State Legislation:
1. Broadband Easement:
HSB545
—MONITORING
· This bill would allow electric utilities to offer retail broadband using existing electric easement to deliver service
· Senate version:
SSB3055
will be brought up in subcommittee on this coming Wednesday
2. Water Quality:
PASSED IN THE HOUSE:
SF512
· Originally passed by the Senate in April of 2017
· Vote taken on Tuesday (59-41) and sent to the Governor for signing
i. Governor will sign this into law next week
ii. Funding of $282 million over 12 years
3. Tax Reform: UNCHANGED
· Watching for potential bills that could increase taxes for our members
4. Balanced Budget:
SSB3089
—MONITORING
· Bill cuts ~$52 million from the existing budget
· Deeper cuts than the Governor asked for
I met with Sec. Bill Northey, Deputy Sec. Mike Naig and Jake Swanson (special assistant to the Sec./legislative liason) this week on his perspective on Sect. 199A. We have a meeting scheduled with Senator Ernst’s Iowa team next week to discuss further. Please reach out to your federal legislators about Section 199A! Call, text or e-mail me if you want that contact information.
Federal Legislation:
1.
Waters Of The U.S. (WOTUS)—MONITORING
· Defines the jurisdiction of the EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers over rivers, lakes, etc.
2.
Tax Reform: Unchanged—MONITORING
· Section 199A: Monitoring closely and supporting this reform as it is
· Lots of talk about working together on this: NCFC and NGFA partnership