Capitol Digest 3-17-2010

A roundup of legislative and Statehouse items of interest for Wednesday, March 17:

THE JIG IS UP: Time may have run out on a 22-year St. Patrick's Day tradition at the Iowa House. Rep. Dolores Mertz, D-Otteson, who danced an Irish jig in the House Wednesday morning, has been the organizer of the music and dancing in the House chamber on St. Patrick's Day since being elected. However, she has announced she will retire at the end of this term. She's the last of a group that included the late Rep. Johns Connors, D-Des Moines, who provided an Irish flag and vocals, and former Reps. Dan Boddicker, R-Tipton, and Ed Fallon, D-Des Moines, who provided music. Mertz, who wore her shamrock-decorated tam and scarf, and displayed a small Irish flag at her desk Wednesday, was born Dolores O'Shea. However, her father dropped the “O” and changed the spelling to “Shay.”

Meanwhile, the Senate carried on in fine Irish tradition, taking on the air of an Irish pub – absent the stout – with Sens. Joe Seng, D-Davenport, on the accordion and Merlin Bartz, R-Grafton, on the tuba pounding out some Irish tunes before the Senate gaveled into session. The duo cranked out versions of “McNamara's Band” and “In Heaven There Is No Beer” while Sen. Nancy Boettger, R-Harlan, and her husband, Dave, danced a sort of Irish polka in the rear of the chamber. Decorum was restored a short time later and the senators heard a brief speech from Ned O'Sullivan, a senator in the Irish Parliament. Later, Gov. Chet Culver met with O'Sullivan, the spokesperson for Food and Horticulture, Health Promotion and Food Safety, as well as the St. Patrick's Association of Emmetsburg. The northern Iowa community has an Irish heritage and is a sister city to Dublin. He also met with Emmetsburg girls who performed Irish dancing at the Capitol.

NUISANCE BARS: The House accepted Senate amendments to House File 788, the nuisance bar bill that the House approved last year. The bill would make bar and tavern owners responsible for reporting illegal drug dealing, prostitution, brawls or other law-breaking activities that might occur on parking lots or other areas adjacent to their licensed premises under their jurisdiction. Lawmakers said the bill, approved 83-10, attempts to get at a small number of drinking establishments where law officers are repeatedly called to investigate reports of under-aged drinking or criminal activity -- prostitution, drug dealing, brawls, stabbings, or shootings --occurring on adjacent property under the control of the bar or tavern.

BACK DOOR FOR BACK SEAT BELTS: A bill aimed at requiring all back-seat passengers under the age of 18 to wear seat belts that died in the legislative funnel earlier this year has been resurrected. Majority Democrats agreed to amend the provision into a fiscal 2011 budget bill dealing with transportation funding on Wednesday. Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, said the action was spurred by an accident near Neola in western Iowa earlier in the day in which one teenaged girl was killed and three other girls were injured. Law enforcement authorities indicated all four occupants were thrown from the vehicle. McCoy said the Senate plans to include the provision in the budget bill it sends to the House of Representatives and “it will be up to them to decide if it stays or not.”

SUPPLEMENTAL SPENDING: A $52.6 million supplemental spending bill meant to backfill across-the-board cuts to education, public safety and health care this year is on its way to Gov. Chet Culver's desk. Senate File 2366 -- which passed the Senate on a 32-18 party-line vote Wednesday -- would send roughly $31.3 million more to the regents universities with $14.3 million going to the University of Iowa, $10.8 million going to Iowa State University and $5.2 million going to the University of Northern Iowa. Community colleges will see another $5.9 million. Roughly $7.9 million would be directed to the Department of Corrections and local community-based corrections agencies, and an array of health programs through the Department of Public Health would see $4.4 million restored -- including funding for addictive disorders and infectious diseases.

WAR OF WORDS: Leaders of one of Iowa's largest business groups and Gov. Chet Culver's office battled Wednesday over the accuracy of a funding source for legislation that expands unemployment benefits to spouses of military personnel. Culver signed House File 2110 into law Tuesday, saying it will be paid for by interest from the jobless insurance trust fund but not employer contributions. Mike Ralston, president of the Association of Business & Industry took Culver to task, calling the statement “simply not accurate” and contending it demonstrated the governor's “lack of understanding of Iowa's unemployment trust fund and how it's funded or he was attempting to mislead Iowans.” Ralston said all benefits paid under this legislation are paid directly from the unemployment trust fund funded by employer taxes. However, the governor's office fired back that the overall fund balance is $247 million, which generates $4.5 million in interest per quarter and that will be the source of an expense that totaled about $200,00 in benefits for 48 claimants last year.

NO DEATH WISH: No, it wasn't Rep. Wayne Ford, D-Des Moines, who begged Des Moines police to kill him. However, the juxtaposition of a Des Moines Register headline “Man begs DM officer to kill him” and Ford's picture gave his colleagues a laugh. Ford, who is retiring after this term, took it in stride, wearing the story and picture on a lanyard around his neck.

ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION: Senate File 2273 requiring the Iowa department of Transportation to study the implementation of electronic registration and titling of vehicles won House approval 95-0 and goes to the governor. The bill expresses the Legislature's intent to allow electronic transactions for the initial registration and titling of vehicles. Once concern expressed was whether the county designation on license plate would be lost.

ENLISTING VOLUNTEERS: Gov. Chet Culver is encouraging Iowans to be proactive in the face of possible flooding by signing up as volunteers. In some parts of Iowa, the governor said snow melt off and spring rains are creating a situation where it's not a question whether flooding will occur, but when. Culver noted that disaster volunteers may register or search for existing opportunities through the state's online volunteer matching portal: www.volunteeriowa.org. Organizations seeking volunteers can post their opportunities at http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/icovs/agency/. During the registration process, individuals can indicate the distance they are willing to travel to assist as well as their skills and abilities. Registered disaster volunteers will be contacted as volunteers are needed in specific locations. Also, Iowans can learn more about flood safety tips and how to create a family emergency plan at www.bereadyiowa.org.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I've been working on this for 12 years. Two years ago, I had a really good bill. This one has more words in it. It's a good bill.” -- Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, on House File 2528, which would require sheriffs to sheriffs to issue concealed weapons permits to anyone meeting minimum requirements.