Health and Human Services Budget Subcommittee Members

Iowa Legislative Report Iowa Coalition of Family & Children’s Services Week 5: February 11 – February 15, 2008 Paula Feltner & Mike Heller, lobbyists Budget Targets Set for Release Legislative leaders will be providing budget subcommittees with their spending targets this week. The spending targets establish the amount from the state’s general fund revenues each subcommittee will have in developing their segment of the state budget for fiscal year 2009, which starts on July 1. The budget targets are expected to be lower than the $6.4 billion proposed by Governor Culver. The legislative budget is being built without revenues from the bottle deposits or an increase in taxes on corporations. Budget subcommittees have been working for a few weeks on proposals for the new budget year and setting priorities. The budget targets will help the subcommittees determine how they will proceed in appropriating the available resources allocated to them. The goal of this process is to establish a fiscally responsible budget that maintains commitments for education, health care and job creation. The fiscal year 2009 budget is based on estimated revenue growth of 2.6% over this current budget year. In fiscal year 2008, the general fund budget was $5.859 billion. The next budget will likely top $6 billion. Remember that the legislature builds the budget based on spending only 99% of available revenues and setting aside 1% for the reserve funds. The state currently has a $592 million reserve fund balance and that balance will grow in fiscal year 2009. NOW IS THE TIME FOR OUR MEMBERS TO CONTACT LEGISLATORS CONCERNING OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES, PARTICULARLY an INCREASE FOR PROVIDERS AND AN ANNUAL AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT FOR OUR PROVIDERS BASED ON THE ALLOWABLE GROWTH!! Our appropriation will again be put in the subcommittee bill. PLEASE CALL THEM IF YOU WOULD LIKE THIS APPROPRIATION TO CONTINUE. It won’t happen again without contacts, especially now that they have chosen not to pass the revenue enhancing bills suggested by the Governor. The members of the subcommittee are: Health and Human Services Budget Subcommittee Members SENATE Jack Hatch (D, Des Moines, D 33), HOUSE Ro Foege (D, Mount Vernon, D29, Chairperson Keith Kreiman (D, Bloomfield, D 47), Vice Chair Dave Johnson (R, Ocheyedan, D 3, Ranking Member *Amanda Ragan (D, Mason City, D 7) **Jim Seymour (R, Woodbine, D 28) Chairperson Elesha Gayman, (D, Davenport, D84, Vice Chair Dave Heaton, (R, Mount Pleasant, D 91),Ranking Member Ako Abdul-Samad (D, Des Moines, D 66) **Polly Granzow (R, Eldora, D 44) Linda Miller (R, Bettendorf, D 82) Eric Palmer (D, Oskaloosa, D 75) * Mark Smith (D, Marshalltown, D 43) Walt Tomenga (R, Des Moines, D 69) *Ragan and Smith are also chairs of the Standing Human Resources Committees. ** Seymour and Granzow are Ranking Members of the Standing Committee Contact By Letter Contact by mail is one of the most effective methods of influencing Legislators other than personal contacts. However, legislators respond only to those letters from people in their districts, unless a letter is from an officer of a statewide organization. The following is a guide to writing effective letters to Senators and Representatives: 1. Your Senators should be addressed as follows: Senator Frank Doe State Capitol Building Des Moines, IA 50319 Dear Senator Doe: (Or Dear Frank if you know him personally). Your Representatives should be addressed as follows: Representative Mary Doe State Capitol Building Des Moines, Iowa 50319 Dear Representative Doe: (Or Dear Mary if you know her personally). 2. Write on your personal or professional letterhead and sign your name over your typed signature at the end of your message. 3. Be sure that your exact return address is on the letter, not just the envelope. Envelopes sometimes are thrown away before the letter is answered. Again, the legislator will check the address to see if you are in his/her district. Also include a telephone number. 4. Identify your subject clearly. State the name of the legislation about which you are writing. Give the House or Senate bill number, if you know it. 5. State your reason for writing. Your own personal experience is your best supporting evidence. Explain how the issue would affect you, your family, and your profession. 