Capitol Notebook: Bill calls for Iowa, UI collaboration to create up to 48 psychiatric residencies

A proposal to create up to 48 psychiatric residencies at state institutions as part of a large package of legislation to increase mental health access across Iowa was unanimously approved by the House Appropriations Committee Tuesday.

House File 2157 calls for the creation of the residencies at mental health institutes at Cherokee and Independence, and the Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale, the Glenwood and Woodward resource centers and the state training school at Eldora, according to Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge.

The state would work with the University of Iowa to fill the psychiatric residencies and ensure residents get the training needed to be physicians, she said.

Iowa ranks 44th in the number of psychiatrists per capita, “so the need is great,” Meyer said.

Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, agreed the bill would be a good step toward meeting the need for psychiatrists.

“Our next job will be to get them to stay in Iowa,” she added.

Each residency will cost $100,000 per year, Meyer said. The bill calls for $1.2 million in funding for 12 residencies the first year and $4.8 million in fiscal 2027 and beyond.

The bill now is eligible for floor debate. It has no companion in the Senate.

TWOS WILD: On 2/22/22, a Tuesday, the Iowa House approved HF 2222, which would do three things.

The bill would allow defendants represented by counsel to file motions to disqualify their counsel, a notice of appeal and a response to a motion by counsel to withdraw. It passed 95-0.

FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF: Flags will be at half-staff at the Iowa Capitol and Capitol Complex on Feb. 23 to honor Army Pfc. Don D. Dowler Jr. of Clarinda. Dowler, who was reported missing in action in December 1950 after his unit was attacked near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, was accounted for in September 2021. He will be buried Feb. 23 in Santa Maria, Calif.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags be half-staff on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses and government entities are encouraged to fly their flag at half-staff.

CURSIVE COSTS: A proposal that Iowa students be taught cursive writing by the end of third grade could cost school districts around the state more than a half-million dollars.

In a fiscal note on SF 2351, the Legislative Services Agency estimated it will cost schools $15 per student and $25 per teacher to offer cursive instruction. There are 35,253 third-graders, LSA said. The cost could range from $400,000 to $575,000.

The Senate Education Committee has recommended approval of SF 2351.

RAPE SHIELD EXPANSION: HF 2239 would apply the provisions of the rule of evidence relating to a victim’s past sexual behavior in sexual abuse cases to discovery conducted in a criminal case or in a post-conviction relief proceeding, including depositions. According to the rule, the following evidence is not admissible in criminal cases, with some exceptions: reputation or opinion evidence offered to prove that a victim engaged in other sexual behavior, and evidence of a victim’s other sexual behavior other than reputation or opinion evidence. It was approved 92-3.

FAMILY FIRST: A bill to further implement the federal Family First Act, focused on keeping children with their families and not in foster homes, was approved 95-0.

HF 2252 would allow adult adoptees more access to their historical information, and allow siblings to stay in contact even if they are adopted by another family. It also adjusts eligibility for Child Care Assistance to include parents or guardians who are permanently disabled. It would increase the age that an individual can stay in foster care from 18 to 21 even if they are finished with their high school education under some conditions.

The bill also allows the Department of Human Services to disclose information to financial institutions if there is an allegation of financial exploitation of a dependent adult.

FLOOD CONCERNS: Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, expressed concern with legislation that would streamline the permitting process for building a structure in or on a floodway, flood plain or stream.

“In another small way it chips away at our state’s already inadequate protection for our flood plains, and that’s a problem because Iowa has a problem with funding,” Hogg said during debate on the bill. He then summarized the many significant floods Iowa has experienced over the past 15 years.

SF 2311 passed 36-13 and now moves to the House.

PUBLIC GARBAGE: State law would make clear that law enforcement officials are able to search an individual’s garbage under legislation that earned unanimous approval by the Senate. SF 2296 would clarify that garbage placed outside is not considered private, thus legal for law enforcement to search. The bill now moves to the House.

The bill stems from a Clear Lake case. The defendant successfully appealed a conviction and sentence for drug possession charges because the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of his garbage containers set out for trash collection.

— Compiled by the Des Moines Bureau