Capitol Notebook: Lawmakers advance property and sales tax bill

Iowa Senate lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a bill aimed at providing property tax reductions while setting a consistent sales tax rate across the state.

The bill, Senate Study Bill 1125, would increase the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent and eliminate the local-option sales tax, a mechanism most local governments use that imposes a one-cent sales tax on top of the state rate. Local governments would receive a portion of the state sales tax revenue to make up for the lost revenue.

The tax increase would sunset in 2051, when it would go back to 6 percent.

A portion of the state sales tax would also go to fund the Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund, an outdoors and water quality fund that was created by a constitutional amendment in 2010 but has remained unfunded.

The bill expands a number of property tax credits like the homestead, elderly, and military service property tax credits. It also limits the assessment values for some commercial properties and limits property tax exemptions for some commercial and residential properties.

The bill is part of a larger plan to lower tax bills for Iowa property owners, said Sen. Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs who chairs the Senate tax committee. The committee passed a bill limiting tax levies and assessments on Monday.

“The first bill was to rehab the levy system and try to deal with assessments coming in as well as to stabilize our levies and actually drive some of our levies down,” Dawson said. “This bill is actually, how do you deliver property tax relief?”

Representatives for cities and counties who spoke at a subcommittee hearing on the bill expressed concern about the removal of the local-option sales tax. Other lobbyists representing environmental and outdoor recreation groups were enthusiastic about funding the outdoor trust fund, which they said was long overdue.

Democrats on the subcommittee said they supported some provisions but had reservations about limiting commercial assessments and wanted to see more money going to the outdoor trust fund.

Health care bill passes committee

Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposed maternal health care bill is eligible for a vote in both the House and the Senate after House lawmakers passed it out of a committee Tuesday.

The House version, House Study Bill 91, leaves in place a piece that allows pharmacists to dispense birth control without a prescription, something that was removed from the Senate version of the bill that passed out of a committee last week.

The bill would direct $2 million in funding to the More Options for Maternal Support program, which funds crisis pregnancy centers, non-medical facilities that offer free counseling and other services and discourage abortions. That money could be used for programming to assist at-risk fathers or expecting fathers.

It also funds four family medicine obstetrics fellowships, creates a grant program for regional health care providers, lowers costs for adoptions and gives flexibility to foster care students receiving a state scholarship.

House lawmakers removed several divisions from the bill that either have already passed or are in the works as separate bills. Provisions dealing with emergency rural hospitals, medical malpractice damage caps, insurance, paid parental leave, and child care tax credits were taken out of the bill with an amendment.

Some Democrats raised concerns about the money going toward crisis pregnancy centers, saying the facilities are not medically licensed and do not have enough oversight. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa has been advocating against the bill, and on Tuesday spokesperson Mazie Stilwell said the centers are “dangerous and unethical.”

Rep. Ann Meyer, a Republican from Fort Dodge, said the centers help expecting parents make appointments with medical providers and provide support, counseling and parenting classes.

The bill passed the committee 16-4, with three Democrats and one Republican voting against it. Rep. Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, voted “no” because he did not support allowing for birth control without a prescription.

Lottery games ending

Seven instant-scratch games will be ending soon as part of the Iowa Lottery’s standard procedures.

The scratch games “Merry & Bright,” “Puzzle Payout,” “Top Dog,” “Lucky 3,” “Crystal 7s,” “Twice the Fun,” and “Funny Faces” will end in May. lottery players will have until the close of business on May 22 to claim prizes in the games, the Iowa Lottery said.

Scratch-game prizes can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery retailer, or at Iowa Lottery offices in Clive, Cedar Rapids, Mason City and Storm Lake.