Capitol briefs 1-28-10

A roundup of legislative and Statehouse items of interest for Thursday, Jan. 28:

TEENAGED DRIVERS: The Senate Transportation Committee approved changes to Iowa's graduated driver's license for teenagers. The panel expanded the late-night hours when 16- or 17-year-olds operating with an intermediate driver's license would not be allowed behind the wheel unless they had written permission. Currently, the banned hours are 12:30 a.m. to 5 a.m., the new language would extend the period from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Senate Study Bill 3071 also states that only one nonfamily passenger can be present in a vehicle operated by a driver with an intermediate license. The bill now eligible for full Senate debate would extend the required period from six months to one year that a driver would be on an intermediate license before being eligible for a regular license. Sen. Bill Heckroth, D-Waverly, said the measure is designed to “increase experience and reduce risk.”

BINGO! Businesses or individuals could host a bingo event without a state license under legislation approved by a Senate subcommittee Thursday. Senate File 2049 authorizes the activity as long as participants aren't charged to enter the premises where bingo is conducted, participants aren't charged to play the game and any prize awarded has to be donated. The bingo “occasion” has to be conducted as an activity and not for fund-raising purposes. Current law only allows nonprofit organizations to conduct a bingo event under such limitations without a license.

EXPUNGING ALCOHOL OFFENSES: A bill to allow young adults to have convictions for alcohol possession expunged from the records won unanimous approval from the House Judiciary Committee Thursday.

House File 553 addresses what Rep. Nate Willems, D-Lisbon, called a loophole in the law that allows juveniles and those over 21 to have certain alcohol-related convictions expunged, but not 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds.

Under the bill, two years after conviction for public intoxication, possessing, purchasing, or attempting to purchase alcohol under legal age and for similar local ordinances a person may petition the court to expunge the record of the conviction. To have the convictions erased, however, the person must not have had other criminal convictions other than simple misdemeanor violations during the two-year period.

The committee amended the bill to require that when a person's conviction is expunged that information is shared by the Judicial Branch with the Department of Public Safety so it can clean up its records.

VETERANS DAY OFF: Honorably discharged military veterans will be eligible to take Veterans Day off under HSB 583, which won unanimous approval in the House Veterans Affairs Committee Thursday.

Veterans would have to give their employer 30-day notice that they wanted Veterans Day off and proof of an honorable discharge.

Committee Chairman Ray Zirkelbach, D-Monticello, said it's the first such bill in the nation.

MUCH ADO ABOUT LOBBYING: Democratic leaders said they are trying to assemble an email list of groups that lobbying the Legislature to alert them once a lobbyist declares a position on a bill so they're apprised of what's going on at the Capitol. The new procedure was prompted by a situation this week where a position by American Legion of Iowa was incorrectly relayed to House members as they were debating a bill that would make the spouses of military personnel eligible for unemployment benefits in some cases. House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said lawmakers were working on “a pretty easy fix” to ensure “transparency” in the future. “I have absolutely no idea why the Legislature would want to get in the middle of employer-employee relationships in the private sector. If a client has a problem with their lobbyist, I think that's an issue for them to handle,” said House GOP Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha.

CORPORATE CONTRIBUTIONS: Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said he expects Iowa lawmakers will pass legislation dealing with corporate spending on elections this session that Gov. Chet Culver will sign into law. Legislative leaders are working with Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller on language that will deal with the issue after the U.S. Supreme Court last week struck down a ban on corporate contributions. The ruling allows corporations to spend their money to advocate for or against candidates. Gronstal said he was unsure how the ruling would impact Iowa's restriction on campaign contributions while the Legislature is in session.

ROAD FUND WOES: Revenue to the state general fund isn't the only place where tax collections are lagging. Nancy Richardson, director of the state Department of Transportation said revenue flowing into the state's road use tax fund is off by about 5 percent this fiscal year. She said her agency has reduced its internal budget by about that amount and she is hopeful DOT officials will not have to delay or defer any road construction projects included in this year's portion of the five-year plan.

RUNNING RED LIGHTS: The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to toughen the penalties for a motorist who disobeys a traffic-control device and causes an accident that results in an injury or death. Currently, a motor vehicle operator convicted of failing to obey a traffic control device is subject to a $35 scheduled fine. Under the bill, the court could impose an additional fine of $500 and/or a driver's license suspension for up to 90 days if the action resulted in a serious injury; and an extra fine of $1,000 and/or a 180-day license suspension in the event of a death. Proponents said the change was proposed after Jeremiah Dosser, 24, of Osage, died in a March 2007 traffic accident that occurred in Polk County.

INSURANCE COSTS: Iowa lawmakers are looking at ways to protect families from unreasonable increases in insurance costs when they face extraordinary life events – such as a job loss, family death, identity theft or military service. The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved Senate File 2075, which would provide some help to Iowans who saw their credit scores drop due to those major events. Sen. Rich Olive, D-Story City, said the legislation would require insurance companies to tell consumers when their rates are being raised due to a lower credit score. Affected consumers could provide documentation to reverse the increase or appeal it to the Iowa Insurance Consumer Advocate. A second bill, House Study Bill 525, would protect consumers from car repair shops that perform services without authorization. Rep. Bob Kressig, D-Cedar Falls, said repair shops that so expensive work without permission should not be able to use a lien to keep the vehicle. The proposed legislative change would allow the Iowa attorney general to conduct an immediate investigation and allow an affected consumer to keep the car if the law wasn't followed.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “They're probably betting on them anyway, but we're not getting any tax. I think it would raise a lot of money.” – Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, commenting on a bill he introduced to authorize sports betting at state-regulated casinos if a federal prohibition is lifted.