Legislative Update

1. Legislative Update The 2010 session of theIowa General Assembly • Scott Sundstrom • Office: (515) 283-8174 • Cell: (515) 306-9658 • sasundstrom@nyemaster.com

2. The Landscape Democrats in Control Page 2

3. Democrats Control the Senate Page 3

4. Serving his seventh term in the Iowa Senate Senate Democratic leader since 1997 Comes from a family of bankers – didn’t know “damn Democrat” was two words until he was a teenager Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs)Senate Majority Leader Page 4

5. Serving his third term in the Iowa Senate Became Senate Republican leader after November 2008 election Bought and expanded a manufacturer of garment bags for men’s clothing stores Paul McKinley (R-Chariton)Senate Minority Leader Page 5

6. Democrats Control the House Page 6

7. Serving his eleventh term in the Iowa House House Democratic leader since 2004 Ninth of ten children Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque)Speaker of the House Page 7

8. Serving his fourth term in the Iowa House House Majority leader since 2006 Father is a former Des Moines police chief and current Polk County Sheriff Kevin McCarthy (D-Des Moines)House Majority Leader Page 8

9. Serving his fourth term in the Iowa House Became House Republican leader after November 2008 election Served in the Air Force for 10 years, including as a Minuteman missile operator and maintainer in Minot, North Dakota Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha)House Minority Leader Page 9

10. House Moderates McKinley Bailey(D-Webster City) Brian Quirk(D-New Hampton) Doris Kelly(D-Waterloo) Geri Huser(D-Altoona) Mike Reasoner(D-Creston) Roger Thomas(D-Elkader) Dolores Mertz(D-Ottosen) Larry Marek(D-Riverside) Page 10

11. The Budget It Ain’t Pretty Page 11

12. Where It Comes From Source: Legislative Services Agency, Monthly Total Tax Memo (03-27-10) Page 12

13. Educate, Medicate, Incarcerate Source: Legislative Services Agency, Fiscal Facts 2009 (05-09) Page 13

14. The Harsh Reality Source: Revenue Estimating Conference (4-4-08; 3-11-10) $682.4 million reduction from FY 2008 to FY 2010 Page 14

15. But Not as Bad as Expected Source: LSA Monthly General Fund Receipts (04-01-2010) Page 15

16. Paul ShomshorChair,House Ways & Means CommitteeD-Council Bluffs Joe BolkcomChair,Senate Ways & Means Committee D-Iowa City Jo OldsonChair, House Appropriations CommitteeD-Des Moines Bob DvorksyChair, Senate Appropriations Committee D-Coralville In the Hot Seat Ways & Means Committee Appropriations Committee Page 16 Raises money Spends money

17. Budget Results Page 17

18. 2010 Session Overview Page 18

19. 2010 By the Numbers • Second year of two-year General Assembly • 79-day session – 21 days short • Legislative activity • 1,424 bills and study bills filed (1,940 in 2009) • 84 resolutions filed (103 in 2009) • 1,068 amendments filed (1,154 in 2009) • 196 bills enrolled (184 in 2009) • April 29 deadline for Governor’s action on bills passed during last three days of the session Page 19

20. 2010 Legislation Labor & Employment Page 20

21. WARN Act • HF 618 is the Iowa version of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act • Federal law: • Applies to employers of 100 or more employees • Requires 60-day advance notice to affected employees when there is a plant closing or mass layoff affecting 50 or more full-time employees • Iowa law: • Applies to employers with 25 or more full-time employees • Requires 30-day advance notice to affected employees when there is a plant closing or mass layoff affecting 25 or more full-time employees • $100/day for each day required notice not given – maximum of $3,000 if no notice • No other remedies – no private cause of action; no injunctions Page 21

