. To qualify, the teaching parent must have been serving as a teacher to the student during the previous year.

The teaching parent must have a valid driver’s license. The driving record of the teaching parent must be clear for the previous two years. A parent who has only a motorized bicycle (moped) license or a temporary restricted li-cense (work permit) will not be able to

provide driver education instruction to a student.

A student is someone between the ages of 14 and 21 years and has ob-tained a learner’s permit from the Iowa DOT.

The law requires the teaching parent to have custody of the student.

Earlier this week, the DOT presented its notice of intended action of the new rules for home schooling parents. The notice included adding references to home school driver education programs taught by a teaching parent to Iowa-approved driving courses. It also added a new rule which addresses driver education taught by a teaching parent; the first section defining appropriate and frequently used terms in the new rule. Further, the rule provides the process for application to serve as a teach-ing parent, noting that a person who ap-plies to teach under this title is subject to departmental review. Once a person is approved as a teaching parent, the rule mandates the teaching parent to select a program from a DOT-approved list, and upon successful completion of the pro-

gram, the student will receive a certificate of completion –similar to other driver’s edu-cation programs. Next, the rule outlines the vendor approval process to be consid-ered appropriate for a possible driver edu-cation program, stating that vendors must submit an application and meet all existing Iowa code requirements for DOT consider-ation. Finally, in the appendix of the rule, it describes the duration and required con-tent for the homeschool driver education program, including: classroom instruction, substance abuse requirements, railroad crossing safety, organ donation instruction, bicycle “share the road” awareness and behind-the-wheel requirements. It ends with required topics, listing such topics under traffic law, driver preparation, vehicle movements, driver readiness, risk reduc-tion, environmental factors, distractions, alcohol and other drugs, vehicle movement and reference points, adverse conditions, vehicle requirements and consumer and personal responsibility. The DOT held a public meeting with no negative comments offered on the pro-posed rule, and will continue to move through the rule-making process to have finalized requirements by their goal in the fall. The proposed rule can be read in its entirety here.

Uber Changes Coming to Des Moines Area Transportation Options?

It is no secret that the younger generation

enjoys a convenient lifestyle that is often-

times centered around a cell phone app –

“There’s an app for that!” And with cell

phones being more app-friendly, compa-

nies such as Uber and Lyft are taking ad-

vantage of the style to bring ride sharing

services to people through an easy app

with affordable service. Uber, one of the

more controversial companies popular in

larger cities, is a ride service where users

simply download an app to see where pos-

sible drivers are located through an interac-

tive map, the user can request a ride and

track the driver through his or her phone,

pay and get a ride to where the user needs

to go. After the ride, users review the driv-

er and rate the service. The catch? These

Uber drivers are “regular” people, not like a

taxi or car service where a driver is subject

to different rules and regulations. But

these “regular” people are what differenti-

ate Uber from a taxi cab; users are able to

see drivers available who are close in prox-

imity to the user, making it a faster and

more convenient service as well. The com-

pany originally began by requesting luxury

car owners to be drivers, looking at Esca-

lades, Lincoln Town Cars, BMWs and Mer-

cedes Benz’s, but expanded to include

drivers with vehicles in excellent condition.

However, the more luxurious the ride, the

pricier the tab.

The company began in San Francisco, and

has expanded to larger cities around the

US, more recently breaking into Kansas

City, Omaha and Chicago, with mostly pos-

itive reviews; users note that it is a quicker

and more reliable service than taxis, and

also it is more affordable plus they are able

to learn more about the community and

location from these local drivers who are

not career chauffeurs. On the other hand,

the company’s services have been met

with resistance, as well.

Back in July, Uber put out an advertise-

ment on its website, seeking drivers in the

Des Moines area. In order to be eligible, a

potential driver must be at least 21 years

old, with a personal license and automobile

insurance; the eligible vehicles can be any

mid to full-size vehicle in excellent condi-

tion. With this advertisement for the con-

troversial company, local taxi cab drivers

and companies immediately spoke out in

protest. As the service is not technically

considered a taxi service, as mentioned,

the drivers are not subject to the same

regulations and rules which some claim is

unfair. Additionally, some protest that the

service is not safe for riders, jumping into

cars with such unregulated drivers. The

insurance commissioner also spoke out to

(Continued on page 10)

Lender Targeting Military Service Members Ordered to Stop Collections

Ways & Means (Contact Kristi Kielhorn at 2-5290)

According to a new report released by the

“Future of Iowa Foundation” Iowa’s overall

tax system ranks 40th out of the 50 states.

The group that put out the report is a sub-

sidiary of the Iowa Taxpayers Association.

A major reason for Iowa’s low ranking is

the high state sales tax. Iowa’s first state

sales tax was imposed at two percent in

1934. Since then it has tripled to six per-

cent, with some localities imposing an addi-

tional local option sales tax. Iowa also has

the nation’s highest corporate income tax,

although that makes up for only two per-

cent of total tax collections.

Another reason for the low overall ranking

is the state’s top personal income tax rate

is nearly nine percent. However, Iowans

are able to deduct their federal income tax

from their income before calculating how

much they pay in state income taxes. This

inflates the appearance of Iowa’s income

taxes.

A copy of the report can be found here.

Iowa’s Tax Climate Ranks 40th

Veterans Affairs (Contact Kristi Kielhorn at 2-5290)

Last week Iowa Attorney General Tom Mil-ler was part of an agreement that involved Iowa and 12 other states where a military consumer lender will be required to provide more than $91 million in debt relief to at least 17,800 active duty service members and veterans. Prosecutors from several states halted a predatory loan operation that targeted mili-tary service members. A court agreement will put the lender out of business and force them to provide millions in debt relief. The military consumer lender commonly known as Rome Finance Co., based in California

and Georgia, is required by the agreement to liquidate operations and provide more than $91 million in debt relief to at least 17,800 consumers. That number includes more than 100 Iowans. Typically, the lender would approach ser-vice members at mall kiosks near military bases and sell goods likes computers and gaming systems. The service members would be promised instant financing with no money down. The lender would then deduct the payments from the service member’s paycheck. Prosecutors argued that the lender outrageously inflated prices and did

not disclose the financing charges or final purchase amount. The court agreement requires that the lend-er cease collecting the debts, forgive any outstanding balances, and help repair dam-aged credit for thousands of victims. Under the court agreement, the lender neither admits nor denies any wrongdoing, but is required to provide nearly $92 million in debt relief by ceasing collections, assisting in rebuilding credit, and repaying excessive finance charges. Victims may also be eligi-ble for additional relief that is yet undeter-mined.

Page 10 House Republican Newsletter

warn potential Uber drivers to double-check

insurance policies before entering into this

type of ridesharing service; to ensure that

policies cover their vehicle if damaged

while performing such services.

The Des Moines City Council met to dis-

cuss the possibility of such a service com-

ing to Des Moines, but took no action other

than to recognize the need to discuss fu-

ture ordinance that may be needed. At this

time, Uber has not given an official date to

begin Des Moines service, stating that the

company often tests ads to measure the

viability of the program in different markets.

(Continued from page 9)