Law changes touch many Iowans

DES MOINES – Even with a limited agenda pared even further by divided government, the 2013 Legislature managed to touch a lot of Iowans.

Laws passed during the 130-day span that the General Assembly was convened will have immediate effects as well as reverberate for years to come.

• See also: Some of the things the Iowa Legislature did and didn't do in 2013

For Iowa drivers, those needing to renew their licenses will be able to do so online and will have to do it every eight years rather than five thanks to legislative changes. However, lawmakers balked at banning traffic cameras that monitor their speeds and stops, raising the speed limit on two-lane primary roads to 60 mph or hiking the state tax they pay on a gallon of gasoline – although they did extend a tax break for ethanol-blended fuels for another year.

For young drivers honing their skills on Iowa roadways, they will have to spend a full year practicing under the supervision of a parent or guardian and will only be allowed to have one unrelated passenger in their vehicles until they graduate to a provisional license. Teenagers being educated at home will be able to get driving instruction from their parents.

For Iowans who possess cell phones, the Legislature increased the monthly surcharge for E911 service that they pay by 35 cents to put them on even keel with the $1 assessed per land line. However, lawmakers hung up on an idea to take phones out of Iowans' hands while they drive.

Iowa scofflaws could face penalties if they run afoul on new offenses for possessing or operating a radar-jamming device or removing a police communications device and law breakers convicted of an aggravated misdemeanor will have to submit a DNA sample to authorities.

Before adjourning, legislators agreed to expand liability protections for farm tours in the wake of a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling, but chose not to protect landowners by barring Iowa governments from using eminent domain to acquire land for lakes that would be used for recreation.

Business owners should see some relief on their property tax bills thanks to a 10 percent rate cut over the next two years and a new state credit for small businesses. Working Iowans who qualify for the earned income tax credit will see their break double while state income taxpayers could reap a credit of up to $120 from a special trust fund set up to capture and return surplus over-payments to Iowa taxpayers.

Increased funding for state universities also should result in a tuition freeze for Iowans attending regent schools in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City next school year.

Comments: (515) 243-7220;

rod.boshart@sourcemedia.net