6. Avoid stereotyped phrases that give the appearance of form letters. They tend to identify your message as a part of an organized pressure campaign - and produce little or no impact. 7. Don't ask for the impossible. Give totally accurate information. Don't say, "I'll never vote for you unless you do such and such." That may harm your cause more than help it. 8. Ask the Legislators to state his/her position in their reply. As a constituent you are entitled to know and they usually welcome constituent input. 9. The timing of your letter is important. Begin to encourage approval or disapproval of an issue before it is even introduced as a bill if this is possible. Follow up on the issue while in committee. Of course, this isn't always possible, but generally can be done if the Association's legislative communication system is functioning properly. Sometimes Legislators may reserve judgment - and their vote - until the sentiment of their constituency has crystallized. We would appreciate receiving copies of return correspondence you receive from your Legislator. Contact by Telephone The other most effective method of communicating with legislators is by telephone. Legislators are at the State Capitol in Des Moines Monday through Thursday during the legislative session. They are normally in their districts Friday and Saturday. Please don’t contact them on Sunday. You can get their home phone numbers and home address off the legislative web site. Legislators do welcome contact from their constituents. Here are legislative telephone numbers to assist you in contacting your Legislator at the State Capitol. (515) 281-3221 - House Switchboard (515) 281-3371 - Senate Switchboard (515) 281-5129 - The status of bills, public hearings and other information (Public Information Office (515) 281-5869 - A recording of daily schedules for the House and Senate Remember to leave a message if you are unable to personally reach the legislators. Most legislators keep a good record of who has called, where they were from, and what subject they were calling on. Contact By E-mail. Some legislators use email. Others do not. We would caution you against assuming that legislators see all their emails. That is often not the case. Sometimes legislative staff will read and delete emails. Usually they will keep a record of these emails, but not always. I would not use emails unless you know for a fact that your legislator likes to receive them and personally reads them. To e-mail your legislator, go to the legislative website which is www.legis.state.ia.us. You will find information of your legislators, including email addresses. But remember, Legislators would always rather have personal contacts, followed by letters and phone calls, from constituents (unless you personally know otherwise from your legislator). Reminder: DON’T EVER FORGET TO SAY THANKS. The Legislators work extremely hard. When your Legislator responds to you let him or her know that you appreciate it. When the session is over, express your thanks. Remember that in the legislative process, every Legislator has to respond to all constituents to the best of his or her ability. The Legislator's views will not always coincide with yours. What you want is an opportunity to be heard and fairly treated. DO BE INVOLVED. Politics is a "participatory sport." Remember "all politics is local." These are the bills of interest that have been introduced. To view the entire text of any bill, just click the hot link. You may also go to the legislative website: www.legis.state.ia.us and click “Track Legislation”. Please let us know if you want any of these bills amended, etc. Thanks, and have a great weekend. Approved by one chamber SF 264 GRANDPARENT VISITATION SF 264 Allows a grandparent or great-grandparent of a minor child to petition the district court for visitation. Requires the district court is to consider a parent's objections to granting visitation, and creates a rebuttable presumption that a decision to deny visitation is in the best interests of the child and will not create permanent harm. Requires the court to find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the grandparent or great-grandparent has established a substantial relationship with the child prior to the filing of the petition; and that