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Another Week, Another Priority

Legislators keep checking off their to-do lists. The school choice and school funding bills are now signed into law.

This week legislators addressed an issue they have struggled with for nearly two decades. Doctors and hospitals say big lawsuits over medical errors have made it too expensive to buy medical malpractice insurance This drives up the cost of health care. They asked legislators to limit how much a jury can give a person who is injured or died because of a medical error.

With work done on that, legislators will turn to the next item on their list, reorganizing state government. Still on the list is property tax changes and budgets.

Friday was the final day for legislators to request a bill, and the first "funnel" deadline is just three weeks away (March 3).

KEY

TAKE AWAYS

The Governor plans to have fewer state departments.

House Study Bill 126 and Senate Study Bill 1123 cuts the number of state departments from 37 to 16.

Senators held one meeting on the bills.

The Senate plans to have another meeting today (Monday) at 11 am to talk about other parts of the bill.

Today's review includes changes to Vocational Rehabilitation, Department for the Blind, Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, and Iowa School for the Deaf.

The public speak during this meeting in person (Room G15) or online by Zoom.

You can also give your comments in writing.

Another meeting will be set to talk about the new Department of Health and Human Services.

Representatives in the Iowa House have not yet started talking about their bill.

Reorganizing State Government

The Governor has asked legislators to shrink the number of state agencies from 37 to 16. The Iowa Departments of Public Health, Human Services, and Aging have been working over the past two years on a plan to merge into a single state agency (the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, or DHHS). The Governor has also recommended moving the Department of Human Rights into this new combined department as well.

You can see the Governor’s plan here.
You can see the organization chart here.

Last week, Senators held their first subcommittee on state government reorganization (SSB 1123). The second subcommittee will be held today (Monday) at 11 a.m. and will focus on the following sections of the bill (in the order below).

We’ve noted the changes in a few areas that we think may be important to you. You can read the entire description of the bill here.

Department for the Blind (pages 1391-1392): Right now, the Commission for the Blind is responsible for overseeing the work of the department and hiring a director. The bill makes the Governor responsible for hiring the director and setting their salary.

Department of Education (pages 1392-1468): The bill moves the School for the Deaf and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School from under the Board of Regents (which oversees state universities) and puts them under the Department of Education (which oversees K-12 schools).

Department of Workforce Development (pages 1261-1299): Right now, Vocational Rehabilitation is a division of the Department of Education. It works closely with schools to help students with disabilities transition into the adult working world. This bill moves them to the Iowa Department of Workforce Development.

After reviewing workforce development, the subcommittee will talk about the following departments in order (but we did not flag anything significant for this report):
Public Employment Relations Board
Department of Veterans Affairs
Economic Development Authority
Partner State Program
Commerce

Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (pages 937-1200): The Department of Inspections and Appeals will get a longer title if this bill is signed into law. The state’s professional licensing functions will move into this department. Doctors, dentists, electricians, plumbers, and others will get their licenses from the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. In addition, the Civil Rights Commission will be moved into this department (it is currently in Human Rights).

The subcommittee will bring up the sections on Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and State Director Salaries next (but again we do not see anything of direct interest to advocates with disabilities).

Confirmation of Appointments (pages 1537-1538): State department directors and members of boards and commissions must be confirmed by the Senate by 2/3 vote. That means 34 votes out of the 50 Senators. This bill changes that to 3/5 vote (or 30 out of the 50 Senators). This would make it easier for the Governor to have appointments approved. This section is only in the Senate bill.

Boards and Commissions (pages 1538-1540): The bill creates a new ten-person committee to review the purpose of each state boards and commissions and look for ways to be more efficient and effective. This means getting rid of some and combining others. There are six voting members and four non-voting legislators. One of the voting members is a member of the public appointed by the Governor. The report and recommendations are due September 30, 2023 (and all boards and commissions are required to cooperate with the review committee).

You can watch the subcommittee live here. You can also comment on these bill sections as they go through them. You will just have to click on the raised hand “reaction” to be called on. You can also make comments here.

There will be another meeting set to talk about the new Department of Health and Human Services. Some advocates are concerned about moving Department of Human Rights into DHHS.

Representatives in the Iowa House have not yet started talking about their companion bill (HSB 126), but they plan to split the bill up into four parts and have four subcommittee meetings before deciding whether to amend and/or move the bill forward.

