May 23, 2012

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Attempts to block traffic cameras, change school start date, stall again in legislature

May 2, 2012 By

A wide-ranging bill that deals with everything from fancy martinis to state funding for schools has cleared the Iowa Senate. Several Republican senators tried to resurrect others issues, like a ban on traffic enforcement cameras, by trying to attach them to the bill, but Democrats used parliamentary rules to block them.

Senator David Johnson, a Republican from Ocheyedan, tried unsuccessfully to set the fourth Monday in August as the first day of school in Iowa. “I hear from more families and teachers every year who want an end to the early- to mid-August school start,” Johnson said.

Senator Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, tried but failed to get a Senate vote on a traffic camera ban. “The citations are out of control,” Zaun said. “They’re anywhere in the state of Iowa from $60 to $300. There…are no laws in place that tells communities how much they can charge.”

Zaun suggested the companies that put up the cameras are guilty of a bit of highway robbery, as their cut of ticket revenue runs as high as 58%. “I’ve heard from hundreds if not thousands of Iowans that are upset about this,” Zaun said. “This has got to be shut down.”

But the senate president ruled Zaun’s proposal to ban traffic cameras was not eligible for consideration. Proposals related to gun rights and drivers ed for home schoolers met the same fate.

But a few Republican proposals did survive, like requiring judges who’re deciding child custody case to consider whether a parent had ever let the child near a person on the sex offender registry. That won unanimous support from the Senate. Another proposal Republican

Senator Rick Bertrand of Sioux City won support from all but two senators. It will let restaurants and bars keep mixed drinks like margaritas or “infuse” liquor for up to 72 hours.

“We can walk within about a three-block radius of the capitol and there’s multiple businesses that are doing this already, so this just brings everybody into compliance,” Bertrand said. Some bartenders, for example, soak fruit or candy in vodka to create exotic martinis. However, under current law, bars are technically breaking the law to keep such “infused” liquors or mixed drinks around for more than 24 hours.

It’s unclear how many more hours, days or weeks — the legislature will be in session before winding up the 2012 session. Legislative leaders say some progress was made on a few budget issues and negotiators may sit down today to review other proposals.

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Transportation department holding discussions on passenger rail service

May 1, 2012 By

The Iowa Department of Transportation is narrowing down plans for a new high-speed passenger railway linking Chicago and Omaha. A two-million dollar study looks at possible routes across Iowa, with stops in the Quad Cities, Iowa City and Des Moines.

The D.O.T.’s Amanda Martin says the project is a long way from completion and it’s uncertain where the money will originate. “We do have the funding in place for the study,” Martin says. “We’re just in the study mode right now and that was the two-million dollars I mentioned earlier.”

One-million of that is coming from Iowa, with another million matched by the federal government. Martin says since the chosen route goes through populated areas and uses already-laid track, it will be affordable and profitable. Martin says this train would not be like the one Amtrak runs through the southern part of the state.

“The service is very different from the service we are studying now,” she says. “The service we’re studying now is inner city passenger rail service, typically between two urban areas.”

She says this train would run a lot more often and go much faster, making it a viable alternative to driving. The project is still in its infancy, but the D.O.T. is hosting public forums on-line and in person.

In-person meetings are planned in Des Moines Wednesday and in Council Bluffs on Thursday.

Learn more at: www.iowadot.gov.

Filed Under: Human Interest, News Tagged With:

Passenger rail meetings begin next week

April 27, 2012 By

Iowans are offering their input on five proposed routes a high-speed rail system may be taking across the state and public meetings are planned next week. The passenger train would run between Omaha and Chicago. Amanda Martin, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, says they’ve been gathering data for weeks and want to share the research with the public.

“We’ve been working on a route alternative analysis report,” Martin says. “This in-person open house will illustrate the various route alternatives we have studied and the process used to evaluate the route alternatives and then the preliminary findings on the alternative analysis report.”

