Capitol Notebook: Hands-free driving bill passes Iowa Senate

DES MOINES — Using mobile devices while driving a vehicle would be illegal except when using hands-free modes, under a bill passed Wednesday by the Iowa Senate.

Similar legislation has floated around the Capitol since the state in 2017 enacted a ban on texting while driving, but had never passed the full Senate until Wednesday.

Sen. Mark Lofgren, a Republican from Muscatine and the bill’s floor manager, said the bill “will help rein in many distracted drivers” and “improve safety on our roads.”

From 2015 to 2021 in Iowa, the average annual number of crashes that involved distracted driving increased 64.9 percent over the previous 14 years, according to state transportation data.

Over the same period, the number of distracted driving-related crashes involving fatalities and total deaths from crashes both spiked by 237 percent in Iowa.

State law enforcement officials say the current ban on texting while driving is nearly impossible to enforce because it is difficult to prove a driver was texting, which is illegal, and not making a call, which remains legal.

Senate File 547 would allow for mobile device use while driving only in voice-activated or hands-free mode. Any hand-held use of a device while driving would be prohibited.

The bill also increases the scheduled fine for this violation from $45 to $100 and would make it a moving violation that can be considered for purposes of administrative suspension of a driver’s license or to establish habitual offender status.

If serious injury or death occurs, the fine is $500 and $1,000, respectively, and the driver’s license could be suspended.

There were 1,311 convictions in Iowa for using an electronic communication device while driving a motor vehicle in fiscal 2022 and 1,458 in fiscal 2021.

If the bill is signed into law, law enforcement officers would be required to issue a warning in lieu of a citation for violations between July 1, 2023, the effective date of the bill, and Jan. 1, 2024.

The bill, which passed 47-3, heads to the Iowa House for consideration.

Public assistance requirements

Senate Republicans passed a bill that would change eligibility requirements for low-income Iowans to get food and health care assistance.

Senate File 494 would limit households seeking food assistance to a maximum of $15,000 in liquid assets and personal property. The applicant’s home, a first car of any value, and a second car worth up to $10,000 would not be included in that calculation.

Iowa now requires recipients to meet an income threshold but does not restrict assets.

The bill also establishes the maximum household income for Iowa families to qualify for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, at 160 percent of the federal poverty level. That equates to, for example, a household income of $48,000 for a family of four.

SNAP is administered federally; however, half of the administrative costs are paid by the state.

Federal income thresholds for SNAP are specified at 130 percent of the federal poverty level, with states able to exceed the floor. Iowa Code currently does not have an income threshold for SNAP recipients, although the state has administered the program at 160 percent of poverty level.

The bill would direct the state Department of Health and Human Services to develop a new system or hire a private company no later than July 1, 2025, to verify assets, identity and other eligibility requirements for hundreds of thousands of Iowans receiving assistance through SNAP and Medicaid programs involving federal and state benefits. The bill also would require cooperation with child support enforcement to qualify for Medicaid, but not for food assistance.

Any legislation that would change Iowa's SNAP and Medicaid programs would require federal approval.

Republicans said requiring Iowans who are receiving public assistance benefits to undergo more rigorous eligibility verification reviews would bolster program efficiency, prevent fraud and weed out abuse.

Democrats contend the proposed changes would raise the state’s costs by increasing the amount of paperwork and administrative oversight, while making it more difficult for Iowans to qualify for assistance, many of whom are children, people with disabilities and elderly Iowans.

A fiscal analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agencies estimates 1 percent of Iowans receiving benefits will have their benefits canceled under the bill beginning in fiscal 2026 due to discrepancies. That includes roughly 8,000 Medicaid, 600 Children’s Health Insurance Program, 100 Family Investment Program, and 2,800 SNAP recipients.

LSA estimates Senate File 494 will increase state costs by $4.7 million in fiscal 2024, $9.2 million in fiscal 2025, and $3.3 million in fiscal 2026 from increased staffing — 231 new full-time equivalents in the Health and Human Services Department and one new FTE in Iowa Workforce Development — and IT costs and to contract with a third-party vendor to conduct frequent eligibility checks for people participating in all public assistance programs.

Beginning in fiscal 2027 and subsequent fiscal years, the bill is estimated to decrease state costs by $7.8 million annually, according to the LSA analysis.

The Senate-passed bill would need to reconciled with a House that would require able-bodied adults without dependents to participate in employment and training to receive SNAP benefits. It also would direct the state to seek federal permission to enact work and community engagement requirements for some Medicaid recipients.

The House version of the bill also would seek a federal waiver to ban the use of SNAP benefits to purchase candy and non-sugar-free soda, and includes funding for a program that encourages healthier food purchases among SNAP participants.

The Senate bill does not include those provisions. Instead, it details how the department should respond when it finds a change in someone’s circumstances that potentially alters their eligibility for public assistance.

Mental health resource on ID cards

Iowa middle and high schools that issue student IDs would be required to put the crisis call and text numbers for Your Life Iowa on some student ID cards under a bill passed in the House.

Your Life Iowa is a state program that offers resources for people considering suicide or struggling with mental health issues, gambling problems and substance abuse.

The program offers a 24-hour call and text line that can provide counseling in a crisis and connect callers with local services.

Under House File 602, schools would be required to put the numbers on new IDs for grades seven through 12, and would have the option to add the number to IDs in grades five and six. Adding the phone number would give students in crisis a convenient avenue to reach out for help, the bill’s supporters said.

“For me, if it could save even one life — maybe a kid looking for help, for a lifeline, it’s worth the small amount of ink to simply print it on student IDs,” said Rep. Ray Sorensen, R-Greenfield.

The bill passed, 91-4. Rep. Brad Sherman of Williamsburg, one of four Republicans who voted against the bill, said he was concerned with prominently displaying the resource could increase suicidal ideation.

Mental Health resources on ID cards

Iowa middle and high schools that issue student IDs would be required to put the crisis call and text numbers for Your Life Iowa on some student ID cards under a bill House lawmakers passed on Wednesday.

Your Life Iowa is a state program that offers resources for people considering suicide or struggling with mental health issues, gambling problems and substance abuse.

The program offers a 24-hour call and text line which can provide counseling in a crisis and connect callers with local services.

Under House File 602, schools would be required to put the numbers on new IDs for grades 7 through 12, and would have the option to add the number to IDs in grades 5 and 6. Adding the phone number would give students in crisis a convenient avenue to reach out for help, the bill’s supporters said.

“For me, if it could save even one life — maybe a kid looking for help, for a lifeline, it’s worth the small amount of ink to simply print it on student IDs,” said Rep. Ray Sorensen, R-Greenfield.

The bill passed, 91-4. Rep Brad Sherman of Williamsburg, one of four Republicans who voted against the bill, said he was concerned prominently displaying the resource could increase suicidal ideation.