Teens likely target for texting ban

By James Q. Lynch 

The Gazette

DES MOINES -- Out of the funnel on to bouncing bills, leaders insist the Iowa Legislature is heading into the homestretch of the 2010 session.

However, there's plenty of heavy lifting before the Legislature's March 31 adjournment target. There's a budget to balance, for one thing. Before lawmakers put the final spending numbers in ink, they're likely to face any number of distractions, including a contentious attempt to ban text messaging while driving.

The texting ban, House File 2456, is one of those bouncing bills – passed by both the House and Senate, but in different forms, it has bounced back to the House from the Senate. The House could take up the bill as early as today, though Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, thinks it's more likely Tuesday or Wednesday.

The bill, which banned writing or sending a text message or e-mail while driving, came out of the House on a 65-31 vote. The Senate added a ban on reading messages and sent it back the House on a 44-6.

Despite the margins, the bill could be in trouble, lawmakers say. McCarthy and Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, say their caucuses aren't taking positions on the bill.

“The outcome is uncertain,” McCarthy said. “Some of our members want to insist” on the House-passed version.

The outcome is so uncertain, Paulsen's not sure the House will debate the bill.

He thinks an amendment to ban the use of handheld electronic communication devices for drivers younger than 18 is more likely to pass than either version of the current bill.

“The idea is to instill good habits in young drivers and hope those good habits will carry forward,” Paulsen said.

Leaders also expect appropriations subcommittees to start passing out their budgets so the overall budget can be assembled as part of the shot-down strategy.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said lawmakers will be keeping an eye on the numbers from the Revenue Estimating Council, which meets March 11.

“We don't expect to add any revenue anywhere if the REC identifies new revenue,” he said. “If they take away revenue, we'll have to deal with that.”

Recent economic indicators are “very mildly positive,” he said.

One of the big decisions will be K-12 school financing. The governor's budget calls for a 2 percent increase -- $233 million -- in allowable growth. Lawmakers have estimated their budget may underfund schools by as much as $175 million.

Gronstal shied away from a specific number, but conceded “there will be some level of underfunding.”

“I believe we're above what they expected us to do,” he added.

Local schools should share the pain the Legislature is feeling because state revenues have fallen as spending increased, Gronstal said.

“We're doing the best we can,” Gronstal said. K-12 schools “need to tighten their belts, too. They need to do the same thing as we're doing – making real cuts as we've done and dipping into their reserve as we've done.”