This Week @ The Iowa Capitol

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Friday was the first legislative deadline, what people at the Capitol call a "funnel deadline." Bills that did not make it out of their assigned committee by February 18 are no longer eligible for debate. They are "dead" and will no longer be debated. Bills that were voted out of committee are now ready for debate by the full House or full Senate, the next step in the process.

Legislators will spend this week debating bills, what we call "floor debate." All 100 Representatives will vote on House bills, and all 50 Senators will vote on Senate bills. They have another deadline coming up in just one month - by March 18 all bills must be ready for action in the second chamber (House bills must be ready for Senate debate; Senate bills ready for House debate). That's a lot of work ahead.

The House and Senate tax bills are now sitting on the Senate Calendar. The Senate Regular Calendar is a list of bills that are ready for Senate debate. The "Daily Debate Calendar" is a list of bills legislators may debate that day. You can see these calendars here. As you may remember, the Senate tax plan cuts $2.2 billion in taxes by 2028. The House tax plan cuts $1.6 billion in taxes by 2028. That sounds good - paying less in taxes - but it also means legislators will have less money coming in to spend on things like Medicaid and Home and Community Based Services (HCBS).

More than half of the bills in the infoNET Bill Tracker are now dead; the rest are ready for action, but may need some extra help. If you see something in the Bill Tracker you like, let your legislators know!

Remember, you can watch or listen to floor debate daily here - either live or the daily tapes. Follow us on social media (#infonetiowa; @infonetiowa) for upcoming debates that may interest you.

Live Bills

These bills are still alive. Legislators can choose to bring them up for debate, and keep them on the path to becoming law. You can see the full list here.

>>Paying off student loans for mental health professionals (HF 2137 & SF 2195)

>>Updating definition of autism - an Autism Speaks bill (HF 2167)

>>Funding a program to pay for hearing aides for children (HF 2188)

>>Requiring a person set up an identity verification pin when getting public assistance (HF 2438)

>>Making changes to balance the rights of landlords and the rights of people with service or assistance animals (HF 2486 & SF 2093)

>>Requiring a special education task force to look for ways children can get special education in their private school setting (SF 2197)

>>House and Senate tax cut bills as mentioned above (SF 2206 & HF 2317)

>>Requiring a voter sign and write in their voter verification number or driver's license when voting absentee; returned ballots without these won't be counted (SF 2343 & HSB 719)

>>Banning all vaccine requirements (not just COVID) in the Medical Privacy & Freedom Act (HSB 647)

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Dead Bills

These bills did not make the cut. They are dead and legislators are no longer allowed to bring these up for debate. You can see the full list here.

>>Requiring absentee voters include a photocopy of their driver's license or ID card when mailing ballot back (HF 2049)

>>Allowing voters with physical disabilities to receive and vote an electronic absentee ballot (HF 2075)

>>Automatically registering people to vote when they get driver's license (SF 2017)

>>Banning some types of dogs as service animals (SF 2035)

>>Making a lot of improvements to the Medicaid managed care system (SF 2066)

>>Increasing Medicaid provider reimbursement rates by an annual inflation rate plus 1% (SF 2197)

>>Requires Medicaid managed care organizations to pay interest when they pay claims incorrectly or deny them (SF 2065)

>>Requiring insurance companies to cover the costs of diagnosing and treating PANS/PANDAS (SSB 1200)

>>Allowing exceptions to school mask requirements after Supreme Court ruled schools can require masks to protect students with disabilities (HSB 683)

Budget Targets Out Early This Year

The House and Senate budget targets are now out, a full month before they usually are made public. A budget target is the total amount of money legislators will spend for the year, broken down by type of spending (education, human services, agriculture).

The Senate has said they will try to spend only $8.1 billion, which is only $77 million more than the current year. That is less than 1% increase. They did not say how that breaks down by area.

The House plans to spend a bit more - $8.3 billion ($149 million more). Both House and Senate include more money for schools and mental health/disability services regions. The House did say how much they plan to spend in each area:

$2.1 billion Health/Human Services ($53.6 million more)

$1 billion Education ($31.8 million more)

You can see all of these targets here.

What Does This Mean?

Legislators have decided how much they want to spend on programs and services next year, including Medicaid and Home and Community Based Services (HCBS).

They only plan to spend about $75 - $150 million more. That is only 1% more, when the price of most things in the stores has gone up 6% in the last year.

This may not be enough money to pay for changes needed to address the problems the Department of Justice found with our long term care system.

We do not know how much it will cost to fix problems at Glenwood State Resource Center, and how much it will cost to develop more options for people wanting to live outside state institutions.

If you are concerned about this, talk to your legislators and ask them how they plan to pay make these changes with only a small increase in state funding.

Capitol Snapshot

Get a quick recap of funnel week from the Iowa DD Council's Public Policy Manager Bill Kallestad and their eyes and ears at the Capitol, Amy Campbell.

Click here to watch.

Advocate Resources

Bill Tracker

Action Center

Calendar & Legislative Town Halls

Guide to the Iowa Legislature

Advocacy Toolkit

infoNET is a disability policy newsletter of the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council and its network of Iowans with Disabilities in Action.

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This project was supported, in part by grant number 2101IASCDD, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.