Capitol Notebook: Iowa Senate passes labeling requirement for meat substitutes

DES MOINES — Manufacturers of meat substitute products would be allowed to use meat-related terms like burger, sausage, patty or link — as long as the package makes clear it is a plant-based or lab-grown product under legislation approved by the Iowa Senate.

The labeling requirement would apply to manufacturers and would not place any requirement on grocers. A previous version of the bill included a provision to prohibit Iowa’s regents universities from researching meat substitute products; but that was removed.

The bill also would require the state to apply for a waiver to opt out if the federal government ever approves a lab-grown meat substitute for purchase under federal nutrition assistance programs like SNAP for individuals and families or WIC for expectant mothers.

The bill also prohibits Iowa’s public schools, regents universities and community colleges from purchasing lab-grown products.

“This is a preventative measure against an activist federal government who wants to see our children eat from a petri dish,” Sen. Dawn Driscoll, R-Williamsburg, said during debate. “Lab-grown products are emerging technology, and the fair labels act is an important first step for making sure that consumers understand the difference between lab-grown or plant-based products and real beef, pork, turkey, lamb, goats and chickens raised by farmers and ranchers.”

With its passage out of the Iowa Senate, the bill — Senate File 2391 — becomes eligible for consideration in the Iowa House.

House passes ban on traffic stop quotas

State and local law enforcement agencies would be prohibited from instituting quotas for traffic stops under a bill passed by the House.

Current law prohibits communities and law enforcement agencies from imposing a quota on the number of citations issued by officers. House File 2304 specifies that the law also would apply to imposing a requirement on the number of times officers stop vehicles for alleged traffic violations, regardless of whether a citation is issued.

The bill, which passed the House 96-1, now heads to the Iowa Senate for consideration and passage.

House passes bill ending hotel inspection mandate

State inspectors no longer would be required to inspect hotels once every two years under legislation passed out of the House. The inspections would instead take place once a complaint is filed.

Lawmakers stripped out a measure that would have eliminated the annual inspections of businesses that are licensed to remove asbestos from construction sites.

While current law requires the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing to inspect hotels and motels every other year, the department has not complied with that law, opting instead to perform inspections on a prioritized basis and in response to complaints. As a result, “it’s impossible to say what issues have gone undetected in Iowa's un-inspected hotels,” said Rep. Jeff Cooling, D-Cedar Rapids.

Cooling noted past inspections have found soiled bedding, broken smoke alarms, beg bugs, cockroaches, moldy air vents, guests doors that don’t lock property and more.

The Iowa Hotel & Lodging Association and Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing were the only groups registered in support of the bill. Labor groups were registered opposed.

“I believe our inspectors for the state of Iowa are doing the absolute best they can … and I think those guys are working as hard as they can,” said Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Independence, the bill’s floor manager.

The bill was approved on a party-line vote, with Democrats opposed. The bill now heads to the Senate.

Bill would cap nursing home payments to temp agencies

House lawmakers approved a bill to cap the fees medical providers pay to temporary staffing agencies.

House File 2391 is aimed at providing financial relief for nursing homes, hospitals and other health care facilities that rely on temporary staffing agencies in the midst of a workforce shortage.

The bill would require the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to annually establish a schedule of statewide maximum allowable charges for nursing services provided by agency workers. The maximum charges must be no greater than 150 percent of the statewide average wage paid by specific types of health care facilities to various nursing services professionals.

The bill prohibits any temp agency from using the schedule of maximum charges as a basis for “prohibiting or otherwise interfering with a wage increase for any agency worker.” It’s not clear how the state would enforce that provision.

Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, said capping the compensation temp agencies can collect will help address budget problems and improve staff morale in Iowa hospitals and nursing homes, where employees work alongside agency workers who are paid three to four times as much.

Advocates for Iowa seniors and representatives of staffing agencies have argued the way to improve care and address the pay disparity is to raise the pay of nursing home employees.

Rep. John Forbes, D-Urbandale, said he’s concerned the cap would lead to staffing agencies pulling out of or choosing not to do business in Iowa, which would leave health care facilities in need of temporary staff in the lurch, particularly those in rural Iowa.

The bill passed the House 80-17 and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

Bill to add medical cannabis dispensaries advances

Iowa could have five new medical cannabis dispensaries under a bill state lawmakers advanced Tuesday.

