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AGENDA TO PROTECT PRIVACY Democrats in the Iowa Legislature outlined a four point agenda to improve the privacy of Iowans this week. The agenda follows a study last fall in Privacy Magazine that puts Iowa privacy laws among the worst of the 50 states.
While Iowa does have some penalties for identity theft, the Legislature should make it easier to prosecute identity theft cases and maximize the property value a victim can claim from identity theft. Democrats also called for a separate position of identity theft advocate within the Iowa Attorney General's office.
The Democrats have introduced legislation to prohibit use of automated dialing devices when calling a person on a no call list or with an unlisted number. Automated dialing devices that block caller ID or do not terminate within 10 seconds of hanging up would also be prohibited.
Iowans should be able to have a genetic test to determine if they are at high-risk for a life threatening illness without fearing that an insurance company could use the results to increase their rate or deny coverage. Under the plan, genetic test results could not be released to anyone without the written permission of a patient.
Iowans deserve peace in their own homes and should be able to stop
unwanted, unsolicited telemarketing calls. The privacy agenda includes
creation of a statewide 'do not call' list for Iowans. Telemarketers
would be required to purchase the list quarterly and remove Iowans from
their phone lists or face fines up to $2,000 for each violation. $2 BILLION "STIR IOWA" PROPOSAL GRABS LOTS OF ATTENTION The Iowa Farm Bureau unveiled a plan this week called the Statewide Tax Increment Renewal (STIR Iowa) plan. STIR Iowa is not an attempt at general property tax reform. Rather, it is intended tocorrect one particular property tax inequity, correct a school funding inequity, and improve statewide economic development efforts.
The STIR Iowa Plan will eliminate all local Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Districts. TIFs are primarily established by cities. TIF is a method of financing development projects by pledging the revenue from the incremental increase in property taxes resulting from the new development within the TIF district. Critics charge that this reduces the property valuation that other jurisdictions may tax, which forces them to help finance the project and makes their levy rates increase. Also, a TIF cuts the revenue raised by school taxes, causing state aid to go up under the school finance formula. This essentially forces all state taxpayers to help pay for local projects. Critics say this situation is made more unacceptable because many cities finance projects with questionable development value.
The STIR Iowa plan diverts $140 million in property tax revenues to a new state fund. This is slightly less than as currently raised by local TIFs and is only 4.5% of the total $3 billion in property taxes levied statewide. This annual revenue stream will be used to back the issuance of $2 billion in state bonds, which will be repaid over 20 years.
The $2 billion in bond revenue will be used to:
Vilsack has proposed a multi-year $500 million program to expand high quality jobs in targeted sectors such aslife sciences, advanced manufacturing, and information and insurance. In addition, the Vilsack plan includes expanding the use of renewable fuels and ensuring availability of high speed Internet services in rural Iowa.
Governor Vilsack indicated that, despite a lot of questions, the
proposal deserved serious consideration. Legislative leaders expressed
similar sentiments regarding the necessity to "think outside the box"
and keep an open mind. SOLUTION FOR SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE EQUITY PROBLEMS? Iowa's legislators reviewed an economic development financing mechanism proposed by the Iowa Farm Bureau that would generate $2 billion for state economic development efforts. (See separate article on STIR Iowa proposal.) The "Statewide Tax Increment Renewal (STIR Iowa) proposal offers some help for school districts with infrastructure needs. The STIR Iowa proposal includes a provision that provides greater equity in school infrastructure funding. The STIR Iowa proposal is estimated to provide $400 million, of the $2 billion generated, to help equalize the funding when a school districts raises money from a local option sales tax. The proposal amends the current local option sales tax laws used for school infrastructure to create a centralized pool to collect the local option sales revenues and distribute them equitably on a per pupil bases. If all school districts participated in the central pool, the statewide average amount generated per pupil from a penny sales tax would be approximately $500 per pupil. However the existing local option sales tax schools are not expected to participate in the central pool unless the voters reauthorize the tax after its ten year run. The proposal calls for a grandfather clause, allowing the school districts that have already imposed a local option sales tax to continue to receive the revenue raised in their county without putting it in the pool. The $400 million will be used to equalize the local option sales taxes collected by the schools that do join the centralized pool to the $500 per pupil level. Each county would still vote to determine whether a local option sales tax should be established. If the local option tax is not approved, than the school districts will not be eligible to receive a share of the $400 million. The STIR Iowa proposal provides a $400 million twist to the debate to
change the local option tax law to make the distributions more
equitable. Otherwise the STIR Iowa proposal is similar to proposals
discussed this year and last year by the Iowa Association of School
Boards. LEOPOLD CENTER PROVIDES UPDATE TO HOUSE COMMITTEE On Thursday, February 6th, Fred Kirschenmann, Director of the Iowa Leopold Center, updated the House Agriculture Committee on the center's activities. Examples of Leopold Center projects include farmers evaluating switchgrass on CRP land (federal conservation reserve program land) for use as a new energy source; establishing management strategies for farmers who are trying to graze beef cows for niche markets; being the first to fund extensive studies showing the effectiveness of low-cost hooped hog houses; and supporting local food projects that encourage institutions and restaurants to purchase locally grown and processed fruits, vegetables and meat. Mr. Kirschenmann said new work for the center's next 10 years will focus on three initiatives:
The Leopold Center was established by the Legislature as part of the Groundwater Protection Act of 1987. It's legislatively mandated goals are to identify and reduce negative impacts of agricultural practices, contribute to the development of profitable farming systems that conserve natural resources, and cooperate with Iowa State University Extension to inform the public of new findings.
