Iowa Politics Today: Bill seeks to make your double left or right turns legal (yes, they are illegal now)

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017:

LEGALIZING DOUBLE TRAFFIC TURNS:

Most Iowans think it is legal to make a double right or double left turn on a red light onto another street or a one-way street with multiple lanes in Iowa if it does not interfere with cross traffic or pedestrians. Wrong, says officials with the state Department of Transportation. The single right turn or single left turn onto a one-way roadway is permissible, but DOT officials said Wednesday there is sufficient confusion that they are turning to the Legislature DOT official Steve Gent said House Study Bill 71 and Senate Study Bill 1037 are viewed as cleanup bills to codify a common practice that occasionally gets a driver ticketed for as a violation. Gent noted that even some state troopers aren't aware that double turns are illegal because so many drivers do it.

LOCAL OPTION FOR CITIES:

A House Ways and Means subcommittee agreed Wednesday to adopt a provision that would allow cities in Dallas, Johnson and Polk counties to seek voter approval for a 1 percent local-option sales and services tax increase. The tax bumps would be imposed only in cities that passed the assessment rather than applying a countywide standard. House Study Bill 43 was crafted to only affect those three counties because Iowa's other 96 counties have successfully achieved the 50 percent-plus-one voter majority needed to impose the local option tax. Proponents say the change is needed so cities seeking more revenue for infrastructure or other uses will not be thwarted when other smaller communities vote to reject the countywide tax. Critics say the change could set up a situation where businesses at city limits between municipalities would be placed at a disadvantage if they had to assess a tax that a competitor across the street did not have to impose. Jim Henter of the Iowa Retail Federation, in opposing the bill, referred to the bill as 'the annual money grab for cities.” It passed to the full House Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.

SLOW BURN FOR TANNING SALONS:

A proposal would barcommercial tanning facilities in Iowa from allowing persons younger than 17 from using tanning devices. Representatives of various medical and safety organizations supported House File 143, which passed out of subcommittee to the House Human Resources Committee. However, Joe Levy of the American Sun Tanning Association, said the measure would produce the opposite of the intended effect by driving young people to more aggressive outdoor tanning or to use tanning beds in unregulated facilities such as apartment complexes. He argued the ban would hurt about 150 businesses in Iowa. He said Iowans between the ages of 16 and 17 represented about 5 percent of the tanning market. Rep. Rob Taylor, R-West Des Moines, said the measure is needed to protect teens from habitual overuse of tanning devices. The measure would carry a penalty of up to $1,000 for violators.

HANDS-FREE DAY:

Iowa lawmakers will have the opportunity to get a hands-on lesson in distracted driving Feb. 15 when a coalition of law enforcement, insurers and wireless service providers brings AT&T's distracted driving simulator to the Capitol. From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room 102 of the Capitol, legislators may experience the dangers of distracted driving, which research has shown is six times more dangerous than drunken driving. Texting while driving is a secondary offense, but a spike in traffic fatalities and an increase in distracted driving-related crashes has prompted lawmakers to consider bills to bar drivers from using hand-held communication devices such as cellphones.

TROOPERS NEEDED:

Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Roxanne Ryan told lawmakers the department plans to hold a basic academy every years for at least 10 years to maintain Iowa State Patrol trooper numbers. Fifteen to 20 troopers eligible for retirement each year for the next decade, Ryan told the Justice Systems Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday. Ideally, she would like to have 20 to 25 cadets each year. Trooper numbers have declined steadily from 455 in the late 1990s to about 350 today.