Barker
We have now completed our first legislative funnel week. With some exceptions, like Ways and Means, a bill must be passed by a full committee in the House or the Senate at this point in order to remain alive for this session. I’m pleased to report several bills that I introduced or co-sponsored cleared the funnel and remain alive including:
HF786: Ensuring Rural Representation on County Boards of Supervisors
HF699: Aligns Iowa with 46 other states to allow drug testing strips to test for contaminants and prevent deaths and abuse
HF886: Requires the DOT to prioritize a four lane US Highway 30 corridor
HF876: Adds lead services lines into real estate disclosures
• House Unanimously Passes Health Insurance Coverage Legislation
Recently, the Iowa House unanimously passed three bills related to expanding access to health care services through their insurance and to provide relief to providers and patients seeking approval for a health care service through their insurance. The bills below are now able to be considered by the Senate.
Prior Authorizations – House File 303 sets up timelines for response from health insurers on prior authorizations, requires insurers to review health care services that require prior auth, requires a prior auth exemption program with each health insurer and a report submitted to the Insurance Division on the effectiveness of their program.
Breast Imaging – House File 318 requires insurers to provide the same cost-sharing requirements for supplemental breast examinations and diagnostic breast examinations as they do for mammograms.
Autism Coverage – House File 330 strikes age and benefit limits from the autism coverage requirements of health plans in Iowa.
• Caucus Priority: Improving Our Foster Care System
One of the caucus priorities this session is to ensure Iowa laws are protecting our youth and setting them up for success in life. Every child in Iowa deserves the opportunity for a bright future. We are taking a comprehensive look at improving our foster care system to get more kids born into tough situations more support. The House Health and Human Services Committee passed multiple bills to support children in foster care and to help foster parents support children in their care.
House File 374 allows for DHHS and foster parents to consent to routine medical care for a child placed in their care. This will help ensure kids have access to the health care they need.
House Study Bill 146 appropriates $275,000 for additional Department of Health and Human Services employees focused on finding relatives for children placed in foster care, and provides additional emphasis on foster parents that have cared for the child for at least nine months in determining custody. This will hopefully provide more stability for the child in foster care.
House Study Bill 215 allows for expedited kinship licensure. The bill defines fictive kin as an adult who is not a relative of a child but who has an emotionally positive significant relationship with the child or the child’s family. This aims to use the child’s existing support system to provide the care they need and improve their wellbeing.
• Property Tax Reform
This week, the House introduced a number of bills for consideration regarding property taxes. These bills serve as a starting point to kickstart a broad conversation about property tax reform. We expect these bills will change through the process as we seek feedback from Iowans. I will use my 15 years of experience in local government to advocate for a system that provides transparency and predictability for Iowans while allowing our local governments to provide important and efficient government services. Please reach out to me over the coming weeks to help me understand how these proposals may impact the cities, schools and counties in the 51st District.
• Commerce Funnel Survivors
This week marked the end of “first funnel” – a legislative deadline where bills need to be out of committee to move forward. This year the House Commerce Committee advanced 23 bills with the vast majority receiving bipartisan support. Below are some of the bills that advanced on energy, PBMs, insurance and financial institutions.
HF 303 – Prior Authorization – This bill sets up timelines for response from health insurers on prior authorizations, requires insurers to review health care services that require prior auth, requires a prior auth exemption program with each health insurer and a report submitted to the Insurance Division on the effectiveness of their program.
HF 318 – Breast Imaging Cost Sharing – This bill requires insurers to provide the same cost-sharing requirements for supplemental breast examinations and diagnostic breast examinations as they do for mammograms.
HF 302 – Climate Change Hazardous Liquid Pipeline – This bill removes the statute the IUC cited in its Summit Carbon decision to say that the state policy finds the factor of climate change weighs in favor of granting a hazardous liquid pipeline to Summit. This bill also prohibits the IUC from considering climate change when determining whether to grant a HLP permit.
HF 404 – Community Solar – This bill requires investor-owned utilities to allow for community solar projects in their service area.
HF 640 – Self-Storage – This bill allows self-storage facilities to limit access if the occupant is using the space for residential purposes and allows for written agreements to be deemed accepted if not returned. This bill also allows for notice to remove personal property and for remaining property to be subject to lien.
HF 781 – Casino Smoking – This bill eliminates the exemption to the smoke free air act that allows for smoking on gaming floors.
