The Dickey Dispatch – March 31, 2025
by Senator Adrian Dickey
Happy Monday District 44!
Last week started off on a good note with my bill, SF 590, passing through the Senate with a vote of 49-0. SF 590 adds food distributors to our current liability protections for donating foods to food banks. Currently trucking companies are often unable to donate food that was rejected by the receiver. This occurs often and is typically due to the item not being ordered by the receiver, too much of it was shipped, or the cardboard box had damage to it. It is so sad to see food that is perfectly edible be discarded in a dumpster when there is nothing wrong with it. If this bill makes it through the House, every year Iowa food banks could receive tens of thousands of pounds of edible food that is currently being thrown away.
On Tuesday I was also able to meet with FFA groups from Pekin and Fairfield. I always enjoy seeing young people show interest in the political system, especially at the state level. I shared with the students some of my favorite facts about our beautiful Capitol and explained some of my responsibilities as a State Senator.
On Wednesday, the Mt. Pleasant Home School Assistance Program brought a group of kids from the Mt. Pleasant area to tour the Iowa Capitol. I was able to meet with them briefly in between meetings and share how some days can get jam-packed, while others are slower, allowing us as citizen legislators to work on our day jobs. Having a citizen legislature is so important because it allows legislators to gain a broader understanding of their community and in-depth knowledge of the industries they work in.
On Wednesday, I ran my bill, SF 259, on the floor of the Senate. SF 259 prohibits the Department of Transportation or law enforcement agencies from releasing information if it would be used to issue or collect a fine for a violation of a traffic law observed by a traffic camera outside the state of Iowa. For too long, Iowa residents have been receiving mail from out of state requesting the payment of fines incurred by traffic cameras. Unfortunately, this process has turned into one of the latest scams in our nation. Too often these groups will take a picture of your car license plate (could even be while it is in Iowa), then contact the State of Iowa to obtain the vehicle owner’s information from the license plate, then create a fake ticket and email or text it to you with a threat of increased fines if the initial fine is not paid. I have heard from so many constituents that they have received these tickets from states that they haven’t even driven through!
Since there are no toll roads in Iowa and we have very few speed cameras (what I refer to as “revenue generators”) in Iowa, there is almost no reason for our state to reach out to other states for this information, thus there is no reason for our state to easily provide it to other states (and often scammers pretending to be representing another state). However if the inquiry is for the investigation of a crime or event that is beyond a simple photo fine, the IDOT is certainly allowed to provide the required information.
I was also able to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony at the University of Northern Iowa’s renovated Applied Engineering building in Cedar Falls. This was a 4 year, $40 million project that the state funded. I was a graduate from this very building in 1995, so to be able to return for the newly renovated building’s ribbon cutting and touring the changes was a GREAT experience and brought back so many memories!
