Iowa Politics Today: Raising property tax cap to help pay for mental health services?

A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Wednesday, April 5, 2017:

MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING:

Lawmakers in separate House and Senate committees began work Wednesday on a bill that could allow counties to collect more property taxes in fiscal 2018 for mental health services now being delivered on a regional basis.

Proposed legislation would begin from the current maximum property tax amount allowed to be levied across all counties of $114.6 million statewide. The House and Senate measures would equalize mental health funding on a regional basis instead of the current statewide basis and add a growth factor to each regional per capita amount while maintaining a $47.28 spending cap. The proposal also requires regions to spend down fund balances but maintains the 25 percent limit on cash reserves.

'This isn't just a tax issue. This is an issue of life or death,” said Travis Stanley, pastor of Norwalk Christian Church, one of a number of speakers who addressed House and Senate subcommittees Wednesday.

Sen. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, told attendees they need to support the legislative change if they want to address inequities that have cropped up in the regional system.

'This is the last train out of town,” said Feenstra.” This is the bill. If we don't move this bill this session, nothing gets done and we stay status quo. So if we want that, that's fine. I'm trying to create something to try to help resolve a problem.”

MORE EMERALD ASH BORER:

State officials have confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer in Fayette and Madison counties, bringing to 45 the number of Iowa counties dealing with the destructive wood-boring beetle that attacks and kills all ash tree species.

The exotic pest was first discovered in Iowa in 2010 and a federal quarantine - enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture - remains in effect and restricts the movement of all hardwood firewood and ash articles out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states.

Mike Kintner of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said his agency already has had six new counties make emerald ash borer confirmations this year and he anticipates 2017 could surpass last year's level of 10 new county finds. The adult beetle is metallic green in color and measures about one-half inch long and can be noticed during the summer months. The larvae burrow through the inner layer of bark, eating away at the vascular tissue, which supplies nutrients to the tree. Starved trees usually die within two to four years. Additional information, maps and photos of the emerald ash borer are available at www.IowaTreePests.com.

WATER QUALITY:

A water quality measure cleared a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday but only because a minority Democrat agreed to lend the support that was needed to keep the issue moving in this year's legislative process.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, joined subcommittee chair Sen. Tom Shipley, R-Nodaway, in passing Senate File 482 after Sen. Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, said he didn't support shifting money from a state vertical infrastructure account to fund cost-share projects aimed at improving the quality of Iowa's waterways.

The bill is supported by Gov. Terry Branstad and builds upon legislation that won approval in the Iowa House last session but died in the then-Democratically controlled Senate. The bill now moves to the full Senate Appropriations Committee for further consideration.

BATHROOM CAMERAS:

Members of the Senate Government Oversight Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would immediately ban government entities in Iowa from installing video and/or audio monitoring devices in public bathrooms, locker rooms or showers in locations such as libraries, schools or other government offices.

Senate Study Bill 1184 was drafted in response to a situation at the Iowa City Public Library where video cameras were installed in the library's public restrooms as a theft deterrent. That action has been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, and lawmakers agreed the monitoring devices raised a privacy concern and should not be allowed in facilities under the jurisdiction of state or local governmental entities. Before passing the bill, committee members approved an amendment that would exempt hospitals that use cameras to monitor patients.

VOTING CHECKLIST:

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is offering a new method to ensure the accessibility of polling sites in Iowa, in partnership with all 99 county auditors. Pate's office plans to distribute tablet computers, equipped with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Checklist Program app, to every auditor's office in Iowa. The technology provided by the app will allow county auditors to more easily identify accessible polling locations in all 1,681 precincts across the state. Polling place accessibility is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA Checklist for Polling Places provides guidance to election officials to determine whether a polling place has the basic accessibility features needed by voters with disabilities, or can be made accessible on Election Day. Using the Checklist app form on the tablet allows election officials to easily navigate the checklist and assists in surveying and managing ADA requirements at their polling places.

HUMANIST DAY:

The Humanists of Linn County will host Reason On The Hill Day at the Capitol from noon to 2 p.m. April 17. Secular organizations and allies from across Iowa will gather in the rotunda to speak with legislators about the importance of reason and critical thinking when serving the people of Iowa.

Also, Roxanne Gissler, president of Humanists of Linn County will give the invocation in the House at 1 p.m. It is believed it will be the first Humanist invocation at the Iowa Capitol.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

'However, we feel about abortion at different points in a pregnancy, a woman's health should drive decisions, not political ideology,” Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, arguing against a bill banning abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy.