Issues survive, die in legislative 'funnel'

Traffic enforcement cameras hit a dead end, “infused” alcoholic drinks went flat, open meetings got a fresh look and Internet poker appeared to be on line Wednesday as lawmakers scrambled to deal with this week's self-imposed deadline designed to purge stalled bills from the 2012 legislative landscape.

Friday's “funnel” deadline for non-money bills to clear either the House or Senate and a committee of the other chamber to remain eligible for consideration this year proved to be an insurmountable hurdle in the Iowa House Wednesday. Many bills met their demise, including a measure seeking to ban electronic devices used to monitor speeding and other traffic laws and legislation that would have allowed bars and restaurants to mix and store “infused” drinks for up to 72 hours at their establishments.

GOP House leaders pulled the plug on the traffic camera debate, while the House State Government Committee decided not to take up the infused drink bill, but did schedule consideration on Thursday for the online poker bill that senators approved 29-20 earlier this week.

Rep. Stewart Iverson, R-Clarion, who managed Senate File 2277, said there was not enough support among majority House Republicans to take up the infused drink bill in committee. The legislation to allow bartenders to mix infused drinks – trendy concoctions that blend of spirits such as vodka, gin and tequila with ingredients such as spices, herbs, fruits, vegetables or candy to create a unique flavor or exotic, specialized beverage – died for the year due to the committee's inaction.

There were many questions about who would be allowed to mix the drinks and whether micro-distilleries where the spirits were produced could conduct both wholesale and retail sales on their premises, he said.

“It was a large gray area,” Iverson said of the bill that won Senate approval on a 48-2 vote.

Meanwhile, that same House panel took a Senate-passed bill that stalled last session, Senate File 430, and pumped new life into the measure that proposes to create an executive branch Iowa Public Information Board to provide an alternative process for open meetings and public records complaints.

Republicans rejected an amendment by Rep. Vicki Lensing, D-Iowa City, who described herself as “an old dog on this issue,” to make the office part of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. It already handles many public meeting s, public records complaints, she said, and has both the physical space and expertise to handle two employees.

Instead, the committee approved an amendment from Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Cedar Falls, to create an independent executive branch agency with a full-time attorney and an advisory board including representatives of the Iowa Broadcasters Association, Iowa Newspaper Association, Iowa League of Cities, Iowa Association of School Boards and the public. It passed on a voice vote. The bill then was approved 20-3.

During Wednesday's floor debates, the Iowa House voted 86-0 to pass a bill that seeks to keep new variations of “synthetic marijuana” out of the marketplace by designating them as schedule 1 controlled substances that cannot be sold in stores. The bill would make possession, sale or manufacture of these newest varieties of synthetic drugs an aggravated misdemeanor.

Across the Capitol rotunda, the Senate voted 31-19 to send the House a campaign finance reform bill designed to close a number of loopholes and problem areas identified by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Finance Board.

However, the Senate Economic Growth Committee declined to consider a House-passed bill that would require a job impact statement be included with any new state administrative rules, with Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, saying the issue would be addressed in a government efficiency package being worked on in the House and the Senate.

“I think there's a dueling banjos approach here” between the House and the Senate, noting that representatives were allowing a Senate-passed bill that sought to establish a “red tape commission” die in the funnel as well this week.

Another Senate-passed bill that will not survive this week funnel in the House Judiciary Committee was a measure that would have required people convicted of most aggravated misdemeanors after July 1, 2013, to submit DNA samples that would have been kept in a state database similar to fingerprints. Iowa law currently requires DNA samples for felony convictions.

House Judiciary Committee members did approve a Senate-passed bill to create a criminal offense relating to the solicitation to commit murder. Under current law, the offense is included with other criminal solicitations that are classified as Class D felonies. Senate File 2296 would establish the crime of solicitation to commit murder as a Class C felony punishable by confinement for no more than 10 years and a fine of at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000.

The same House panel also approved a Senate-passed bill that prohibits an employer from taking retaliatory action against an employee who takes part in a good-faith effort to report child abuse. It also requires public and private colleges in Iowa to implement reporting policies, bolsters training for mandatory reporters, and provides for the distribution of information on child sexual abuse.

The Senate Human Resources Committee voted to approve a House-passed bill that requires local school boards or area education agencies to report any instance of disciplinary action taken against a licensed school employee to the state Board of Educational Examiners. The bill also modifies the definition of misconduct to directly cite the standards of professional conduct and ethics set out in the board's rules.

House officials left open the possibility that the online poker bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday would come before the House State Government Committee on Thursday.

Meanwhile, senators were still feuding over gambling issues Wednesday when a free-wheeling, impromptu floor debate broke out over online wagering and the Iowa Lottery's ill-fated Touch Play experiment that lawmakers halted some years back.

“I don't know if any of you on this floor know that Internet gambling currently is illegal,” Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, told his Senate colleagues. “It's illegal in the United States and I can't believe what we did last night.”

Senate File 2275, which would legalize Internet poker and bring it under state regulation, is estimated to capture up to $60 million in wagering “leaking” out of Iowa via illegal offshore operations and bring in up to $13 million more in gambling taxes through state-licensed casinos that would offer Iowa's latest form of gambling.

“Are we that desperate for money?” Zaun said.

Sen. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, said he was disappointed lawmakers were “creating protocols” to make online poker safe.

“We're making it safe to create online gaming,” he said. “So, what's the next step? What about the treadmill that we're on? Is it OK to make prostitution safe?”