the parent is either unfit to make the visitation decision or a fit parent's decision to deny poses substantial harm or potential substantial harm to the child beyond the harm derived from the loss of the helpful influence of a grandparent. Excludes visitation granted prior to July, 2007 from these provisions. The Senate approved this bill in 2007. The bill is in the House Judiciary Committee and the subcommittee is Rep. Kurt Swaim (Chair), Rep. Libby Jacobs, and Rep. Vicki Lensing Approved by one committee: HF 2058 SHAKEN BABY PREVENTION HF 2058 Requires the DPH to contract for a statewide Shaken Baby Prevention program. Requires the DPH to develop materials for distribution at birth centers, hospitals, and child care providers, and family support. Requires the DPH to work with a collaborative agency or local board of health for the distribution. Requires the DPH to report annually to the Governor and Legislature as of January, 2009. The Human Resources committee approved the bill; the bill has been sent to Appropriations HF 2145 HPV COVERAGE HF 2145 Requires insurers to include coverage for vaccinations for the human papilloma virus for policies after January, 2009. The committee approved the bill. The Floor Manager is Rep. Janet Peterson (D) New HF 2212 SMOKE FREE WORKPLACE ACT HF 2212 Establishes the Smoke-free Air Act and prohibits smoking in public places and places of employment. Makes some exceptions, including for some private clubs, tobacco outlets, and several other exceptions. Designates the DPH to enforce the chapter. Establishes civil penalties of $50 for violations for a person who is smoking in a prohibited area, and a schedule of escalating penalties for businesses that allow smoking. Allows a private citizen or employee to bring an enforcement action. Makes findings concerning smoking and air quality. Allows the DPH to issue a restraining order for being a public nuisance to violators. Gives the DPH other duties. The House delayed voting on this bill because an amendment was not filed in time. SF 2111 LEAD & DENTAL SCREENING SF 2111 Strikes the provisional enrollment for a child who has not been screened for lead, if the parent consents to a lead blood test, and the provisional enrollment for children who have not had a dental screening, allows those children to be enrolled. Requires schools to start giving notice of lead and dental screening requirements no more than 90 days before the start of school rather than at least 90 days before the start of school. Requires schools to file reports on the number of children who have had these tests or screenings, or received waivers, after October 1, rather than 60 days after the start of the school date. The committee approved the bill. The Floor Manager is Sen. Becky Schmitz (D) Approved by one committee: New SF 2159 PRESCHOOL PROGRAM SSB 3068 HSB 577 PRESCHOOL PROGRAM HSB 577 Requires a child to be 4 by September 15 to enroll in the statewide preschool program. Requires written agreements between school districts and community based providers. Does not allows receipt of funding for the program, the need for funding, or enrollment counts to be used to grant supplemental aid or to establish a modified allowable growth rate for the district. Strikes provisions relating to the proration of preschool foundation aid. Reallocates some FY 2008 funding from a pay-for-performance program to an early childhood professional development system. Effective on enactment. The Senate Education committee approved the bill, 11-1. The floor manager is Sen. Staci Appel (D) The House subcommittee is Rep. Mary Mascher (C), Rep. Rebecca Gayman (D), Rep. Jody Tymeson (R) Bills in Committee HF 2031 AUTISM TEACHING HF 2031 Appropriates $200,000 for teacher training to help teachers deal with students with autism. Requires the state board of education to require teacher colleges to prepare teachers to deal with students with autism. Creates an advisory council. Rep. Christopher Rants is the sponsor. The bill is in the Education committee HF 2062 SEX OFFENDERS AT SCHOOLS HF 2062 Makes it an aggravated misdemeanor for a registered sex offenders to be on school grounds or at a child care facility. Makes exceptions for an offender who is taking a child to the school or child care center, who is attending a conference concerning the child, for voting, or who has