Bill on asbestos compensation sent to governor

DES MOINES - A bill supporters said would prioritize the cases of people who have the 'terrible misfortune” of suffering from an asbestos-related illness was described by critics as merely adding roadblocks to winning compensation from trust funds established to pay those claims.

Senate File 376, which was approved earlier by the Senate 27-22, cleared the House 56-39 without a single Democratic supporter in either chamber. It goes to the governor.

The bill, which floor manager Rep. Andy McKean, R-Anamosa, said is like laws in eight states and includes components of laws in 26 states, would require plaintiffs to meet a 90-day deadline for disclosing certain information. It also includes provisions about identifying additional or alternative asbestos bankruptcy trusts that were established to pay claims arising from asbestos exposure.

Asbestos, which has been found to be a carcinogen and is banned in more than 50 countries, was used for decades in products such as insulation, brake linings, floor tiling and roofing materials. After it was determined asbestos exposure was a cause of mesothelioma cancer, bankruptcy trust funds were established to cover personal injury claims filed by people who had been exposed to the material. At least 2,000 Iowans have died from asbestos exposure since 1999, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention database.

Between 1999 and 2013, the CDC said there were 237 asbestos-related deaths in Linn County, 130 in Scott, 80 in Woodbury, 69 in Clinton, 65 in Cerro Gordo, 61 in Black Hawk, 42 in Johnson and 27 in Muscatine.

Mesothelioma is always fatal, McKean said, usually within 18 to 24 months after diagnosis. He said that under the measure, the most severe cases would be given priority over claims from people who have been exposed to asbestos but show no symptoms.

'One thing we should be concerned about is that there are many, many meritless claims of folks who have just been exposed, but have no symptoms whatsoever, and these claims are clogging up the system and settled for nuisance value depleting resources that could be available for people who have mesothelioma or symptoms of asbestosis or silicosis,” he said.

Rep. Jerry Kearns, D-Keokuk, didn't see it that way.

'If you, in fact, put those folks at the front of line, but give them an impossible task for information, things they can't ever find, then it seems to me it's a delay,” Kearns said. 'They can still make claims, but they'll be dead before the claims are put before the judge.”

Kearns and Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, argued the change would hurt veterans who have suffered asbestos-related cancer. Voting for SF 376 would be like 'slapping them in the face,” he said.

Wessel-Kroeschell read a long list of veterans groups that opposed similar legislation in other states. However, no veterans groups registered for or against SF 376 in Iowa. It was backed by several business and insurance groups, but trial lawyers opposed it.

Other House Action

The House also unanimously approved a handful of 'non-cons” or what it considers non-controversial bills.

Among them was House File 445, a bill to exempt certain Iowa Utilities Board information from the public in order to be able to share that information with outside agencies.

The bill is an 'essential piece regarding our national security,” said Rep. Scott Ourth, D-Ackworth, who served on a subcommittee on the bill.

Earlier this session, utilities board Chairwoman Gerri Huser said that under current law, information about cybersecurity at utility companies is not shielded from the public. That limits board members and staff from complete access to cybersecurity information, such as how utilities protect against cyberattacks.

The House also voted 94-0 to keep confidential some information about gaming facilities. Gov. Terry Branstad earlier expressed concerns that the bill shielded too much from the public.

'You know, gambling has become a significant industry in our state. I think the public has a right to know the details about their financial circumstances,” he said.

Rep. Jake Highfill, R-Johnston, said a compromise had been reached with the help of media organizations that would result in casinos' certified audit, including opinion letters, balance sheets, cash flow and financial statements, remaining public.

The House also voted to allow all-terrain vehicles on a designated trail to cross a highway and to require the Department of Natural Resource to adopt rules allowing straight wall cartridge rifles for deer hunting.

l Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com.