Last year, the Leopold Center's state funding was cut by $1 million. This funding comes from the groundwater protection fund and is made up of fees farmers pay on pesticides and fertilizers. These fees generate roughly $1.3 million a year. The only other state funding the center receives comes from the state's general fund, which was approximately $490,000 for fiscal year 2003. Governor Vilsack has recommended no cuts to the Leopold Center for fiscal year 2004 - $1.3 million from the groundwater protection fund and $490,000 from the state's general fund. Mr. Kirschenmann reported that the results of the $1 million cut in fiscal year 2003 amounted to the center not issuing any new request for proposals (RFPs) for research, the first time since inception that new requests hadn't been issued. The center was able to honor FY 2003 commitments for research already approved and in progress. The center eliminated funding for its educational event and grant program, pilot educational programs, and did not hold any statewide conferences. They were forced to cutback their issue teams who direct projects; however, the hoop barn issue team did continue because they got some federal money for research. The center also cut two full-time support staff. They now contract with Iowa State University for staff support. The biggest impact was in regards to a W.K. Kellogg Foundation award. The center originally secured a $660,000 foundation grant to provide support for farmers producing new markets. The budget cuts resulted in the appearance of uncertainty of how long the center would be in existence. The foundation ended up awarding $100,000 to start work on the first phase of a food systems project. The grant was one of eight in the United States. The Leopold Center aims to become a national player for long-term change in agriculture. This week, I attended my regular committee meetings, which include Environmental Protection, Human Resources, Public Safety, and Health and Human Services subcommitte. In all committees except Human Resources, we heard presentations on different issues ranging from water quality to child care in Iowa. Mary Skopec of the Geological Survey Bureau of the Department of Natural Resources spoke to the Environmental Protection Committee about the water quality monitoring program in Iowa. The mission of the program is "to conduct an ongoing assessment of the condition of Iowa's surface water and ground water resources and report the results to the public, so that appropriate information is available to guide resource management policies and decisions." The purpose of the Water Monitoring Program is to provide a comprehensive assessment of Iowa's water resources. The Public Safety Committee heard a speech from the InnerChange Freedom Initiative at the Newton Correctional Facility, which is a faith-based treatment program for inmates. The primary requirement to be enrolled in the program is the desire to change. Staff of the IF program teach from a Christian worldview, but do not require the inmate to be a Christian. IFI promises to do several things after successful completion of the program, which include mentoring, housing and employment needs, and finding churches in communities for the released inmate. Dr. Sue Hegland, Associate Professor of the Department of Human Development and Family Services at ISU, presented the committee with results of a study on child care in Iowa. The study compared Iowa with Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. These states were included because they are all part of the federal Health and Human Services Region 7. Dr. Hegland pointed out that it is important to improve child care in Iowa and proposed several ways to follow through with this initiative. Clergy may be required by House File 156 to be mandatory reporters of child abuse, the same as medical professionals, police, social workers, teachers and counselors are already required to do. However, the reporting would not include information obtained during penitential confession. This bill was adopted in the House Human Resources Committee this week. The next step for HF 156 would be for debate on the House Floor.
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Identity Theft Protections