Other Bills to Watch

The bill tracker is the best place to keep up to date on the bills still in the mix.  Here’s a quick rundown as of this morning.

Signed or Sent to the Governor

• Senate File 514: 1500-page bill that reorganizes state government has been signed.

• Senate File 471: Balances the MH/DS Regional Governing Boards so there is more provider, community, and persons served participation. It also adds a community-based alternative competency restoration. (Sent to Governor)

• Senate File 494: The “public assistance reform” bill that is sometimes called the “SNAP bill”.  It requires new whole-household asset tests to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The HHS Budget (SF 561) clarifies this household asset test does not apply to Medicaid  The portions of this bill that require more database checks to make sure people are eligible for Medicaid and other public assistance programs does still apply. Since some of those databases are from federal, private and other state sources, there is some concern that they may not be current and cause people to have to respond quickly (10 days) to “discrepancies,” or risk losing their assistance. You can still take action on this by contacting the Governor. (Sent to Governor)

• Senate File 496: Legislators are calling this the “Parent’s Rights in Education” bill.  It outlines the rights of parents and students, allows for books to be challenged if they contain material that describes a sex act (which many classics do), and requires all students pass a citizenship test to graduate.  It stops all mention of gender identity and sexual orientation in elementary schools.  It also requires teachers to tell parents if their child is asking to be called by a name or pronoun that is different than what is on their birth certificate. (Sent to Governor)

Legislators also adopted Senate Joint Resolution 9, which does not require a Governor’s signature.  This resolution amends the Iowa Constitution to change the voting age from 21 to 18.  Our state’s constitution never was updated when voting laws changed. This is just a correction.  However, anytime you want to amend the Iowa Constitution, the Legislature has to pass it in two consecutive general assemblies. That takes at least three years before it goes to the voters to be voted on in the next general election.  Iowans will get to vote on this change in next year’s (November 2024) election, which is when we will also be electing a President.

There are also a lot of other bills still in the works that we’re tracking:

Chances for passage are good:

• House File 602 | Student Suicide Prevention: This bill requires all schools that issue a student ID card to include crisis hotline phone numbers, text lines, and websites on the card.  The Senate made a small change to the bill.  It needs House approval before it can go to the Governor. 

• House File 685 | Managed Care Organizations Taxes:  This is the bill that requires MCOs to pay the insurance premium tax, and then uses it to draw down additional funds.  The MCO still gets their money back, but the state gets to keep the extra $100-120 million in federal funds to reinvest back into Medicaid.  The Senate added language to stop new nursing home construction.   It requires any company coming into the state to purchase a failing nursing home have the resources it needs to guarantee resident safety.  The House must approve of this amendment before it can go to the Governor.  If they don’t, the Senate can back off and let the bill go unamended.

• House File 707 | Child Care Eligibility: More families would qualify for childcare assistance under this bill, but they’ll have to work a few more hours to keep it.  The bill as passed by the House increases the eligibility to 155% of the federal poverty level and increases the work requirement by four hours (from 28 hours to 32 hours per week). Childcare for children with special needs remains at 200% of the federal poverty level and 28 hours per week work.  The bill also increases half-day rates for childcare and prohibits HHS from raising rates without legislative approval.  The Senate has an amendment to increase eligibility to 160%.  The Senate needs to pass this bill, and if it amends it, the House will need to agree to it.

50-50 Chance of Passage:

• House File 604: This is the bill that directs schools on how and when they are allowed to remove disruptive students from classrooms.  The House and Senate are taking different approaches to this issue.  The Senate bill wants to allow schools to expel a disruptive student. The House bill sets out a process that allows moving a child to a different classroom or an alternative learning environment (like the therapeutic classrooms that were created to address this issue several years ago).  Both require counseling and parental notification when there is an incident. The Senate wants threats of violence, not just acts, to be included.  The Senate also includes language that protects kids with an individualized education plan (IEP) or other behavioral plan. The IEP team would need to meet to modify the plan as an alternative to the more extreme consequences.  The Senate amended the bill, so it is now in the House’s hands. The House can insist on their language. They can amend the Senate amendment. Or, they can just let the bill die.  If you have an opinion on this bill, Rep. Cindy Golding (R-Linn County) is the floor manager.

• House File 608: Many advocates know this "Seizure Ready School" bill well. It’s been introduced many years in a row. It requires schools to have a seizure action plan in place and staff trained to recognize and appropriately respond to a student having a seizure, as well as be able to administer medication.  That can be a school nurse, or someone else on staff.  Despite having passed the House 96-1, the bill is having difficulty passing the Senate. Schools want to review all student health requirements before adding any new ones.  It’s in the Senate’s hands now. If they pass it as is, it’ll go to the Governor.  Sen. Chris Cournoyer (R-Scott County) is the floor manager, and she’s a former school board member.

Chances to Pass are Slim:

• House File 716:  This bill came out of the tax committee (Ways and Means), even though it does not have a tax in it.  It limits participation in the Iowa Caucuses by requiring a voter to be registered to vote and registered with the political party at least 70 days before that political party’s caucus.  Right now, you can register to vote at the door, change your political party at the door, and participate.  It also requires participation to be in person. This can be a barrier to Iowans with disabilities since the caucuses are held in the evening and are closed at the exact time the caucus is to start. You can’t be one minute late.  The bill has not been voted on by the House, so time may run out on this one.

• Senate File 210 & House File 273: These bills have not moved since the first funnel. Both are out of committee and on the unfinished business calendars, and are still eligible for debate. The bills state that the terms mental health, behavioral health, and brain health are all the same.  Some legislators are concerned that by doing that in Iowa law, it could have bigger implications than just eliminating stigma. There is probably too much work that still needs to be done to convince legislators it’s a good idea. Next year may be different.  

• The bill that created and funded Post-Secondary Educational Scholarships for college-aged students with disabilities ended in the second funnel. Many advocates have been trying to get the House and Senate Education Budget Chairs to add it to their budget bill.  It’s still possible, but the decision rests with Sen. Jeff Taylor (R-Sioux County) and Rep. Carter Nordman (D-Guthrie County). It seems like an uphill battle even though both really like the program.

Just because we don’t think the bill will pass – or we are certain they will – don’t let that stop you from advocating.  It just means bills need advocates to push harder.  In the 2024 session, bills will start where ended in 2023.  If a bill made it through the House and out of Senate committee, it would stay there until 2024.  You can work over the summer to get more support to pass it.  We’ll talk more about that in our May and June Capitol Chats (sign up for them here).