House Study Bill 684 would allow the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to accept applications to license 10 medical cannabis dispensaries in the state. Currently, there are five.

The bill was unanimously passed by a three-member House subcommittee, and it is eligible for consideration by the full Ways and Means Committee. A companion bill in the Senate has passed out of a committee and is eligible for a floor vote.

Lawmakers said the change was necessary to expand access for Iowans to medical cannabis. With five dispensaries in Iowa, some patients need to travel for hours to purchase from a dispensary.

Two companies now operate the five dispensaries. Iowa Cannabis Company has dispensaries in Waterloo, Iowa City and Council Bluffs. Bud & Mary’s has dispensaries in Windsor Heights and Sioux City.

The bill would prohibit a company from holding more than three licenses. Jeff Boeyink, a lobbyist for Iowa Cannabis Company, told lawmakers that rule would impede their ability to compete.

“We should have the opportunity to compete for any new licenses that come forward so that Iowans get the best possible company situation in these marketplaces,” Boeyink said.

Bill would incentivize sports, entertainment events

Iowa lawmakers advanced a bill that would create a program to incentivize major tourism attractions like sporting events, music festivals and arts festivals.

Senate File 2394 would set up the Iowa Major Events and Tourism Program, funded with $15 million in sports betting revenue. The bill would also dissolve an existing sports tourism marketing fund and transfer that money into the new fund.

Sen. Carrie Koelker, R-Dyersville, who proposed the bill, said Iowa is missing out on potential economic growth from tourism because it does not have a program supporting events with state funds.

The bill was passed unanimously by a three member Senate subcommittee Tuesday. It is eligible for consideration in the full appropriations committee.

The bill would direct the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Enhance Iowa Board to provide financial assistance from the program to entities hosting large events. The state would be able to provide up to a 50 percent matching grant for the cost of the event.

House Democrats propose ‘auto-IRA’ bill

House Democrats unveiled proposals Tuesday that would put the right to collectively bargain in the Iowa Constitution and provide retirement security for more Iowans.

Democrats introduced House Joint Resolution 2003, which would amend the constitution to say all employees, both public and private, have the fundamental right to organize and form a labor union and bargain for wages, hours and workplace needs “to protect their economic welfare and safety.” It would also prohibit any law that interferes with the right to collectively bargain.

“Instead of politicians in Des Moines trying to strip away the rights of workers every year, it’s time to protect collective bargaining in Iowa’s Constitution to guarantee workers have a say in the workplace,” said Rep. Jerome Amos Jr., a longtime union worker and Democrat from Waterloo who is the lead sponsor of HJR 2003.

House Democrats also introduced a bill that would implement a state-run “auto IRA” program. The legislation, which had yet to be assigned a bill number, mirrors those passed in 19 other states.

Under the bill, Iowa employers with five or more employees that do not offer a workplace retirement plan of their own would be required to automatically enroll all employees in a retirement account in the Iowa Retirement Savings Plan Trust. Workers, though, could opt out.

The State Treasurer’s Office would oversee the trust.

A recent survey found 19 percent of retired Iowans are relying solely on Social Security benefits, and estimated 424,000 Iowans lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement saving plan, said Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines.

Republicans who hold an agenda-setting majority in the Iowa House and Senate are not expected to take up the proposals.

Democrats intend to offer the state-directed retirement savings accounts proposal as an amendment to Republican bills.

Democrats criticize opioid settlement plan

Senate Democrats criticized Republicans’ proposal for the allocation of Iowa’s share of opioid settlement funds, saying it is not sufficiently urgent.

As of Monday, there was $25.1 million available for expenditure in the state’s Opioid Settlement Fund, according to the Legislative Services Agency. The funds come from a multistate settlement with manufacturers of painkilling and addictive opioid drugs.

Under Senate Republicans’ proposal, Senate File 2395, 75 percent of opioid settlement funds would be allocated to the state Health and Human Services Department to distribute, and 25 percent to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

Senate Democrats argued those funds should be appropriated by the Iowa Legislature directly and immediately.

There were 1,125 opioid-related overdose deaths in Iowa from 2020 through 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Sen. Mark Costello, R-Imogene, argued the proposal does move the settlement funds immediately to the health department and the Attorney General to allocate as prescribed in the settlements.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau