House knocks down liquor policy change

DES MOINES – The House took a hard line on hard liquor Thursday and refused to accept Senate language easing restrictions liquor sales at convenience stores.

The $107 million Administration and Regulation was one of several bills the House shipped back to the Senate as the chambers tweaked legislation in the waning days of the 2009 session.

The budget – a cut of $11.5 million from the current year – had been approved by both chambers, but they disagreed over a Senate amendment to ease the restrictions on the sale of hard liquor at conveniences stores, which are required to have a separate door, separate room and separate cash register if they sell hard liquor.

“My gut feeling is this is a bad idea” to expect an 18-year-old clerk to explain that the store couldn't sell hard liquor to a 20-year-old customer, said floor manager Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines.

In the Senate, the GOP opposed loosening the rules, but House Republicans were divided. Republican Reps. Nick Wagner of Marion and Steve Lukan of New Vienna opposed the current law as another example of the state telling business owners how to run their private enterprises.

Convenience stores already sell lottery tickets, cigarette, shotgun shells and Sudafed – merchandise restricted to buyer 18 and older – as well as beer and wine, said Rep. Doug Struyk, R-Council Bluffs. “Gosh, convenience stores do a lot of age-regulated things.”

The House rejected the Senate amendment 63-24. Later, the Senate accepted the House action, 30-19.

The House approved HF 759 94-0 and sent it back to the Senate, which voted 30-19 to accept the accelerated timeline for cities and counties to participate in the national flood insurance program or risk not receiving state recovery aid if they are hit by a future disaster. The Senate approved a five-year window for compliance. The House shortened it to two.

Backers said 503 Iowa communities currently participate in the national flood insurance program, but 118 do not – including 87 that sustained some level of damage in last year's record flooding disaster. Property owners would not be required to buy flood insurance.

Under the amended version, cities and counties with flood hazards would be required to participate in the national flood insurance program by 2011. If they did not have current flood maps, they would have until 2013. Previously, the timelines were 2013 and 2018, respectively.

Lawmakers also sent Gov. Chet Culver legislation dealing with regulations involving boarding homes and dependant adults.

Also Thursday, senators voted 49-0 to accept House changes to Senate File 484, legislation which is intended to prevent dependent adult abuse and strengthen the state's response when allegations of potential mistreatment arise, such as they did in the case 21 men with mental retardation who were removed from a bunkhouse in Atalissa that had boarded up windows and no central heating system.

The bill, which cleared the House, 93-0, on Thursday, includes provisions include requiring annual registration of boarding homes, establishing regulatory requirements for boarding homes and dependent adults, and mandating improved record keeping of abuse allegations. The bill, approved 50-0 by the Senate, calls for reforms within the Department of Human Services and the Department of Inspections and Appeals on the process for taking complaints and how to consistently apply definitions of dependent adults.

The bill “puts a little bit of hope on a very, very unfortunate situation,” said Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who attended fourth grade in bunkhouse when it was a school.

The House also sent SF 389, the health care reform bill, back to the Senate because of objections to changes it made to advisory commission the bill created. Floor manager Rep. Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, expects the differences will be resolved by a conference committee.