LEGISLATIVE CONNECTION

Connecting with Nurses on Health Issues

This issue opens the seventh year of the INA Legislative Connection. This communication is designed to report to members of the Iowa Nurses Association and other interested individuals, the legislation introduced in the Iowa General Assembly of interest to the registered nurse.

The purpose of this publication is: 1) to share information about bills, committee meetings, floor debates, votes and association activity and positions with the registered nurse; and 2) to encourage comment and response from the INA membership and nurses in general which helps guide and shape INA advocacy with the state legislature and the Governor’s office.

This communication will be published weekly until the anticipated session adjournment, April 27, the 110^th day.

A special welcome to the student nurses who are accessing this communication as a part of their academic course work. We hope this will be a beneficial experience for you. To all subscribers, we hope the new email transmission will be efficient and timely.

The Legislative Connection is designed to have two sections. 1) a narrative section which will feature major activities of interest to nursing and background on issues; and 2) a bill summary section which will summarize each bill introduced of interest to nursing.

Access Legislative Information on the Internet

Find current legislation, bill history, publications, meeting calendars, legislator information, legislative committees, Iowa laws, legislative agencies, educational information, Capitol virtual tour and more by going to the legislative web site: www.legis.state.ia.us. The INA Legislative Connection will give you the bill numbers, legislator names and committee names to assist you in locating information more quickly.

First Session of the 79^th General Assembly

Opened on Monday, January 8

Speeches by legislative leadership highlighted the goals to accomplish this year.

Governor Vilsack

Governor Vilsack said that the Legislature has a historic opportunity to improve student performance, to increase job growth and economic development and to reduce all forms of abuse. Vilsack said that he hoped the Legislature would avoid partisan fighting.

Vilsack Outlines Abuse Initiatives

Governor Vilsack will make a comprehensive series of recommendations to reduce domestic abuse, elder abuse and child abuse in Iowa as part of his administration’s legislative proposals for the next session. Lt. Governor Pederson will lead the administration's effort on abuse. Their proposals includes hiring additional field and supervisory staff to improve child protection services, hiring a fourth ombudsman to reduce elder abuse, requiring more extensive mandatory reporter training, expanding protective and prevention services and achieving substance abuse and mental health parity.

Senate Majority Leader Iverson

Iverson said that the Legislature needs to act to enhance student performance and to promote both value-added agriculture and biotechnology.

Iverson said that the state needs to promote its "right-to-work" status in its efforts to attract good paying jobs to rural Iowa.

Senate President Kramer

Senator Kramer said that the Legislature must be disciplined in the next year. She said that the Legislature needs to enhance the number and the quality of jobs in Iowa, including embracing biotechnology, and to improve education by making sure that every child comes to school ready to learn and has well-prepared teachers for every subject. She said that the state must make sure that those who need care the most--children and the mentally ill-receive that care. Kramer said that the state must continue in its efforts keep water and air quality high, to help build attractions.

Senator McKean

Senator McKean is the new President Pro Tempore of the Senate. He said that Iowans had gone through national and state campaigns, which were very divisive, and that the Legislature should consider campaign reform bills later in this session. McKean said that he will try to conduct the Senate to reduce the partisan tensions and in a way to make the people back home proud and so forth.

Speaker Siegrist

Rep. Siegrist said that the legislature has a full plate of issues to deal with next year--teacher pay and teacher improvement, child abuse, social security tax exemptions, workforce development and reapportionment. He welcomed the twenty new members to the House and quoted from the Eagles to welcome them ("Great expectations, everybody’s watching you").

Majority Leader Rants

Rep. Rants said that the Legislature must take care to match the state’s revenues with spending and for several targeted tax cuts. Rants said that the Legislature will need to make difficult decisions about spending, and that it needs to make those decisions based on the impact of the decisions. Rants said that the state should mental health funding from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Public Health in order to treat mental illness as an illness.

Rep. Rants said that the state should begin to end the tax on social security income, which he called the "most unfair of all taxes on our seniors", and cap collections on utility taxes this winter.

Minority Leader Myers

Rep. Myers is the new leader of the House Democrats. Myers said that the two parties can and should work together. He said, that given a choice, he would pick teacher funding over further tax cuts.

He also said that the state should expand HAWK-I to give more children insurance coverage, to use better judgment in prison sentencing and to promote ethanol and value-added agriculture.

Highlights of Hearing Held in Sioux City

Improving Health Care for all Iowans Hearing in Sioux City

Dr. Stephen Gleason, Director of the Department of Public Health, Kevin Techau, Director of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, Judy Conlin, Director of the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs, and Jessie Rasmussen, Director of the Department of Human Services, made the following recommendations:

Goal 1 - Ensure that all Iowans, particularly those with special health care needs, have access to quality health care services.
The state should improve infant mortality case management, minority health efforts and go forward with a children's mental health initiatives

Goal 2 - Reduce dependency on harmful drugs.
The state should continue to efforts to ensure mental health and substance abuse parity and adequate and effective abuse treatment

Goal 3 - Reduce disease for all Iowans by focusing on wellness and prevention.
The state should pass legislation to ensure adequate fees to support food establishment inspections

Goal 4 - Give consumers a strong voice in Iowa's health care system.
The state should add a fourth long-term care ombudsman

Goal 5 - Enhance the quality of life of all Iowans
The state should improve safety and permanency of children in the child welfare system.

return to 2001 legislative connection




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