Capitol Notebook: Iowa governor appoints members of new behavioral health board

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed members to a new state board this week that oversees behavioral health and sciences, among dozens of other board and commission appointments.

The Board of Behavioral Health Professionals was created this year under a law that reorganized and cut down on the number of administrative boards and commissions in Iowa. The board replaced three separate boards of psychology, social work and behavioral sciences.

Six of the board’s eight members were previously on one of the merged boards — one each from the Board of Social Work and the Board of Psychology and four from the Board of Behavioral Sciences.

The appointed board members are:

The appointments are subject to confirmation in the Iowa Senate.

Iowa Supreme Court issues new guidance on courthouse security

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen on Tuesday issued a new supervisory order regarding courthouse security in the wake of a new law allowing county attorneys to be issued professional permits to carry firearms.

The Court in 2017 issued a supervisory order generally prohibiting weapons in courtrooms, court-controlled spaces and public areas of courthouses and other buildings occupied by the court system. A few months later, the court issued a second order clarifying the authority of chief judges to develop additional policies and procedures.

The order stated that “upon written request of a county board of supervisors, or other controlling entity,” the chief judge shall modify the weapons prohibition to allow them to be carried in public areas of a courthouse “not totally occupied by the court system.”

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Christensen, on Tuesday, said the two orders should not be interpreted to prevent the implementation of House File 2570, which authorizes a county attorney or an assistant county attorney to obtain a professional permit to “go armed anywhere in the state at all times, including on the grounds of a school.”

Supporters of the law note county attorneys have been assaulted and put in dangerous situations that warrant the heightened protections.

Iowa utilities settle with AG over Iowa One Call violations

Three Iowa utility providers will pay the state $50,000 in settlements over inaccurate and slow markings of their underground infrastructure, in violation of Iowa’s One Call law.

State law requires excavators to give notice before excavations to protect underground infrastructure like power and internet cables. The owners of those underground structures must then accurately locate and mark their facilities before the project begins.

The state sent warning letters to MidAmerican Energy, Mediacom and CenturyLink in 2021 over failing to accurately and quickly mark their underground facilities. Each of the companies was contracting with USIC Locating Services at the time to conduct locations of their underground facilities.

According to the settlement provided by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office, the three companies had late response rates ranging from 23 percent to 32 percent in 2022.

The settlement states that each of the companies has made substantial changes to their locating and marking compliance. Late response rates dropped to between 1 percent and 2.5 percent for the companies in the first four months of 2024.

In addition to paying a $50,000 civil fine, the companies must submit bimonthly reports until February 2027 detailing the number of locate requests and how often those responses were late or on time.

Smithfield Foods to close Altoona facility, laying of 314 workers

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Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest hog producer and pork processor, announced Monday it will close its Altoona ham boning facility, leaving 314 workers without jobs.

The Virginia-based company owned by WH Group, a publicly traded company based in Hong Kong, said it will close the Altoona operation Aug. 30. Smithfield said the move will improve manufacturing efficiency, with production from the Altoona facility moving to Smithfield plants in Monmouth, Illinois; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Crete, Nebraska.

Smithfield, in a news release, said officials will meet with employees individually to discuss severance pay, financial incentives "to assure business continuity" and other employment opportunities within the company.

“We appreciate the good work our Altoona employees have done over the years and are committed to supporting every employee through this transition,” Doug Sutton, chief manufacturing officer for Smithfield Foods, said in a statement. “We have been successful in retaining many of our people in positions with Smithfield during previous consolidations and will provide information about opportunities at other Smithfield locations.”

The company employs nearly 4,000 people in Iowa at its farms and food-processing facilities in Carroll, Denison, Des Moines, Mason City, Orange City, Sioux Center and Sioux City.

Smithfield's announcement comes on the heels of Tyson Foods closing its plant in Perry, displacing 1,300 workers. The plant was Perry's largest employer.

U.S. pork producers experienced record losses last year, with some agricultural experts calling it the worst year on record. Producers lost an average of $32 per hog, which was $5 more than the previous worst year in 1998. A combination of factors, including higher input costs, lower hog prices and oversupply, led to the losses.

Reynolds makes appointment to Iowa Court of Appeals

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed John Sandy, an Iowa district court judge, to serve on the Iowa Court of Appeals.

The nine-member Court of Appeals serves as the intermediate appeals court between district courts and the Iowa Supreme Court. Sandy fills the vacancy left by Judge Thomas Bower.

Sandy, of Spirit Lake, is a judge in Judicial District 3A. He received his bachelor’s degree and his law degree from the University of St. Thomas.

New law heightens penalties for human traffickers

A new law backed by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird implementing heightened penalties for human traffickers took effect Monday.

The law requires human traffickers convicted of a Class B felony to serve a mandatory minimum of 50 percent to 70 percent of their sentence before being eligible for parole or work release. Courts considering parole or work release cases for a person convicted of human trafficking are required to consider the defendant’s criminal record, consider the impact of the crime on others and complete a validated risk assessment under the new law.

House File 2460 also provides victims with access to an advocate for support during criminal proceedings, and provides court-appointed counsel during cases for witnesses with a mental disability.

“Human trafficking is a heinous crime that can happen anywhere, including in our own backyard,” Bird said in a statement. “We need to call it like it is: modern-day slavery. With this law, traffickers will serve mandatory prison time, and victims will have strong support through the criminal justice system.”

Gazette-Lee Des Mones Bureau