LEGISLATIVE CONNECTION

The Iowa Senate took up House File 2105, the Nurse Licensure Compact on Tuesday, March 7. The bill was handled by Senator Mary Lundby (R-Marion). Senator Lundby made opening remarks. Senator Elaine Szymoniak (D-Des Moines) spoke in favor of the bill. The bill took five minutes to be brought up considered and passed. Please thank your legislators for passing the bill with a phone call, letter, email or when you attend your local legislative meeting.

The Iowa Senate passed the EMS Services bill on March 7. Senator Dick Drake (R-Muscatine) handled the bill. There was no debate and it passed 48-0.

Last week the Republicans came out with their budget targets for appropriations bills and there was a first effort to compare the Governor’s recommendations with the Republican leadership’s budget targets for Appropriations bills. The following is an attempt to provide a comparison of the proposals.

Previously referred to as: public health nursing, home care aide and elderly wellness appropriations, in the Department of Public Health’s (Budgeting for Results) Appropriations bill, the following are recommended for funding from the General Fund:

Elderly Wellness (public health nursing & home care aides) $10,932,737

Community Capacity (core public health functions) $ 1,637,872

Child and Adolescent Wellness (court ordered & CINA cases) $ 1,424,456

Adult Wellness (public health nursing $251,187) $ 643,855

$ 14,058,920

Last week’s Legislative Connection listed the Republican’s proposal for funding increases to the Medicaid program. It is estimated by the Department of Public Health that 85% of the traditional county-based public health agencies have provider numbers and can bill Medicaid for home health visits. It is expected that there will be a differential effect of the proposed Medicaid reimbursement increase for home health visits on public health agencies primarily depending on their case mix of patients.

House File 2474, the School Accreditation Standards for school health services, was introduced by Rep. Bev Nelson-Forbes (R-Marshalltown). The bill requires the State Board of Education to adopt administrative rules incorporating a health services component in the general accreditation standards applicable to school districts. These administrative rules had been in place and were just removed during the summer of 1999 since the Department of Education stated they had no Iowa Code authority for the rules. This bill is a top priority of the Iowa School Nurses Association. The bill raised the awareness of media specialists and guidance counselors who over the past years were dropped from the accreditation standards. It is expected the bill will be amended to include those school services. Contacts need to be made with legislators to support criteria for accreditation of schools who voluntarily provide school health services to students in their school districts.

The House passed HF 2351 SALES TAX HOLIDAY which would eliminate the sales tax on clothing items under $100, except for athletic clothing, for one weekend in August. The LFB estimates that the bill will cost approximately $3.6 million in revenue to the state, but supporters of the idea say that the sales-tax free weekend could draw in many out-of-state shoppers into border counties.

The bill could also reduce local option sales tax revenues by $500,000, but counties will have the authority to pass an ordinance that retains the local option tax during the sales tax-free weekend.

The bill is part of the targeted tax cuts promised by Republicans and enjoyed support from both Republicans and Democrats in the House.

The Senate recommended passage of SF 2302 which includes a provision for the Department of Public Health in cooperation with the Labor Commissioner to conduct a study of the use of hollow bore needles.

STATUS OF INA AGENDA

1. Support adoption of an Interstate Compact to facilitate a system of licensure in which a single license allows a nurse to practice in multiple states with a "multistate licensure privilege". House File 2105 has passed the House and the Senate; it goes to the Governor.
2. Appropriate the tobacco settlement dollars for health care purposes with attention to: 1) school programs to reduce tobacco use and improve health, 2) assuring health services provided by school nurses are included in state school accreditation standards, and 3) programs to reduce school violence. No bill, lots of discussion. INA participation in Iowans United for a Healthy Future (IUHF) activities, including meetings with legislative leadership to ask that all funds go to health care purposes. Discussions are ongoing to come to an agreement between the Governor and Republican leadership.
3. School Health Accreditation Standards bill, HF 2474, is on the House debate calendar. House File 2411 would provide the Medicaid state match for direct school nurse services provided to Medicaid children in the schools.
4. Support parity in health insurance policies for mental health and substance abuse coverage and appropriate housing. House File 2080 is in Senate Human Resources committee and may be brought up for consideration next week.
5. Assure nursing supervision of emergency medical services personnel when they work in the non-emergency, non-lifesaving acute care settings. INA desired language was agreed to by legislators, EMS Association and the Medical Society. House File 2333 was passed by the House on Monday, March 6 and by the Senate on March 7; it goes to the Governor.
6. Increase funding for public health nursing/core public health functions. Director of Public Health and Governor recommended $1.5 million. Funding recommendations are out this week in Health and Human Rights Appropriations Subcommittee work. See article for more details.
7. No support for legal recognition of direct-entry midwives. House File 2498 is on the House debate calendar. The Iowa Midwives Association are at the Capitol daily lobbying for their bill.

COMMITTEE ACTION:

SENATE HUMAN RESOURCES

HF 2365 INVESTIGATING CHILD DEATHS - Requires the child death review team to review all deaths of children up to the age of eighteen.

HF 2385 ORGAN DONOR REGISTRY - Establishes a statewide organ donor registry and appropriates $75,000 to the Department of Public Health to run program.

Assigned to Subcommittee:

HF 2080 COVERAGE FOR MENTAL ILLNESS - Redwine (C), Boettger, Harper (Reassigned)

HF 2362 DOMESTIC ABUSE REVIEW - Miller (C), Boettger, Szymoniak

HF 2365 INVESTIGATING CHILD DEATHS - Miller (C), Boettger, Szymoniak

HF 2377 CHILD ABUSE INFORMATION - Miller (C), Boettger, Szymoniak

FLOOR DEBATE:

House:

HF 2333 EMS ACTIONS - Allows emergency care providers to act in their individual capacity. Lists the types of individuals that can supervise emergency medical care providers may perform non-lifesaving procedures.

