The Rozenboom Report – February 18, 2017

It’s been a busy week in the Iowa Senate as we did a couple bills on the floor for debate, and had several bills moving through our subcommittees and committees. Apart from the high profile, attention grabbing bills there are also smaller things we consider during the session. In my Natural Resources and Environment committee we advanced a bill that would encourage bass fishing tournaments in Iowa, and another bill that removes some unnecessary restrictions on hunting on private property.

This week the legislature passed a bill that addresses changes in the collective bargaining process. This law has remained unaddressed for more than 40 years, and during that time it has become apparent that reform is necessary. Essentially, this legislation restores more local control to cities, counties and school boards.

The legislative process is designed to generate input from Iowans regarding legislation being considered by Iowa lawmakers, and that input did impact the final provisions of the collective bargaining reform bill. As a result of this process Republicans supported a number of updates to the initial proposal.

Those amendments include the retention of proper cause for termination of public employees. Also, grievances, seniority, and release time will be permissible subjects for employees and employers to negotiate. The bill was amended to carefully define collective bargaining units to ensure no federal funding will be lost due to federal regulations. Finally, it ensures employees are able to take their employment claims to district court if they deem it necessary.

The amendments made to this bill will not change the broader goal of this legislation. This bill is a bold reform of state government; it changes the way Iowa does business. It significantly increases local control for cities, counties, and schools. It provides taxpayers a seat at the table and will allow local elected officials the ability to implement innovative solutions specific to their communities.

The issue of texting and driving has been discussed a few times in the Capitol before. There is another bill this year, SSB 1002, that would make texting while driving a primary offense. Currently, texting while driving is a secondary offense, which means you cannot be pulled over solely for texting and driving.

This bill also has many vocal supporters and those in opposition. Those in support of it say the bill will increase safety by reducing the amount of distracted drivers on Iowa roads because officers would no longer have to wait for another violation before pulling someone over to enforce this law.

There are several arguments being made to expand the bill. Some say it doesn’t go far enough to address the change in phone technology and phones can be distracting in many different ways, such as taking videos, photos, using GPS, playing video games, etc. Some also say it is difficult for an officer to prove a person was texting and driving as opposed to using their phones for something else, like using their phone’s GPS. I have also heard from people do not want to be told what they can and cannot do in their vehicles. The legislative process will allow all parties to voice their concerns and address the issue of texting and driving.

One of the first bills I co-sponsored four years ago was legislation requiring lawmakers to pay 20 percent of their health care premiums. However, that bill was never advanced by Senate Democrats. When the 2017 Legislative session convened, 92 of 149 lawmakers paid only $20 each month for their health insurance. Because the private sector and other state employees pay more on a monthly basis for their health care premiums, Senate Republicans wanted to address this in a timely fashion this session because a dialogue never occurred in recent years. Under new Senate Republican majority leadership, Senate File 230 passed unanimously on the Senate floor.

Senate File 230 requires members of the General Assembly and full-time legislative branch employees to pay 20 percent of the total premium cost for health insurance. This impacts 395 individuals, and will save Iowa taxpayers well over a million dollars every year. Previously, we had reduced the numbers of days that the state pays lawmakers per diem expenses from 110 days to 100 days, which also saves taxpayers well over $100,000 annually.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are in the area and want to visit the Capitol. It is always a pleasure to visit with my constituents and show them around our beautiful state capitol.