written permission from the administrator of the facility. Appropriates $2 million to the DPS to establish a sex offender compliance grant program so that local law enforcement agencies can determine if sex offenders are complying with residency restrictions. The House sponsor is Rep. Art Staed. The bill is in the Public Safety committee HF 2100 SCHOOL NUTRITION STANDARDS HF 2100 Requires the State Board of Education to prohibit the use of trans fatty acids and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in school meal programs and to ban the sale of such foods on school grounds if a school receives federal meal program funding. Requires the Board to prescribe nutritional guidelines for food and beverages sold on the school grounds. The bill is in the Education committee. Rep. Janet Petersen (D) is the lead sponsor. HF 2113 CHILDREN SEAT BELTS HF 2113 Requires children under 18 who are riding in cars to use seatbelts. Sets the fine at $25 for the driver. The bill is in the Transportation committee HF 2123 OBSCENE MATERIALS HF 2123 HSB 582 OBSCENE MATERIALS HSB 582 SSB 3078 OBSCENE MATERIALS SSB 3078 Allows separate charges for obscene image with a child victim and includes live transmissions of images and other additional visual media in provisions on obscene materials. The bills are in the Public Safety/Judiciary committees The House subcommittee is Rep. Deb Berry (C), Rep. Bob Kressig (D), Rep. Steve Olson (R) The Senate subcommittee is Sen. Keith Kreiman (C), Sen. David Hartsuch (R), Sen. Brian Schoenjahn (D) Bills in Committee HF 2128 INSURANCE MANDATE COMMISSION HF 2128 Creates a State Health Insurance Mandate Commission. Requires the Commission to make findings on any bill with a state mandate for health insurance before approval by a legislative committee. Requires the LSA to make the initial determination that the bill includes a mandated benefit. Sets the membership of the committee at 14 and makes the Insurance commissioner, or designee, the chair. Contains other provisions. The bill is in the Commerce committee. The lead sponsor is Rep. Walt Tomenga (R) HF 2135 VIOLENCE PREVENTION GRANTS HF 2135 Appropriates $200,000 to the DOE for a violence prevention grant program to help school districts make children feel more connected to supportive individuals and institutions. The bill is in the Education committee. The sponsor is Rep. Tammy Wiencek HF 2136 VITAL RECORD ACCESS HF 2136 Allows the public to inspect and copy vital records such birth records, marriage records, divorce or annulment records and death records, except for fetal death records, in the custody of a county registrar. Requires that such records that are held by the state archivist must be at least 75 years old before public access is allowed. The bill is in the Human Resources committee. The sponsor is Rep. Carmen Boal (R) HF 2155 DHS REIMBURSEMENTS HF 2155 Appropriates $19.9 million for reimbursements for providers under the DHS in FY 2009. Increases the reimbursements 3% over FY 2008. The bill is in the Human Resources committee. The sponsor is Rep. Dave Jacoby (D) HSB 564 MI/SUBSTANCE ABUSE COVERAGE HSB 564 Deems a child who needs treatment for mental illness or for substance abuse and who meets the Medicaid criteria for admission to a PMIC as meeting the acuity criteria for specified third-party payment of inpatient benefits. Requires coverage in group policies for mental illness and substance abuse for employers who employ more than 50 workers for at least half of the working year. Makes definitions and repeals provisions related to biologically based mental illnesses. The subcommittee is Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (C), Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (D), Rep. Chuck Soderberg (R) HSB 568 SUBSTANCE ABUSE STUDY HSB 568 Requires the DPH and the DHS to study and develop a protocol to deal with the relationship between substance abuse by a parent of guardian. Requires the DPH and DHS to develop data identifying the prevalence of the presence of children in households with adults with substance abuse problems. Includes reporting requirements. The bill is in the Human Resources committee. The subcommittee is Rep. Mark Smith (C), Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (D), Rep. Rod Roberts (R) HSB 573 TANF SUPPLEMENTAL HSB 573 Makes a supplemental appropriation