House tackles legislative underbrush

DES MOINES - The Iowa House worked late Monday night, hacking its way through the legislative underbrush until 10:31 p.m.

Representatives answered e-mails, blogged, updated their Facebook pages, returned phones calls, visited among themselves and generally voted to unanimously to adopt legislation that had previously received little attention.

Given more pressing problems, such as declining state revenues and the precarious nature of Iowa's economy, House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen questioned the use of lawmakers' time to run legislation regulating athlete agents as well as the governing the appointment of airport commissioners and licensure of fire sprinkler installers through the grinder.

"We've got 19 bills on the initial calendar and I'm not sure there is a single one that puts a single Iowan back to work," Paulsen said, sounding a recurring Republican theme. "It's a bunch of department bills and stuff for interest groups.  The interest group we ought to be taking care of is the Iowans who need help getting back to work."

House members acted to protect borrowers from foreclosure by approving House File 375, a foreclosure protection bill, 89-9. It prohibits brokers or bankers from misleading borrowers or making false statements, charging fees for loans that don't materialize or accepting any undisclosed compensation for their services.

"If we are going to prevent foreclosures in the future, it's essential to hold mortgage brokers and bankers accountable while making certain they provide complete transparency to their customers," said State Rep. Paul Shomshor of Council Bluffs.  "Iowans purchasing a home deserve nothing less than accurate information and full disclosure from their banker or mortgage broker."

When Shomshor could not offer an example of a mortgage broker failing to disclose his fees opponents said the bill might make lawmakers feel good, but would do very little to solve a problem.

The unanimity veered off track earlier when Rep. Henry Rayhons, R-Garner, offered an amendment to a Department of Natural Resources bill that would move out-of-state landowners up in line to get deer tags. His amendment was rejected as was an argument by Rep. Tom Sands, R-Columbus Junction, that the bill should be referred to Ways and Means, the committee which handles tax matters, because of the fee increases included in it. Despite a Supreme Court ruling otherwise, Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, ruled fees are not taxes and, therefore, not subject to Ways and Means consideration.

In the end, HF722 was adopted 58-32.

Licensure of fire sprinkler installers, regulation of athlete agents and the appointment of airport commissioners were approved 55-43, 97-0 and 77-21, respectively.