HSB 99 – Pharmacy Benefit Managers – This bill includes the following additional regulations of PBMs in Iowa to provide for transparency, patient choice and pharmacy access.
HSB 123 – Governor Energy Bill – This bill comes from the Governor and does the following, as amended in committee:
Allows advance ratemaking for new generation facilities, including small nuclear reactors, energy storage, and gas peaker plants
Requires the utility to provide support for their advance ratemaking application through an electric utility resource plan that has been filed no more than 24 months prior to the advance ratemaking application
Requires IUC to adopt rules to complete advance ratemaking proceedings within 10 months of filing an application
Requires electric IOUs to file a resource plan with IUC at least once every 5 years, with IUC feedback and required good faith to involve stakeholders in the process
Allows public utilities to apply for innovative tariffs that do not negatively impact nonparticipating customers
This bill updates language passed by the legislature in 2020 to establish a right of first refusal to incumbent companies in building electric transmission lines. Last year, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction, LS Power Midcontinent v. Iowa, that the law likely violated the title clause and single-subject rule of the Iowa Constitution. This bill reinstates the law already passed by the legislature, with some changes.
Adds water infrastructure to the existing energy infrastructure revolving loan program at IEDA.
Requires the infrastructure revolving loan fund to provide Iowa State University $633,000 annually to do load forecasting
Requires anaerobic digester systems to receive a permit from the DNR.
HF 556 – Credentialing Timeline – This bill provides a timeline for an insurer to respond to a provider seeking to be credentialed in-network and to provide a reason for denial.
HSB 206 – Infrastructure Sabotage – This bill adds cable services and information services to the definition of critical infrastructure under the sabotage law. A person who intentionally causes interruption of a fundamental service through critical infrastructure commits a class B felony.
HF 622 – Catastrophic Savings Accounts – This bill establishes catastrophic savings accounts, allowing Iowans to open interest-bearing savings accounts for paying qualified catastrophic expenses. The bill outlines contribution limits based on homeowners’ insurance premiums and provides tax incentives.
• Work Requirements and Healthy Foods Bills Introduced
This week, the House Health and Human Services Committee introduced bills on work requirements for Medicaid expansion and food eligible for nutrition assistance.
House Study Bill 248 requires the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to request federal approval to include work requirements as a condition of maintaining eligibility for Medicaid expansion in Iowa. This program will reduce the dependence of low-income Iowans on public assistance and will help them move up the economic ladder. This bill ensures that able-bodied adults are working. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, over 100,000 Iowans on Medicaid expansion are not working.
House Study Bill 216 requires healthy food based on necessary nutrition in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The legislature would like to emphasize the nutrition aspect of this taxpayer funded program to assist low-income individuals. According to a 2016 USDA study of foods purchased with SNAPs funds, 20 cents of every dollar was spent on sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugar. This bill incentivizes better eating habits, and the state is willing to put additional support to those healthy choices by providing a $1 million appropriation in this bill to support additional purchases of fruits and vegetables through the Double Up Food Bucks Program.
• House Natural Resources Okays Three Measure Enhancing Hunting Opportunities
This week, the Iowa House Natural Resources Committee approved three pieces of legislation that will enhance hunting opportunities for Iowans. The committee passed House Study Bill 255 requiring youth deer hunting licenses be available for purchase during the same timeframe as general deer hunting licenses, encompassing all established deer hunting seasons. The second measure, House File 505, introduces a new Code section regarding hand-fishing/noodling licenses. The third bill, House Study Bill 257, modifies going forward the minimum size tract of rural land that will qualify the owner for special deer or turkey license that is provided without license fee.
• Cancer Screening Benefits for First Responders
This week the State Government Committee passed a monumental piece of legislation to further protect the first responders across Iowa who protect and rescue Iowans every day. House Study Bill 266 was reported out of State Government Committee unanimously. The bill would amend Iowa Code to ensure that all types of cancer are covered for Iowa’s firefighters. Currently there are only 14 types of cancer that are covered under the presumption that it was contracted while on active duty because of the job. There are over 200 types of diagnosable cancers. HSB 266 will move to the House floor for the consideration of the full legislative body. House Republicans have over the past several legislative sessions strongly supported legislative efforts in the House to provide expanded coverage for firefighters’ pension funds.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to work hard on your behalf this session in Des Moines! Please reach out to me about any questions, concerns or suggestions at brett.barker@legis.iowa.gov.
——
Brett Barker, a Republican from Nevada, represents District 51 in the Iowa House.