of $6.5 million for child care costs for FIP recipients in FY 2008. Foege (C), Gayman, Heaton (DOE) The bill is in the Appropriations committee. The subcommittee is Rep. Ro Foege (C), Rep. Rebecca Gayman (D), Rep. Dave Heaton (R) HSB 581 JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS HSB 581 Requires that a court determine if a child’s failure to appear during a CHINA proceeding is due to a failure to notify the child, if appropriate. The Bill is in the (Judiciary committee. The subcommittee is Rep. Kurt Swaim (C), Rep. Carmen Boal (R), Rep. Mark Smith (D) Bills in Committee New HSB 589 MINORITY IMPACT STATEMENTS HSB 589 Requires grant applications for DPH, DHS and DHR include a minority impact statement on any disproportionate or unique impact on minorities from the proposed policy, a rationale for the policy if they do have an impact on minorities, and evidence that the applicant has consulted with representatives of minorities if there is an impact. Gives the Office of Grants Enterprise Management the authority to create and distribute a minority impact form. Makes definitions. The bill is in the Human Resources committee. The subcommittee is Rep. Wayne Ford (C), Rep. James Forristall (R), Rep. Mark Smith (D) HSB 614 CHILD ABUSE CASES HSB 614 Requires that the DHS document voluntary services that it will offer in certain child abuse cases to prevent further abuse in a written safety plan. Requires that the county attorney and juvenile court receive the safety plan. Requires the court to review the safety plan and make a written determination if the plan is appropriate. Assessments: Authorizes the court, or the court’s designee to initiate a court action after a child abuse assessment if the court, or designee, determines that the action is in the best interests of the child. Requires the DHS to file a CHINA petition if the child abuse case is put on the child abuse registry and the DHS finds that the child is at high risk of being abused again. The bill is in the Judiciary committee. The subcommittee is Rep. Beth WesselKroeschell (C), Rep. Carmen Boal (R), Rep. Cindy Winckler (D) HSB 629 DPH BILL HSB 629 SSB 3137 DPH BILL SSB 3137 Strikes the responsibility for general supervision over the administration of the housing law and giving aid to local authorities to enforce the law. Makes the brain injury diagnosis used for the cost-share component of the program the same as the Medicaid waiver for persons with brain injury. Allows the DPH to enter into agreements with local boards of health for inspection and enforcement activities for a variety of reasons. Allows the use of the USDA program for accreditation of mammography machines and allows a general authorization for the machines. Allows a minor to give consent for medical care for sexually transmitted diseases. Requires an inquiry by a medical examiner in cases of non-natural death. The bills are in the Human Resources committees. The House subcommittee is Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (C), Rep. Rod Roberts (R), Rep. Mark Smith (D) The Senate subcommittee is Sen. Becky Schmitz (C), Sen. Bill Dotzler (D), Sen. David Hartsuch (R) HSB 630 EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES HSB 630 SSB 3136 EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES SSB 3136 Creates an emergency mental health crisis services system in the Division of Mental Health and Disability Services to provide limited mental health services statewide during emergency situations. Contains other related provisions. The bill is in the Human Resources committees. The subcommittee is Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (C), Rep. Polly Granzow (R), Rep. Mark Smith (D) The Senate subcommittee is Sen. Joe Bolkcom (C), Sen. Amanda Ragan (D), Sen. David Johnson (R) HSB 631 HOSPITAL EMPLOYEE RECORD CHECKS HSB 631 SSB 3138 HOSPITAL EMPLOYEE RECORD CHECKS SSB 3138 Makes a prospective employee whose primary job responsibilities are within a hospital facility that is licensed under the healthcare subject to the criminal record check provisions. The bills are in the Human Resources committees. The House subcommittee is Rep. Bruce Hunter (C), Rep. Wayne Ford (D), Rep. Walt Tomenga (R) The Senate subcommittee is Sen. Frank Wood (C), Sen. Amanda Ragan (D), Sen. Jim Seymour (R) Bills in Committee New HSB 636 IOWA HEALTH CARE COVERAGE HSB 636 SSB 3140 IOWA HEALTH CARE COVERAGE SSB 3140 Creates the Iowa Health Care Coverage for All. An Act relating to health care reform in Iowa including the Iowa health care coverage exchange; medical and dental homes; prevention and chronic care management; the Iowa health information technology system; health care quality, consumer information, strategic planning, and resource development; and the certificate of need program. STATUS - Subcommittees from the Senate Human Resources Committee and the House Human Resources Committee will meet together to work on the bill each Tuesday and Thursday morning from 8-9 am in the Supreme Court Chamber for three weeks: That is February 12, 14, 19, 21, 26 and 28. House Members: Lisa Heddens, Chair Mark Smith, Ako Abdul-Samad, David Heaton, Linda Upmeyer. Senate Members: Jack Hatch, Chair Amanda Ragan, Joe Bolkcom, James Seymour, David Johnson New HSB 637 HOSPITAL RECORD CHECKS HSB 637 New SSB 3153 HOSPITAL RECORD CHECKS SSB 3153 Requires a hospital to perform a record check on employees with the DIA for criminal history and dependent adult abuse, like other health care facilities. Prohibits facilities from hiring a person who has a felony conviction for a founded incident of child or dependent adult abuse in the last five years. Makes it a serious misdemeanor for an employee to fail to report a conviction or an entry of a founded incident of child or dependent adult abuse. Requires facilities to check current employees for abuse reports under specific situations. The bills are in the Human Resources committees. The House subcommittee is Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (C), Rep. Mary Mascher (D), Rep. Walt Tomenga (R) The Senate subcommittee is Sen. Frank Wood (C), Sen. Amanda Ragan (D), Sen. James Seymour (R) New HSB 639 CHILD DEVELOPMENT HOMES HSB 639 New SSB 3156 CHILD DEVELOPMENT HOMES SSB 3156 Requires a home for a child development home and for child care homes to be a singlefamily home in the name of one of the persons who is involved in child care. Requires criminal and child abuse checks to be done even when the application is withdrawn. Reduces the family subsidy payment for a second child when a family already has one child with an educational disability or special care needs who receives the subsidy under FIP. Strikes unnecessary language on wraparound funding. Smith (C), Ford, Forristall The bills are in the Human Resources committees. The Senate subcommittee is Sen. Becky Schmitz (C), Sen. Nancy Boettger (R), Sen. Herm Quirmbach (D) The House subcommittee is Rep. Mark Smith (C), Rep. Wayne Ford (D), Rep. James Forristall (R) The House subcommittee is Rep. Pam Jochum (C), Rep. Mary Mascher (D), Rep. Jack Drake (R) Bills in Committee New HSB 656 CHARITY OVERSIGHT HSB 656 New SSB 3139 CHARITY OVERSIGHT SSB 3139 Creates a Charities Oversight Fund to support the AG in the oversight and regulation of non-profits. Creates a fee for domestic non-profits based on the cost of the regulation, to be set by the Secretary of State and the AG. The bills are in the State Government & Government Oversight committees. The Senate subcommittee is Sen. Mike Connolly (C), Sen. Becky Schmitz (D), Sen. Mark Zieman (R) The House subcommittee is Rep. Kurt Swaim (C), Rep. Clel Baudler (R), Rep. Vicki Lensing (D) SF 2026 CHILD CARE TAX CREDIT SF 2026 Extends the availability of the child and dependent care tax credit and the early childhood development tax credit to taxpayers with net incomes of less than $80,000. Changes the schedule so that people with less than $10,000 in income get 100% of the credit, under $20,000 get 75%, under $30,000 get 65%, under $40,000 get 50%, under $60,000 get 40%, and under $80,000 get 30%. The sponsor is Sen. Steve Kettering (R). The bill is in the Ways & Means committee SF 2037 HEALTH CARE WHISTLE BLOWERS SF 2037 Establishes protections for health care workers who disclose state-mandated information, or information that the worker reasonably believes relates to health and safety violations, to a government agency or law enforcement after the health care institution had a reasonable chance to take corrective action. Establishes a prima facie case for a retaliatory firing if the employer knows of the disclosure, and the employee was fired as a result of the discharge, or otherwise suffered adversely. Creates