Capitol Notebook: Cap on awards in commercial trucking incidents passes Iowa Senate

DES MOINES — In a bout of déjà vu, lawmakers again took to the floor of the Iowa Senate to debate capping cash awards by juries for pain, suffering and other non-economic complications — this time in lawsuits against the owner or operator of a commercial vehicle for incidents resulting in personal injury or death.

The Iowa Senate voted largely along party lines, with Democrats opposed, to cap non-economic damages at $2 million in such cases. The bill does not cap jury awards for economic or punitive damages, and allows all punitive damages to be paid directly to plaintiffs.

The measure also shields trucking companies from liability over an employee’s harmful conduct due to “direct negligence in hiring, training, supervising, or trusting the employee,” excluding cases where the driver is under the influence of drugs, alcohol or other substances.

Republicans said the bill will help Iowa businesses that rely on the trucking industry by preventing overzealous and crippling verdicts that award tens of millions of dollars in injury and wrongful death lawsuits against trucking companies. They also argued the bill would keep insurance rates for businesses down and provide predictability to commercial vehicle owners on their level of liability.

Opponents, including trial lawyers, the Iowa State Bar Association and justice-based groups, said high-dollar verdicts are not an issue in Iowa, which they said has the nation’s fourth-lowest commercial vehicle insurance rates.

Senate Democrats argued there is little evidence that Iowa is plagued by overzealous damage awards in these cases. And they said the right of Iowans to have their day in court and seek just damages for harm caused by a tragic accident vastly outweighs the desire of trucking companies to keep their insurance rates down and make their liability levels more predictable.

The bill, Senate File 228, now heads to the Iowa House, where it failed to pass last year.

State government reorganization

Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal to realign state government passed out of the Senate’s state government committee on a 12-6 vote.

Under Reynolds’ proposal, the number of state agency directors who report directly to the Iowa governor would be reduced from 37 to 16. The proposal streamlines the executive branch of state government by consolidating existing agencies and programs.

Reynolds and her staff have said the reorganization will be done without laying off any state workers, and will save the state more than $200 million. She notes such a sweeping reorganization of state government has not been conducted in 40 years, and that it is necessary in order to streamline government services to make them work better and more efficiently for Iowans.

Some critics have expressed concerns about some of the proposed changes, and some have charged that the proposal gives too much authority to the governor.

Senate Study Bill 1123 is now eligible for debate by the full Senate. Lawmakers in the House this week started their legislative process on the proposal.

Energy efficiency repeal

Iowa law would have no energy efficiency requirements for new buildings under a bill that advanced in the Senate.

Senate File 334 repeals a number of provisions in Iowa law that require buildings and residential housing to comply with standards to reduce the amount of heating and lighting that buildings use.

Lobbyists representing homebuilders and realtors backed the bill during a subcommittee hearing. They said energy efficiency standards drive prices for new homes up, which in turn drives up the cost of existing housing. But representatives for architects and environmental groups said energy efficiency standards keep energy costs low for homeowners and the savings outweigh the costs over enough years.

The bill passed the subcommittee with only Republican support. Rep. Cherielynn Westrich, R-Ottumwa, said she thinks the bill would bring down housing costs and increase availability in the state.

Daylight saving time

Iowa would be in permanent daylight saving time if a bill lawmakers advanced becomes law.

House File 242, which would require federal approval to take effect, would mean Iowa would permanently “spring forward” and not switch between daylight saving time and standard time. Two other states, Arizona and Hawaii, are in permanent standard time, but federal law does not allow a state to make daylight saving time permanent.

Last year, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to make daylight saving time the permanent time nationwide, but it did not pass in the House.

Rep. Jacob Bossman, a Republican from Sioux City, introduced the bill and said he chose daylight savings as the permanent time because it would provide more light in the evenings. He also cited difficulties children have in adjusting sleep schedules to the time change.

The bill advanced out of the subcommittee with only Republican support.

Compensation boards could be optional

Counties would have the option to get rid of their compensation board under a bill House lawmakers passed through the chamber.

Iowa law currently requires counties to have compensation boards that set the salaries of elected officials. Under the bill, if a county board of supervisors decides to get rid of the compensation board, the supervisors would perform that duty.

House File 314 also requires compensation boards to provide data on how they decide salaries. If a county has a compensation board, the board of supervisors could lower the recommended salary for an elected official individually rather than across the board, and could also choose to increase salaries beyond the recommendation. Salaries could not be set lower than the previous year.

The bill was amended to require a board of supervisors that does not have a compensation board to make the salary for the county sheriff comparable to salaries paid to police administrators and police chiefs in cities of similar size.

The bill passed the House mostly along party lines, 62-33.