| Week seven of the legislative session ushered in a week focused mainly on debate. Every day after gaveling in, both parties retire to caucus and discuss the bills at hand. This gives my colleagues and I time to review each bill the senator is managing on the floor. Doing so offers context for how this legislation will improve the state of Iowa and its residents.
This week several key bills went through floor debate and passed in the Iowa Senate. Senate File 2251 expands Medicaid benefits to pregnant women and preserves these benefits for those who truly need them. It provides an expansion of those benefits for pregnant mothers during their pregnancy from 60 days through 12 months postpartum. The bill not only increases coverage to 12 months but sets parameters to focus on mothers who are more likely in financial need of this benefit. This is one of many programs available to mothers including SNAP, WIC, FIP and MOMS (More Opportunity for Maternal Support).
The Senate also passed SF 2204 giving Iowans more information and transparency about who owns Iowa’s farmland. This bill requires nonresident aliens, foreign businesses, and foreign governments to register their farmland with the Secretary of State.
Senate File 2096 removes the restrictions of requiring “gender balance” ensuring Iowa can have the most qualified applicants considered for appointments to a board, commission, committee or council regardless of their gender.
Two bills I floor managed this week were:
- SF 2285 (Health and Human Services): This bill addressed eliminating certain required reports HHS and duties of the department including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. It eliminates redundancy and reports that are no longer relevant, and moves reports that can be moved to an interactive website (dashboard) in HHS for public access.
- SF 2361 (Commerce): This is a bill relating to names of recognized mutual insurance companies. This is a bill that allows a mutual insurance company that may form a holding company to reorganize as a stock company to retain the term “mutual” in their name, provided they also include “stock insurer” or “SI” in their entity name. Current law requires a full name change in the event of a demutualization. This bill allows traditional mutual insurance companies to retain their use of the word mutual subject to these provisions.
This week two of my standing committees, Appropriations and Ways & Means, met. Normally these committees do not gather until closer to Funnel Week or after, as the bills in both committees are protected. This means that even after both Funnels, bills will continue to be assigned to subcommittees. This next week promises to be a full schedule.
This week I’d like to recognize our Farm Bureau members. I had several FB visitors from our area on Wednesday. It was also great seeing the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa (IIA) during “Insurance Day on the Hill.”
I am always happy to meet with constituents. If you do not have the chance to attend one of my district forums, you are always welcome to contact me and schedule a time if you are ever in Des Moines.
Future forums are:
- March 1 at 9:00 – Lakes Mills, 11:00 – Thompson, 2:00 – Forest City
- March 2 at 10:00 – Algona Library
- March 9 at 8:30 – Emmetsburg Chamber of Commerce
- March 23 at 9:00 – Spencer (Eggs & Issues) – Chamber of Commerce
The best way to contact me is email at [email protected] or by cell at (712) 330-5596. Have a great week!
Senator Dave Rowley, District 5
Serving: Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Palo Alto, Kossuth and Winnebago |
