Iowa lawmakers pressing toward adjournment

Lawmakers made progress Tuesday on the “foundational work” needed to bring the 2013 Iowa legislative session to a close, but haven't succeeded in agreeing on an overall budget number.

“I see light at the end of the tunnel,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said after meeting with House Republican leadership.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, agreed the meeting had been fruitful, but said differences over how much to spend remain in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“We'll have a lot of meetings,” he said.

Meanwhile, the House:

• Voted 82-15 to concur with the Senate on House File 527 to require DNA samples from a list of aggravated misdemeanor convictions that included assaults, thefts and multiple drunken driving convictions. The House accepted a Senate amendment to exempt cases involving deferred judgment or juveniles and misdemeanors related to gambling, hazardous waste, agricultural productions and other offenses as a compromise to concerns raised by critics. HF 527 now goes to the governor.
• Voncurred with changes the Senate made to HF 512, which would allow livestock producers to “mothball” production facilities rather than tear them down if they downsize or temporarily suspend their operations. The amendment would require producers to get a permit from the Department of Natural Resources. The House agreed with the Senate 85-14.
• Fefused 44-53 to go along with changes the Senate made to HF 638, the Rebuild Iowan Infrastructure Fund. The House plan calls for $106 million in new spending in 2014 while the Senate called for $119 million in new spending. A conference committee will seek to resolve the differences. House conferees are Republicans Dan Huseman, Mark Lofgren and David Maxwell, and Democrats Denis Cohoon and Nancy Dunkel. Senate conferees are Democrats Matt McCoy, Tod Bowman and Daryl Beall, and Republicans Bill Anderson and Tim Kapucian.
• Approved SF 247 84-11 to exempt Bengals and savannahs from state law banning ownership of wild animals. A Bengal is a cross between a domestic cat and an Asian leopard cat. A savannah is a cross between a domestic cat and a serval. In both cases the bill requires a separation of four filial generations between the Asian leopard cat or serval and the exempted cat. The bill goes to the governor.
• Approved SF 371 89-10 to allow the Department of Transportation to issue license plates with a space for an organization's decal. School and community groups, for example, could promote themselves on the plates. Groups that promote a specific product or brand name are not eligible.
• Approved HF 355 92-6 to allow eligible drivers between the ages of 18 and 72 years to renew their Iowa operator's licenses electronically every other time. The change, also approved by the Senate, should reduce wait time for Iowans and save the DOT an estimated $1.2 million in road-use tax funds via the efficiencies the bill would allow.