22. Military • Veteran’s Day Holiday – HF 2197 • Veteran’s entitled to take Veteran’s Day (November 11) off from work • Paid or unpaid at employer’s discretion • Veteran/employee must give 30-days advance notice • Employer may deny time off if time off “would impact public health or safety or would cause the employer to experience significant economic or operational disruption” • Employer must make decision about granting time off at least 10 days in advance • Unemployment Compensation for Military Trailing Spouse – HF 2110 • Applies to spouses of military personnel who voluntarily quit to follow their spouses who have been moved by the military • Trailing spouse is eligible for unemployment benefits to be paid out of Iowa’s unemployment trust fund • Not charged against employer’s account Page 22

23. Genetic Information • Iowa Code § 729.6 prohibits employers or prospective employers from: • Requiring employees to take genetic tests (subject to very narrow exceptions) as a condition of employment • Altering the terms or conditions of employment of a person who takes a genetic test • Terminating a person who takes a genetic test • Offering a person employment or paying an employee in exchange for taking a genetic test • SF 2215 adds new prohibitions to § 729.6 applicable to ANY person • Any person must have informed, written consent to: • Obtain, collect, retain, or transmit genetic information • Conduct genetic testing • Additional prohibitions on health insurers • Similar to the federal Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act Page 23

24. Considered, but NOT Enacted • Workers’ Compensation • HF 2382 – would have allowed employee choice of doctor in the 411 system (police and firefighters) • SF 2285 – would have required included overtime and premium pay in the calculation of benefits; also would have added a COLA for permanent total disability benefits • Paid time off – SF 2337 • Would have mandated employers provide accrued paid sick and safe leave for all employees (full and part-time) up to 144 hours/year • Fair share – HF 2420 • Would have allowed state executive branch unions to collect fees from nonmembers for union services • Breastfeeding – SF 2270 • Would have required workplace accommodations for women to express breast milk • Personnel files – HF 2375 • Would have required employers to provide copies of personnel files to former employees upon request Page 24

25. 2010 Legislation Health Insurance Page 25

26. Health Insurance Mandates Page 26 Private Sector • Cancer clinical trials • Mental health and substance abuse • Only for veterans • Only required for groups of over 50 employees • Required of smaller employers if offer any mental health coverage State Employees Only Autism – applied behavioral analysis Medication therapy management

27. Premium Rate Increases • When a health insurance carrier files for a rate increase it must mail notice to all policyholders • The Insurance Consumer Advocate is directed to solicit comments • The Insurance Commissioner is directed to hold a public hearing • Information used by a health insurance carrier to justify a rate increase is a public record Page 27

28. Dental Noncovered Services • Dental carriers negotiate prices for services in contracts with dentists • Negotiate fee limits on what dentists can charge for services not reimbursed by the carrier • Contract limitation (frequency limit, co-pay, deductible) • Not covered under the policy (implant, whitening) • HF 2229 prohibits any negotiated fee for services not reimbursed by the dental carrier • Increase out-of-pocket costs for patients Page 28

29. Health Insurance Reform • Iowa – SF 2356 • Expands IowaCare program • Creates an Iowa information exchange – compare coverage options • Federal Reform • Will require a number of state legislative changes • Immediate and short-term implementation . . . • National high risk pool established • Secretary of Health and Human Services begins designing a national premium rate review process • Internet portal created • Internal/external appeals process • Rescission restrictions • Dependent coverage extended up to age 26 • Prohibition on lifetime limits and restrictions on annual limits for “essential benefits” • No pre-existing condition exclusions for children under 19 • Mandatory minimum loss ratio requirement Page 29

30. 2010 Legislation Litigation Page 30

31. Iowa False Claims Act • SF 2088, §§ 338-344 • Very similar to the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733 • Allows Iowa to retain an additional 10% of amounts recovered for Medicaid fraud • Whistleblowers who have knowledge of fraud committed against the government may sue on behalf of the state and retain a portion of any recovery • Treble damages and civil penalties Page 31

