UPFRONT April 19, 2019 Title: The Final Week I believe this Legislature is entering its final week, but it could last until next Monday or Tuesday in order to get everything cleaned up. These are definitely the final days of the session. Passing the budget between the two houses and sending it on to the governor is the primary focus, but there are still other things that bear consideration. Finding a permanent fix to the Mental Health and Disabilities Services system, finding a good balance of oversight for the new Managed Care system and exploring options to pay for water quality are still on the table. Still on the “back burner” are issues such as limited medical marijuana laws, allowing fantasy sports gambling, and legalized fireworks. Advocates are looking for vehicles to attach these issues to and get them passed. The most important issue to me is funding for regional mental health and disability services. The House and Senate continue to talk about finding a way to fund this system and make sure that funding is sustainable and equitable. Since 1996, with the passage of SF 69, counties have been monetarily capped to provide for Mental Health and Disabilities Services (MHD/DS). Those counties have been allowed the same amount of money for the past 21 years to address the MHD/DS population.
Some members of the House have proposed a bill that would just extend the current system for another year (House File 2456), giving lawmakers more time to study the issue of funding. Two counties do not have another year to wait, and are in dire need of funding this year. To address that need my Health/Human Services Budget (HF 2460) appropriates $3 million total to offset some of the shortfalls in funding to Polk County (which needs $7.1 million) and Scott County (which needs $1.6 million). The Iowa State Association of Counties (which represents the MHD/DS regions) opposes this approach, because it does not fix the problem and puts off a decision for another year. Some members of the Senate have proposed an alternative (Senate File 2318) that would create a permanent long-term fix to funding the regional mental health and disability services system. This bill would allow county boards of supervisors to set levy rates where they are needed to meet local needs, as long as they do not go above the current $47.28 per capita expenditure limit. Under this scenario, property taxes in 73 Iowa counties would go down and about eight may be increased to meet new population demands. If a county in a region was seeking an increase in its levy, there would be a procedure they must follow before they would be able to increase their levy. Counties annually submit their mental health budget for approval by the Department of Human Services. Their budget request for an increase would be examined by the DHS director and an increase could not occur without his or her approval. Property taxes are a real issue with my constituents in my district. I think that anytime there is a request to raise property taxes, there must be a very stringent process that the request must go through before receiving approval. The Iowa State Association of Counties, which supports this approach, says this bill saves $7 million in taxes statewide. This happens because many small, rural counties are having to raise their property taxes to make up for larger urban counties in their regions that are frozen at a level that is too low to meet needs.
I am not sure whether we will pass legislation dealing with the mental health regions this year. We could get by for one more year. One thing is clear; we cannot afford to continue to use state funding to support individual counties’ budget shortfalls. Non-Medicaid mental health funding is the responsibility of the county, and we should allow them the ability to have the resources to fulfill their needs. Visiting the capitol last week was Pastor Bill Wenig, formerly of Mount Pleasant, and Kevin Wheeler, CEO of Access Energy; Joel Brown of Mount Pleasant and Jared Peck of Des Moines. If you have any issues or concerns, please contact me. Be sure to include your name and address with any communication to my office. Dave Heaton, State Representative, State House, Des Moines, Iowa 50319 Phone: 515-281-7327~Fax: 515-281-6958 E-mail:
[email protected] Web page: http://www.daveheaton.net
