The Iowa House Tuesday night approved tax cuts for Iowa seniors that eventually could amount to almost $300-million a year. The bill that was approved includes a Republican proposal that would gradually erase state taxes on pensions and Social Security income as well as a proposal from Democrats to excuse all low-income seniors from paying any state income taxes.

Representative Carmine Boal, a Republican from Ankeny, says the tax cuts would slow the exodus of older Iowans who move to lower-tax states and take their money with them. “When retirees actually do stay here, generally they have some disposable income and they’re continuing to pay property taxes,” Boal says. But some Democrats like Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City complained Republicans were pushing through a huge tax break for seniors that could cost the state treasury anywhere from $200 to $280 million.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I was not elected to do that kind of guessing,” Mascher said. “It’s irresponsible. It’s not good government.”

Mascher tried to get the House to vote to raise the cigarette tax to make up for the lost tax revenue, but the Speaker of the House ruled Mascher’s amendment that would have raised the state tobacco tax was not relevant to the bill. Representative Lisa Heddens, a Democrat from Ames, was another “no” vote because she contends other parts of state government will see budget cuts because of the tax cuts for the elderly. “I cannot in good conscience support this bill,” Heddens said. “The safety of my constituents, their needs and Iowa’s future, in my opinion, would be placed in jeopardy.”

But Representative Scott Raecker, a Republican from Urbandale, says he supports letting seniors keep that money. “This is an important cut for Iowans. I think our seniors will benefit from this and I believe we can make this work in the budget,” Raecker said. Raecker, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, acknowledged, though, that the cuts would make it “more difficult” in future years to balance the budget. The tax breaks for seniors will next be considered by the Iowa Senate which is split evenly with 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans.

One state lawmaker is sponsoring legislation to put adult “sex toys” out of the reach of kids. Representative Dawn Pettengill, a Democrat from Mount Ashburn, says it all began when she went into a store at the mall. “In the store there were some of these sexual devices and a young boy, probably 15 (years old), was showing it to his girlfriend, who was 14 or 13, and she looked so uncomfortable,” Pettengill says. “When I got up to the counter, I said ‘Why is that stuff out here in the front of the store like that?’ and the clerk said ‘Well, there’s no law against it.’”

Pettengill says that’s when she decided to do something. Pettengill says she doesn’t want her kids seeing stuff like that when they go to the mall. She wrote a bill that would force stores to put “devices…designed for sexual stimulation” in a place where only people over the age of 18 can see or buy them. Pettengill says sexual devices had never before been defined in Iowa law. “I had a few hair raising experiences…I would get (the bill) back from the drafter and I would say ‘No. No. I’m not going to be responsible for that,’” Pettengill says. “We came out, finally, with a definition that I think I can be proud of, if you know what I mean.”

Pettengill anticipates the bill will generate “quite a discussion” if it passes committee and come up for debate in the full House.

The Iowa Lottery’s TouchPlay machines have raised a controversy around the state because of their similarity to slot machines. Now, there may a problem with the tickets the machines dispense.

Des Moines Police Sergeant Vince Valdez says they’re investigating a man who cashed in a counterfeit TouchPlay ticket at 12 stores in and around the city. He says it was originally a winning ticket and the man altered it so he could keep cashing in on the one ticket.

Valdez says surveillance video shows the same man at the stores cashing the ticket. The man is described as being in his late 20′s to 30′s, with short dark hair. He wore glasses and a trenchcoat. Valdez say they don’t know exactly what he did, but there’s a possibility the man took the ticket home and scanned it. He says the original ticket the man bought was the template to make all the other copies. Valdez says his department has contacted Lottery officials about the problem. Valdez says one of the detectives handling the case talked with the Lottery and Lottery officials said they would be talking with the employees about watching for counterfeit tickets and doing a better job of checking I-D’s when tickets are cashed. Valdez says the thief got nearly $2,900 from the 12 convenience stores where he cashed in the counterfeit tickets.

Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says forgery is always a problem the Lottery faces. Neubauer says whenever they introduce a new product there are people who try to beat the system. She says on the first day of sales of lottery tickets in 1985 someone came in and tried to cash a fake $5,000 ticket and was arrested.

Neubauer says TouchPlay tickets have the address of the store where they were bought printed on the ticket as a security measure. Neubauer says if the person isn’t taking the ticket to the Iowa Lottery headquarters to cash it in, then they must take it to the store where they bought the ticket. “In a lot of these instances it is an employee education matter to make sure that they are looking at the ticket and making sure that the name and address on the ticket matches up with the name and address of the store where they are working,” she says.

Neubauer says they’re also offering other security tips to stores. Lottery officials also suggest that clerks have the customer sign the back of every TouchPlay and lottery ticket and present an I-D. Neubauer says that’s something they’re considering making a permanent part of the claim process. Neubauer says there was another case of counterfeit TouchPlay tickets in Cedar Rapids, and she says police have already arrested a suspect in the case.