Stan Gustafson STATE REPRESENTATIVE Twenty-Fifth District Statehouse: (515) 281-3221 e-mail –
[email protected] HOME ADDRESS 3139 Cumming Road Cumming, Iowa 50061
House of Representatives State of Iowa Eighty-Sixth General Assembly STATEHOUSE Des Moines, Iowa 50319
COMMITTEES Judiciary, Vice Chair Economic Growth Human Resources International Relations Veterans Affairs APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE Justice System
Funnel Date: The Funnel Date, March 6, is fast approaching. This is the date that Bills need to be passed out of House Committees in order to be debated on the floor. To date, over 350 Bills have been introduced to the House for consideration. If they are not passed by the assigned Committee, they will be dead for this session. You can check the status of a Bill at our Legislative website: www.legis.iowa.gov Mixed Economic Indicators: In its latest release, the Department of Revenue’s Iowa Leading Indicators Index showed modest growth in December 2014. The Index rose to 109.4 for the month, a slight hike over November’s rating of 109.3. Creighton University’s Iowa Business Conditions Index fell in January to 52.2, down from the 53.4 figure reported for December. While any number above 50 is viewed as indicating economic growth, the Iowa index has fallen in six of the past nine months. USDA predicts that farm income will continue to fall from the 2012 highs, while input costs continue to creep up. The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference will meet on Thursday, March 19 at 1 pm. The three-member panel will review and adjust the revenue estimates for FY 2015 and FY 2016. If the REC lowers the FY 2016 revenue forecast, the Legislature is bound to use the new revenue figure and the Governor is required by law to submit a revised budget. Zero-Based Budgeting Bill: The House State Government committee voted earlier this week on HF 1
which requires agencies and departments, as well as the judicial branch, to adopt a zero-based budgeting approach. Currently, they use estimates based on 75 percent of funding provided for the current fiscal year. With this bill, executive departments and the judicial branch will be required to use zero as their base approach when determining their budgets. Additionally, it requires the departments to prioritize requested expenditures, with support as to why every request is needed. It is a useful tool to help the departments and agencies justify why they need the amounts they request, and also helps with the budgeting process by helping legislators identify the “low hanging fruit” should adjustments need to take place. It also prevents across the board cuts, and provides an open and transparent process throughout. Online Schools Bill: This week the House approved HF204, allowing two school districts providing full-time online schools to continue to operate. By using Iowa’s open enrollment law, which allows students to get their education from a district outside of the district in which they live, hundreds of students from across the state have opted for full-time online education to meet their education needs. Landfilling of Yard-Waste for Methane use: The House Environmental Protection Committee passed House Study Bill 93, now House File 266, which amends the Iowa Code concerning the prohibition of landfilling of yard waste to allow the landfilling of yard-waste at a landfill that has an Environmental Protection Agency approval to use a methane collection system that produces energy. Currently, yard-waste may be landfilled when yard wastes are delivered separated from other solid waste and is used for purposes of soil conditioning and composting; or is the result of collection of yard waste debris created by a severe storm in an area that has been declared a disaster area; or is collected for disposal as part of an insect-pest, or plant disease eradication effort or from invasive plant species control efforts where alternative composting efforts would risk further spread of the pest, disease or invasive plant. Bill Banning Tanning for Minors: The House Human Resources committee passed House Study Bill 81 which bans tanning in a tanning salon for people under the age of 18. Bills Passed by the House this week: HF146; HF156; HF159; HF167; HF202; HF204; HF205. Forum: Senator Garrett and I will be attending a Forum at the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Winterset Saturday, February 28, at 9:00 am. Please plan on attending if you are able. You can find my webpage under the “Our Members” tab at www.iowahouserepublicans.com.
