The time of adjournment is getting closer, but there is still much to do.  On Tuesday, March 30th, the Senate approved SJR 2010, which amends the Iowa Constitution to require a vote of the people of Iowa before tax or fee increases would take effect.  This bill was then referred to the House Ways & Means Committee, where we passed it on a party line vote on Thursday, April 1st.

SJR 2010 proposes an amendment to the Iowa Constitution which gives the citizens of Iowa the right to vote on adopted tax or fee increases if the combined increases total an amount greater than one percent of the previous year's state General Fund revenues.  The tax or fee increases would not go into effect until approved by the citizens of Iowa at a state general election.

Specifically, the citizens of Iowa would have the final say on any tax or fee increase that increases revenue in excess of one percent of the state's General Fund.  If this amendment were in place this year, the threshold for bringing a tax or fee increase to the people for a vote would be approximately $44 million.  The threshold is designed to give the Legislature and Governor some flexibility to make minor revenue adjustments, but to also ensure that any major increases in taxes or fees will have to be put to the voters for a final decision.

Local property taxpayers are protected in three important ways.  Legislation that either requires or even allows local governments to increase a local income, sales, or property tax above the one percent threshold would require ratification by the people.  Legislation that reduces the total of state funds transferred to local governments in a fiscal year (absent any other state law that increases those funds in an equal or larger, amount) above the one percent threshold would require ratification by the people.  Legislation that requires local governments to incur cost increases due to unfunded state mandates above the one percent threshold would require ratification by the people.

This is a very important piece of legislation that helps protect the taxpayers of Iowa.  The only people that I can think of that would be against this are the ones who believe the money belongs to government.  They seem to forget that it is we the taxpayers that earn the money.  We work longer and longer every single year just to pay for the taxes at all levels.  This was not the intent of our forefathers. 

SJR 2010 will not become law until passed by two general assemblies and then ratified by the citizens of Iowa.

I floor managed Senate File 2119 and Senate File 2101 on the house floor on Thursday, April 1st.

Senate File 2101 was a proposal that came from the Iowa County Attorneys Association. This bill addresses the possession of precursor chemicals with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. The bill will treat defendants uniformly, so that those who possess precursors, whether they intend to make meth themselves or to help others make meth, can be charged with a Class "D" felony.

Earlier that day I was the floor manager of House File 2456 and House File 2487 in the Ways & Means Committee.

House File 2456 will allow, by county ordinance, for up to $5 to be added to a state citation that is written by a county sheriff or deputy. Counties would not be mandated to do this. The County Boards of Supervisors would have to pass an ordinance to approve the sheriff surcharge. The funds would be remitted to the County General Fund, not directly to the law enforcement agency.

House File 2487 is the result of a task force that the legislature created last year to study individual health insurance pools. Currently, Iowa has had two programs to make insurance coverage available for those who can't get insurance. These two plans are the Iowa Comprehensive Health Association and the Individual Health Reinsurance Association (aka Basic & Standard Plans). The Task Force concluded that the ICHA and the Basic & Standard programs were redundant and that only one program should be necessary in the future. This is a good bill; it should lower the rising health insurance costs by ½% to 1%, still takes care of the needy, has good short term fiscal impact to the state, and shifts the burden of social program to the state instead of to 25-30% of the population.

Until next week,

Tom Sands