The House PASSED the Bill 94-0; it now goes to the Senate

HF 2385 ORGAN DONOR REGISTRY - Establishes a statewide organ donor registry and appropriates $75,000 to the Department of Public Health to run program.

H-8084 by Blodgett - Directs the DPH to create a public awareness campaign. ADOPTED

The House PASSED the Bill, as amended, 96-0; it now goes to the Senate

HF 2454 CRITICAL STRESS LIABILITY - Limits the liability of critical incident stress management teams who offer services to EMS workers and the victims of disasters.

H-8181 by Davis - ADOPTED

The House PASSED the bill as amended, 95-0; it now goes to the Senate.

HF 2473 SCHOOL EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS - Makes a school employee immune from civil suits or criminal prosecution for reporting on or investigating violence or inappropriate activities at school or school functions.

H-8148 by Carroll - Specifies good faith actions ADOPTED

The House PASSED the bill as amended, 95-0; it now goes to the Senate.

HF 2387 CONFIDENTIAL SS NUMBERS - Directs governmental bodies to refrain from disclosing the Social Security Numbers of individuals. Requires the adoption of rules to control distribution of numbers. (Calendar)

The House PASSED the bill 95-0; it now goes to the Senate.

HF 2205 E-COMMERCE - Authorizes the legal recognition of electronic records, signatures, contracts. Establishes the means to electronically notarize signatures and documents and procedures for correcting electronic records damaged during transmission.

H-8042 by Commerce - Technical correction. ADOPTED

H-8232 by Jacobs - Gives superiority to Iowa law and Iowa residents if Iowa law conflicts with the Uniform Computer Information Act. ADOPTED

H-8233 by Jacobs -Gives Information Technology Services and the Secretary of State equal weight in establishing rules for electronic record standards. ADOPTED

The House PASSED the Bill, as amended, 88-0; it now goes to the Senate.

Senate:

SF 2302 PUBLIC HEALTH DUTIES - Requires Substance Abuse Commission to specifically review initial requests for a substance abuse facility. Broadens inspection authority of substance abuse facilities by the DPH. Legalizes breastfeeding in public. Adds provisions about electronic filing of records. Makes licensing changes for audiologists, morticians, social workers and others. Authorizes fees for autopsies. Strikes the requirement for the minister to issue a certified copy of the marriage certificate to the couple. Strikes a provision that requires DALS and the Pharmacy Examiners to purchase condoms for DPH for testing if DPH requests those two agencies to do so. Provides that the Dept of Public Health conduct a study of the need to regulate hollow bore needles. Makes technical corrections and deletes obsolete references.

S-5041 by Redwine - Allows women to breastfeed their own children in public. ADOPTED

S-5062 by Tinsman - Requires county recorders to issue the certified copies of marriage licenses for four dollars. ADOPTED

The Senate PASSED the Bill, as amended, 48-1; it now goes to the House

SF 2314 INFECTIOUS DISEASES - Combines the various Code sections on communicable diseases, venereal diseases and exposure of emergency workers into the Communicable & Infectious Disease Reporting and Control Act. Makes language changes, including venereal diseases to sexual transmitted diseases and other related changes. Deletes the religious exemption from immunization for children.

S-5052 by Redwine - Strikes the requirement for syphilis testing of pregnant women and requires the DPH to adopt national standards in regards to prenatal testing. Requires that knowingly exposing a child to a communicable disease be done with the intent to cause disease in order to be punished. Makes language changes. ADOPTED

S-5065 by Redwine - Adds penalties for persons who repeatedly fail to file reports under this bill. ADOPTED

S-5053 by Szymoniak - Restores the religious exemption for immunizations for children, except in times of emergency or epidemic. Adds a religious exemption for prophylactic treatment of a child’s eyes. FAILED

MTR - ADOPTED, 36-13

S-5053 - FAILED 13 - 36

S-5063 by Harper - Requires local health departments to only audit 10% of the immunization cards. FAILED, 17 - 25

The Senate PASSED the Bill, as amended, 48-1; it now goes to the House

SF 2324 DNA PROFILING - Requires persons to undergo DNA profile testing if convicted of an offense that requires testing, as determined by the Attorney General. Requires courts to order DNA testing if a person is convicted of such an offense.

S-5049 by Hammond, et al - Prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic testing. Prohibits insurors from denying coverage based on a genetic test. Makes the results of a genetic test confidential and prohibits insurors from disclosing the results of a genetic test. RULED NOT GERMANE

S-5109 by Dvorsky - Includes a specific list of offenses covered by the DNA profiling. ADOPTED

The Senate PASSED the Bill, as amended, 50-0; it now goes to the House

Bills to the Governor: 2

HF 2105 NURSING LICENSING COMPACT - Adopts the nurse licensure compact to allow the mutual recognition of nursing licenses by states.

S-5026 by Lundby - WITHDRAWN

The Senate PASSED the Bill 47-1

HF 2333 EMS ACTIONS - Allows emergency care providers to act in their individual capacity. Lists the types of individuals that can supervise emergency medical care providers may perform non-lifesaving procedures.

SF 2346 - WITHDRAWN

The Senate PASSED the Bill 48-0

BILL SUMMARY (to view legislation text: www.legis.state.ia.us Click on legislation and select bill type and number)

HF 2539 ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY TAX CREDIT (Ways & Means; Successor to HF 2032) Gives businesses with 14 or fewer full-time employees, or gross receipts of less than $3 million, a tax credit equal to 50% of cost of an assistive device that maintains or improves the capabilities of disabled employee. Limits the 50% tax credit to the first $5,000. (Calendar)