a presumption of reprisal is the employer is determined to have violated health or safety laws. Authorizes civil actions for reprisals, and against employees who make frivolous claims. Allows up to $4,000 in attorney fees for such a frivolous claim. The lead sponsor is Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D). The bill is in the State Government committee. Bills in Committee SF 2080 HEALTHY KIDS ACT SF 2080 Creates the Healthy Kids Act. Food: Directs the State Board of Education and the director of the DOE to take actions to ensure compliance with nutritional standards for foods and beverages sold or provided at the school. Requires the Board to adopt nutritional standards for school food. Directs the DOE to work with DPH and convene an advisory panel on pediatric nutrition. Requires the panel to periodically report to the State Board of Education. Requires that schools which are non-compliant to submit a corrective plan to the DOE. Requires AEAs to hire dieticians. Activity: Requires every physically able student to engage in 30 minutes of physical activity per school day. Requires the DOE to work with schools on ways to achieve this. CPR: Requires students to complete a CPR course prior to graduation. The bill is in the Education committee. Sen. Staci Appel (D) is the lead sponsor. New SF 2146 ABUSE REGISTRY LISTINGS SF 2146 Allows the DHS to not place a person on the child abuse registry for an incident involving the presence of an illegal drug in a child’s body if the DHS determines the injury or risk was minor and isolated and is unlikely to reoccur. Allows a person who is on the registry for that reason as of July, 2008, to request a review and expungement of the record. Requires the request to be made by December 31, 2008. The bill is in the Human Resources committee. The lead sponsor is Sen. Keith Kreiman (D) SSB 3013 JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS SSB 3013 HSB 538 JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS HSB 538 Allows a foster care child who remains so until reaching the age of majority to receive health and education records prior to discharge by the juvenile court. Makes a consent decree in juvenile court good for one year, unless discharged by the court. Requires that a court determine if a child’s failure to appear during a CHINA proceeding is due to a failure to notify the child, if appropriate. The bills are in the House and Senate Human Resources committee. The subcommittee is Sen. Keith Kreiman (Chair), Sen. David Johnson (R), and Sen. Amanda Ragan (D) The House subcommittee is Rep. Dave Jacoby (C), Rep. Ro Foege (D), Rep. Walt Tomenga (R) SSB 3087 CHILDREN SEAT BELTS SSB 3087 HSB 561 CHILDREN SEAT BELTS HSB 561 Requires children under 18 who are riding in cars to use seatbelts. Sets the fine at $25 for the driver. The bills are in the Transportation committees. The Senate subcommittee is Sen. Amanda Ragan (C), Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D), Sen. David Johnson (R) The House subcommittee is Rep. Brian Cohoon (C), Rep. Rich Arnold (R), Rep. Polly Bukta (D), Rep. Dan Huseman (R), Rep. Jim Lykam (D) SSB 3122 JUVENILE COURTS SSB 3122 Strikes a provision allowing a delinquency adjudication to be set aside if a child is committed as a child with MI/MR. Allows a court to waive reasonable efforts to preserve a family in CHINA proceedings if the court finds that a court in another state has terminated the parental rights of a parent for a child of the same family. The bill is in the Judiciary committee. The subcommittee is Sen. Keith Kreiman (C), Sen. Gene Fraise (D), Sen. David Hartsuch (R) SSB 3148 CHILD ABUSE CHECK-OFF SSB 3148 Creates a child abuse prevention check-off to allow taxpayers to designate money for child abuse prevention programs. The bill is in the Ways & Means committee. The subcommittee is Sen. Staci Appel (C), Sen. Becky Schmitz (D), Sen. Pat Ward (R) New SSB 3162 SEX WITH JUVENILE FACILITIES SSB 3162 Increases the penalty to a Class “C” felony for an officer, employee, or other person connected to a juvenile placement facility to engages in a sex act with a juvenile at the facility. Kreiman (C), Dvorsky, Noble ) The bill is in the Judiciary committee Paula J. Feltner, Attorney at Law Lobbying and Governmental Relations 100 Water Street, #402 Des Moines, Iowa 50309 (515) 778-7230