Capitol Notebook: House OKs negotiating child care rates

A bill to allow parents receiving child care assistance to negotiate a rate between that rate and what the provider charges private pay families was approved Wednesday, 61-37.

Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola, described HF 2127 as part of the House GOP package of bills to increase child care access and affordability. It also would be an incentive for more providers to take child care assistance, he said.

Last year, the Republican-controlled Legislature approved bills to increase the child care workforce, increase provider rates to maintain existing child care facilities, provide incentives to develop new child care facilities, and help families afford the high cost of child care.

While Democrats also supported increasing access and affordability of child care, they were concerned child care assistance families unable to pay a higher rate could lose their spot in the child care center if HF 2127 were approved. An amendment to prevent those families from being placed on a waitlist or removed from the program was defeated.

“The bill does nothing to prevent that from happening,” Rep. Tracy Ehlert, D-Cedar Rapids, said. Neither does it do anything to increase affordability, access or the child care workforce, she added.

It will make finding child care harder, which in turn will make it harder for parents to go to work, Democrats said.

Fry defended the bill, pointing out that last year the Legislature approved $13.4 million for child care and the state has received $500 million in federal child care funding.

Voting against the bill would restrict flexibility and might be a disincentive for child care providers to accept children from families on assistance.

“I'm looking for ways to help rural Iowa, to help rural families and help child care providers as well as families get their children into those places where they need care,” Fry said.

Another bill, HF 2198, was approved 55-43 to allow 16-year-olds to work in child care centers providing care to school-age children without supervision. Under current law, an employee or substitute has to be at least 18 to work unsupervised.

ANTISEMITISM BILL: The Senate unanimously passed HF 2220, which would define antisemitism in Iowa law by using language recommended by the Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

The Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s recommended language reads: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Having previously passed the House on a 66-31 vote, the legislation heads to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for her consideration.

PUSH FOR RADON TESTING: American Cancer Society volunteers lobbied lawmakers to approve HF 2412, which would require schools to test for radon. The colorless, odorless and tasteless radioactive gas is produced by the natural breakdown of uranium, which is found in soil and rock throughout the United States. Radon travels through soil and enters buildings through cracks and other holes in the foundations.

The Environmental Protection Agency has designated all 99 Iowa counties as Zone 1 for the highest average indoor radon potential. Iowa has the highest average indoor radon concentration in the U.S. — more than six times the national average, according to the cancer society. Iowans are at greater risk of radon-induced lung cancer than most Americans, and an estimated 400 Iowans die each year from radon exposure.

HF 2412 has been approved by the House Education Committee. The Legislative Services Agency estimates the initial cost of radon testing in schools would range from $220,000 to $330,000.

School districts may choose to use district employees trained in radon testing. Initial measurement specialist certification for radon testing is $275. Initial mitigation specialist certification for radon testing is $175. Training for an individual to receive both certifications is $400.

Costs associated with the radon mitigation process may lead to property tax increases. However, the use of SAVE funds may offset any property tax increases, the Legislative Services Agency said.

NO TASTING: Legislation to make it illegal for third-party food delivery services to sample food and “pirate” restaurant menus was unanimously approved Wednesday by the House.

HF 2408 would require a restaurant and a food delivery service to have an agreement authorizing food delivery before the delivery service transports food on behalf of a restaurant. Delivery services would be prohibited from using a restaurant’s image, likeness, intellectual property or other identifying material without a restaurant’s consent.

It also would require delivery services to transport food in accordance with food safety provisions in tamper-resistant and sealed containers. Rep. Brian Meyers, D-Des Moines, said it’s estimated that nearly a third of food handled by third-party services has been sampled in transport.

SAFE HAVEN: Iowa’s 20-year-old newborn safe haven law would be expanded by HF 2420, which was approved 97-0 by the House. The law allows parents to leave infants age 30 days or younger at a hospital or health care facility without fear of prosecution for abandonment. The bill, as amended on the floor, would extend that to 90 days.

Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, said 53 children have benefited from the law. Similar laws in all 50 states have been used more than 4,000 times, she said. Some accept infants up to a year old. However, the bill manager, Rep. Ann Osmundson, R-Volga, thought that was too long and recommended the extension to 90 days.

The safe haven procedure is intended to protect the health and safety of the infant as well as the anonymity of the parent who relinquishes custody. The law was approved in the wake of a high-profile case in 2001 involving a teen mother in Eastern Iowa who killed her home-delivered newborn.

Infants who are safe haven babies are placed with approved foster or adoptive families.

THREADING: A bill to remove the practice of threading — the removal of hair from the eyebrows, upper lip or other body parts by the use of a thread — from the definition of cosmetology in Iowa Code was unanimously approved by the House. SF 2119 previously was approved by the Senate.

The bill also would exclude people who are exclusively in the practice of threading from needing a license from the Board of Cosmetology.

CASHLESS WAGERING: The Iowa House voted 71-28 to approve cashless wagering in Iowa casinos and allow betting on fantasy sports and sports-related events, such as pro football drafts.

Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, explained that the change would allow gamblers to set up accounts in an amount and a time period to their choosing. They could tap the account to place wagers similar to withdrawing funds from an ATM, “with the exception there are limits on it.”

However, Rep. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, warned that HF 2497 would be another expansion of gambling. She cited a University of Northern Iowa and Iowa Department of Public Health report that 70 percent of Iowans have gambled and 13 percent are at-risk gamblers.

“People tend to think that when something is legal that it is OK,” she said. “That's a lie. (Gambling) sucks people in with its lure of false and deceptive rewards. The Legislature whose job it is to look out for and protect Iowans is now deceiving Iowans and luring us into harm's way.”

Cashless wagering “gives me a bit of pause,” Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City, said. “As new technology allows for it to become easier and for people to place their bets, let's make sure that we're approaching it at a pace that we can digest as policymakers as much as our citizens can.”

RANSOMWARE: A bill creating penalties for the use of computer or data contaminant — ransomware — was approved by the House 99-0.

HF 2461 provides that causing the malfunction or interruption of the operation of computers or computer networks, or accessing them without authorization, could be a misdemeanor if the damage is less than $10,000. If the damage is $10,000 to $50,000, the charge could be a Class D felony. If more than $50,000, it would be a Class C felony.

The bills specifically address ransomware attacks on state government, schools and utilities.

Bill manager Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, called the “significant disruptions” Iowans are experiencing from attacks on computer systems “frightening.”