Iowa Politics Today: Legalizing the double left, double right turns (you might have been making anyway)

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Tuesday, March 7, 2017:

TRESPASS PENALTY:

The Iowa House voted 94-0 to change the fines for trespassing on private property. HF 69 increases the fine from $65 to $625 to a scheduled fine of $200 for the first violation, $500 for the second and $1,000 for subsequent violations.

Trespass, which does not involve damages of more than $200, an intent to commit a hate crime, public utility property, or the intentional viewing or recording of another person without a legitimate purpose, is a simple misdemeanor.

DOUBLE LEFT, DOUBLE RIGHT:

HF 372 legalizes what has become a common practice, according to floor manager Rep. Kristi Hager, R-Waukon.

The bill legalizes making a double right or double left turn on a red light onto another street or a one-way street with multiple lanes if it does not interfere with cross traffic or pedestrians. Only a single right turn or single left turn onto a one-way roadway is permissible, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The bill codifies a common practice that occasionally gets a driver ticketed for as a violation. A DOT spokesperson said even law enforcement is unaware that double turns are illegal because so many drivers do it.

HF 372 passed 93-1, with Rep. Tim Kacena, D-Sioux City, casting the lone 'no” vote.

COMPUTER SCIENCE:

The Iowa Senate voted 49-0 Tuesday to support incentives for school districts to increase the number of computer science offerings at all levels but Senate File 274 did not include any money to fund the effort. The bill does not mandate district participation but requires the state Department of Education to establish computer science standards for elementary, middle and high school grades and requires the state Board of Educational Examiners to establish an endorsement in computer science for teachers. The concept, which was endorsed by Gov. Terry Branstad in his Condition of the State address, envisions an incentive fund with federal, state and individual contributions and creates a work group to identify and recommend guidelines and potential policies for schools in a report to be completed by November. Branstad recommenced a $500,000 state appropriation for fiscal 2019 but the bill that goes to the Iowa House for consideration did not include any state money.

SCHOOL DISCIPLINE:

The Iowa Senate approved two bills Tuesday dealing with inappropriate actions by school employees. Senators voted 49-0 to send Gov. Terry Branstad a House-passed bill (House File 217) to add to the list of disciplinary actions taken against a licensed school employee by the state Board of Educational Examiners to include being under the influence of, possessing or consuming illegal drugs, unauthorized drugs or alcohol on school premises or at a school-sponsored activity involving students. Senators also voted 49-0 to approve Senate File 238, which expands an existing state law establishing the criminal offense of sexual exploitation by a school employee to include full-time and part-time employees, substitutes, volunteers having significant routine contact with students and person under a contract to a school district having significant routing contact with students. S.F. 238 now goes to the House for consideration.

STORM DAMAGE:

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds plan to tour storm damage in the Wayne County town of Seymour on Wednesday. Branstad, Reynolds and Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Operations Division Administrator Joyce Flinn will survey damage caused by inclement weather that hit parts of Iowa one day earlier. The trio will stop by the Seymour Community School and inspect problems associated with storms that packed strong to tornadic winds, hail and torrential downpours while passing through the state.

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER CONFIRMED:

The Iowa Senate voted 49-0 Tuesday to confirm Doug Ommen of Ankeny as Gov. Terry Branstad's choice to be Iowa's insurance commissioner. Ommen served as deputy commissioner under Nick Gephart before becoming interim commissioner last December when Gephart left the post and then assuming the role as commissioner on Jan. 30. Branstad called Ommen a seasoned attorney and insurance regulator who has more than 30 years of experience in public service. Before his service in Iowa, Ommen served as Missouri's Insurance Commissioner. Gubernatorial appointees are required to receive at least a two-thirds majority - or 34 affirmative votes - to win confirmation from the Iowa Senate.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'This is a bill that is extreme and dangerous. Iowans are reasonable, sensible people who believe in reasonable, sensible gun laws. HF 517 is extreme and does not make our state a safer place to live and raise our families,”

Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, speaking against a bill to expand Iowans' gun rights.

-Compiled by the Des Moines Bureau