Iowa Supreme Court nullifies Workforce Development centers financing

Senate President Jeff Lamberti says 56 state Workforce Development centers that help Iowans get unemployment and find a new job may have to close if lawmakers don’t meet in special session. The financing for those centers was in the bill the Iowa Supreme Court knocked down last week.Lamberti says the bill continued a surcharge businesses had been paying to support the operation of those offices. He says with the Supreme Court’s action, the state is now improperly collecting that surcharge and businesses might file refund claims for the money they’ve been paying the past year. Another part of the bill that was nullified by the court spelled out new rules for the way banks and credit unions calculate interest. Lamberti says the state’s financial institutions made the changes last July 1st.Lamberti says that’s another area that must be addressed. Lamberti and other legislative leaders met privately yesterday. Lamberti says lawmakers didn’t go into the meeting expecting to make a lot of progress. Lamberti says he and other GOP leader “reiterated” their belief that a special session is needed to address several issues.