Key Take Aways

A House Committee voted on three bills this week. They are ready for the next step: a vote by all State Representatives.

House File 16 will help young adults with disabilities pay for college programs.

House File 74 will give individuals on the ID waiver more money to make their car and home more accessible.

House File 243 will make sure individuals with autism spectrum disorder will have the treatment they need covered by their insurance.

Read report on HCBS services.

Bills on the Move This Week

Legislators have until March 3 to get bills out of committee. They do not want to wait until the last minute this year. We wanted to highlight three bills that were voted out of committee this week:

We have talked about Rep. Chad Ingels’ bill (House File 16). This provides individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities with scholarships to attend a college transition program, like the University of Iowa’s REACH program and Northwestern College’s NEXT program. That bill was passed out of committee and is now House File 252. It is now ready to be debated by the 100-member House.

There is a lot of talk about Medicaid home and community based services (HCBS) waivers and the different options available under each of the seven waivers. The Harkin Institute and Mathematica teamed up to review Iowa’s system of waivers and just recently issued a report. We’ll talk more about that report next week. A bill has already been introduced to try to fix an issue with the Intellectual Disabilities Waiver. House File 74 changes the lifetime limit ($5,727) on home and vehicle modifications to a yearly limit that matches the Brain Injury Waiver ($6,872). This bill is also ready for a full House vote.

Finally, House File 243 was voted out of committee last week as well. It requires insurance to pay for services provided to a person with autism spectrum disorder, regardless of the person’s age and without limits on the number of applied behavior analysis (ABA) visits needed (starting January 1, 2024). This bill is also ready to be voted on by the House.

These three bills are supported by the Iowa DD Council and other advocacy organizations. If any of these bills are important to you, you can email your State Representative here.

Remember, the best emails explain why the bill will help you and your family. The more you link the changes to your personal story, the more likely your legislator will take action. Just think: if this passes, what will it do for me or others like me?

New Bills from Week Five

House File 188 requires Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) to report on the total amount spent on institutional vs. home-and-community-based supports and services and any reductions or increases in those services (and reasons for it). Medicaid is to then convene a stakeholder group to evaluate the information and make recommendations.

The Senate introduced two guardianship bills on Thursday: Senate Study Bill 1147 & Senate Study Bill 1146. Senate Study Bill 1147 is the same as the House bill (House Study Bill 109); Senate Study Bill 1146 is what is considered the Senate’s approach to the issue. These are not simple bills and advocates do not agree on how to proceed. We’ll talk more about this in the coming weeks.

Bill Tracker

Roxanne and young advocate shake hands at 2023 legislative breakfast with Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott

Advocates including Roxanne Cogil greet Rep. Art Staed and other legislators in the rotunda at the State Capitol.

Green chalkboard with Shout Out written in chalk, with text bubbles saying "you are amazing" and "brilliant"

This week’s SHOUT OUT goes to Roxanne Cogil.

She is the Executive Director of the Epilepsy Foundation Iowa and is a well-known face at the Iowa Capitol.

For years she has advocated for seizure-prepared schools and against the insurance industry that forces people to take medications that are not medically appropriate because they are cheaper.

She also is a member of the Iowa DD Council and a volunteer advocate for the Autism Society of Iowa. In that role, she makes sure other Council members and staff learn more about individuals with autism spectrum disorder and their priorities. We’re giving her a SHOUT OUT for her work in helping keep all of us informed on important issues

for our advocates.

Carlyn Crowe (a blond woman wearing a pink shirt and dark suit) and Amy Campbell (a brown haired woman wearing a black and white shirt and black vest, glasses) are in an institutional green colored room with dark green velvet curtains in the back.

New Capitol Snapshot

Carlyn Crowe and Amy Campbell highlight this report during their weekly Capitol Snapshot here.

Sign Up for Our Capitol Chats

You can watch our Capitol Chats here.

Feb. 24, Mar. 31, Apr. 28

Go to Calendar

Iowa legislators still take time out of their weekends home to go to public forums or town halls. It's their time to meet the people they represent, share what they are doing at the State Capitol, and hear what people think that work.

You can find these on our calendar, and you can download the list for the next two weeks here.

Advocate Resources

Bill Tracker

Action Center

Calendar & Legislative Town Halls

Guide to the Iowa Legislature

Advocacy Toolkit

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This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $774,176 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.