32. State Debt Collection – SF 2383 • Establishes a state debt coordinator to coordinate collection of debts owed to the state • State gets lien against all monetary claims arising from a civil actions filed by a state debtor against third parties • Effective upon the Coordinator filing notice with the clerk of the district court where the action is filed and notice to the debtor/debtor’s attorney • Lien effective against the monetary claim in the civil action • Subsequent settlement requires written agreement by the Coordinator • Insurance company that makes a payment to the debtor in a civil action subject to a lien by the Coordinator has no further liability for the lien filed in the civil action Page 32

33. Wrongful Death Damages • HF 758 – hedonic damages • “Loss of enjoyment of life” • “Measured separate and apart from the economic productive value the decedent would have had if the decedent lived” • Passed the House • Brought up for debate in the Senate – but did NOT pass Page 33

34. 2010 Legislation Taxes Page 34

35. Tax Credits – SF 2380 • Legislative Tax Expenditure Committee • Assess existing “tax expenditures” – credits, exemptions, deductions, and rebates • Review of all virtually all tax existing credits over a 5-year period from 2011 to 2015 • Suspends film tax credits until July 1, 2013, Iowa Code § 15.393 • Reduces total authorized amounts of several credits • Modifies: • Supplemental research activities credit, Iowa Code § 15.335 • Investment tax credit, Iowa Code § 15.333 – Refundability eliminated for value-added agricultural products • Repeals: • Economic development region revolving loan fund tax credit, Iowa Code § 15E.232 • Venture capital fund investment tax credit, Iowa Code § 15E.51 • Reenacts the Iowa estate tax (contingent on federal estate tax changes) • Interim study committees • Enterprise zones • Industrial new jobs training program Page 35

36. 2010 Legislation Campaign Finance Page 36

37. Current Events • Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission • U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the ban on corporations making independent expenditures for: • Electioneering communications – “any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication” that “refers to a clearly identified candidate for Federal office” and is made within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary • Expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate • Does not permit direct corporate contributions to candidates Page 37

38. Iowa Reaction – SF 2354 • Pre-Citizens United Iowa law, Iowa Code chapter 68A • Corporations, financial institutions, and insurance companies could not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate, Iowa Code § 68A.503 • Unconstitutional after Citizens United • Iowa response – SF 2354 • Took effect on April 8, 2010 • Corporations, financial institutions, and insurance companies may make independent expenditures that expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate using corporate money, Iowa Code § 68A.503(4)(d) • Regulation of independent expenditures, Iowa Code §§ 68A.404, 68A.405 • Triggered when expenditures exceed $750 • Authorization of board of directors to make independent expenditure in same year independent expenditure made • File reports detailing nature of expenditures – initial report due within 48 hours of first expenditure • May not use an advertising firm that was retained in the prior 6 months by a candidate benefited by an independent expenditure • Attribution statement that states “paid for by” and the name of the corporation and the name of the corporation’s CEO Page 38

39. Further Reading The Legislature’s web Site Page 39

40. www.legis.state.ia.us Page 40

41. The Bill Book Page 41

42. And in Conclusion . . . 2010’s Greatest Hits Page 42

43. Great Moments in Legislating • Major strides in criminal law • HF 2286 – no longer a crime to detain a person who is not a prostitute in brothel with the intention of making the person “an inmate thereof” • HF 2287 – “simulated” public intoxication is a separate offense from public intoxication • HF 2288 – repeals the limit of two cowl lamps on vehicles Page 43

44. Great Moments in Legislating Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if any accident involving the emergency landing of an airplane, hot air balloon, glider, helicopter, or flying De Lorean on a jogging trail, beach, or other recreational or public area causes the death of a pedestrian who was listening to a portable media player at the time of the accident, the operator of the aircraft involved in the accident is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, the operator may be subject to a fine of one thousand dollars or suspension of the person's driver's license for not more than one hundred eighty days, or both. -- Amendment H-8649, by Rick Olson (D-Des Moines) Page 44

45. Thank You Scott Sundstrom Office: (515) 283-8174 Cell: (515) 306-9658 sasundstrom@nyemaster.com