Capitol Digest 3-16-2010

A roundup of legislative and Statehouse items of interest for Tuesday, March 16:

HOUSE CLOSES NUDE DANCING LOOPHOLE: The Iowa House voted 93-0 Tuesday to close a loophole in the state's public indecent exposure law to avoid a repeat of a situation where a minor was permitted to dance nude at a western Iowa strip club. S.F. 2197 closed a loophole lawmakers said was created when an Iowa Court of Appeals dismissed the state's request to review a district judge's 2008 decision that the state's public indecent exposure law was not violated when a 17-year-old girl stripped on stage at the Hamburg club in Fremont County. The district judge agreed to dismiss the charges after the defense argued successfully that the establishment qualified as a theater, exempted under Iowa's public decency statute. The change makes it a serious misdemeanor to allow a minor at an arts venue to engage in a live act “intended to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires or appeal to the prurient interests of patrons.” The measure now goes to the governor.

TEXTING CONFEREES TO MEET: House and Senate conferees will meet again Wednesday to attempt to bridge their differences on H.F. 2456, the ban on texting while driving. The House banned the use of all handheld electronic communication and entertainment devices by teen drivers. The Senate version bans reading, writing and sending text messages and e-mails. Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, and Rep. Curt Hanson, D-Fairfield, were elected permanent chairmen when the committee met Tuesday.

PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT SIGNED: Gov. Chet Culver accepted a recommendation from the Department of Administrative Services to use Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for construction of two major projects for the Department of Corrections. Culver signed a letter to include the PLA as a specification in the bid packages for each project. The decision follows Culver's Executive Order 22 that directs state agencies to consider using PLAs for construction projects exceeding $25 million. In Fort Madison, the project will rebuild a prison originally completed in 1839. The project in Mitchellville, while not as extensive, is critical in that it is the only women-specific facility in the state and must provide for a wider range of offenders. Work is scheduled to begin in Fort Madison in spring of 2010 with an estimated budget of $130.6 million. The facility in Mitchellville is budgeted at $68 million, with bid letting beginning in August 2010.

VETERANS DAY OFF: Honorably discharged military veterans will be eligible to take Veterans Day off under HF 2197, which was approved 92-1. Veterans would have to give their employer 30-day notice that they wanted Veterans Day off and proof of an honorable discharge. The House amended it to address situations when public health or safety would be affected by granting time off and sent it back to the Senate. Supporters say it's the first such bill in the nation.

I-JOBS, PART DEUX: Gov. Chet Culver expressed confidence Tuesday that the Legislature will forge ahead this session with another $100 million in bonding authority for local economic development and job creation projects. The governor told reporters that problems that had surfaced in the House have been worked out, added “yes, we're going to get that component done this session.” Culver said last year's I-JOBS bill was the centerpiece of the 2009 session and has resulted in funding to proceed with about 1,500 construction projects in Iowa's 99 counties. The jobs and economic activity generated by the I-JOBS program is helping Iowa rebound and recover from a severe national recession, he said.

FORD RETIRING: Rep. Wayne Ford, D-Des Moines, the longest serving African-American in the history of the Iowa Legislature, has announced he will not seek re-election. He is serving his seventh term. Ford has served on almost every committee in the House and has chaired subcommittees on standing committees such as Drop Out Prevention, Community Outreach and Job Training.  He is a member of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. In announcing his retirement, Ford noted the Legislature has gone from one African-American in the House when he was first elected to six. “I can leave knowing that they will continue the work that I and the other nine black legislators who served before I started,” Ford said.

 LEANING NUCLEAR: Gov. Chet Culver gave indications Tuesday he is looking favorably at legislation that would allow MidAmerican Energy Co. to boost electric consumer rates by $15 million to study the feasibility of building a nuclear plant in Iowa to generate electrical power. The governor told reporters he is giving House File 2399 “appropriate consideration” but added the measure has been characterized as a jobs bill and that “anything we can do related to job creation this session is a right step forward.” Culver said job creation is his No. 1 priority. H.F. 2399 provides for an annual electrical bill rate rider for three years of $4 per residential customer, $15 per commercial customer and $1,100 for industrial customers to finance a three-year study to be reviewed annually by the Iowa Utilities Board. 

WIND ENERGY IDEAS: Gov. Chet Culver led a bipartisan coalition of 30 governors in releasing a list of national recommendations for promoting wind energy. Culver, chairman of the Governors' Wind Energy Coalition, said the recommendations encompass a broad range of wind energy policy initiatives that address the governors' top priorities: green economic development, job creation, and energy security. Among the proposals, the governors called on federal officials to adopt a renewable electricity standard and develop new interstate electric transmission system infrastructure as needed to provide access to premier renewable energy resources both on-shore and offshore. The recommendations also seek to streamline permitting processes for both offshore and on-shore wind energy development projects and expand the U.S. Department of Energy's work with the states and the wind industry to accelerate innovation. “Great Expectations: The Governors' Wind Energy Coalition's 2010 Recommendations” is available at www.GovernorsWindEnergyCoalition.org.

VETERANS HELP: Three bills designed to help military veterans and their families landed Gov. Chet Culver's signature Tuesday. Culver signed House File 2110 -- known as the “trailing spouses” bill -- to help Iowa families when a member is deployed in the military. The legislation allows spouses to receive unemployment benefits if they voluntary leave a job in order to follow a spouse on a military assignment. Under the law, unemployment benefits for military spouses will be paid from interest on the unemployment trust fund, not from any increased employer contributions. The governor also signed House File 755, which awards grants to veterans injured in the line of duty, and House File 2449, which assists disabled veterans with small businesses to obtain contracts with the state.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This isn't my first rodeo. We're going to be ready and we're going to win this race.” – Gov. Chet Culver is assessing his 2010 re-election campaign.