Martin is coordinator for the Iowa D.O.T.’s Office of Rail Transportation, Freight and Passenger Policy. She says most of the comments they’ve gotten on the routes so far have been positive. “Some of the comments have been how they plan to use the service if it becomes available, if they’re a student and they want to use it for traveling to and from home and school, or if they’re a person who wants to use it for leisure or traveling purposes, for recreation,” Martin says.

“We’re hearing comments about specific routes they prefer.” Even though it appears the project has public support, Martin says there is a lot more to look at before it becomes a reality, including approval from the Federal Railroad Administration.

“At the end of this study, we will know what route has been preferred and which route the FRA is comfortable with us moving forward with but obviously, we’ll have steps to determine if the feasibility financially with the state, how we would move forward with funding any sort of project, so all of that will be forthcoming.”

Public meetings on the five proposed routes are scheduled for May 1st in Chicago, May 2nd in Des Moines at the State Historical Society Building, and May 3rd in Council Bluffs at the Mid-America Center. Martin says the information is also available online at: “iowadot.gov“.

Comments on route alternatives will be accepted until May 21st.

Filed Under: Human Interest, News Tagged With: ,

Bill would extend state tax break for ethanol-blended fuels

April 26, 2012 By

Ross Paustian

A bill awaiting the governor’s approval would temporarily maintain the tax advantage for ethanol-blended fuel. Representative Ross Paustian, a Republican from Walcott, was the bill’s floor manager in the House.

“What this bill will do, upon passage, is extend the ethanol tax credit on ethanol-blended fuel for one more year from July 1 to June 30, 2013,” Paustian said.

If state law isn’t changed, on July 1 the per gallon state tax on ethanol-blended fuels would go from 19 cents to 21 cents — the same rate charged on fuels that do not contain ethanol. The House approved the bill Wednesday. Paustian described it as a temporary fix.

“That’s because there’s been discussion of a fuel tax increase and this will allow us another year to continue the discussion and we want to be able to keep this ethanol tax credit in place during that time.” Paustian said.

Senators approved the proposal this morning. Senator Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, urged senators to continue the ethanol tax break.

“We are strong supporters of renewable fuels in this state and this is a simple, one-year extension of that,” Hogg said, “something that we need to do this year or else we have problems on July 1 with that favorable tax treatment for ethanol going away.”

The move will save Iowans who buy ethanol-blended fuel an estimated $8 million at the pump during a 12-month period.

Filed Under: Agriculture, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

High gas prices hit nonprofit programs

April 24, 2012 By

Gas prices in Iowa in recent days have been hovering just below $3.60 a gallon. The situation has a lot people thinking about how much and where they drive.

It’s also taking a bite out of some volunteer programs like Meals on Wheels. Sally Myers is program director for the nonprofit Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging in Waterloo, which has 1,100 elderly clients in 10 counties who receive home delivered meals each week. The deliveries come from drivers who donate their time and fuel.

“We have one center that says that they will probably lose their volunteers if gas goes to $5 a gallon,” Myers said. “So they are hearing about it and talking about it. It’s not quite bothering them yet, but it may be in the future.” Many volunteers are themselves retired and on a fixed income.

Myers predicts further increases in the price at the pump could lead to delivery delays or schedule changes. “We’ve always been pretty proud of ourselves in Iowa because we’ve never had a waiting list, especially in our area,” Myers said. “But that is a reality, we may have to do that. And to put them on a waiting list…people need meals now. If they’re on a waiting list, they may have to wait a week or two.”

The current volunteers in Waterloo have become resourceful, according to Healthy Lifestyle Center coordinator Heather Chingrin. “One person, instead of driving their SUV, they drive their other car. And they help me with the routes,” Chingrin said.

“If they think a route can be done a little bit differently to save on miles and gas – I try to be very conscious of that – but…that’s something we sit down and look at.” There is some good news for Meals on Wheels volunteers. They’re allowed to claim mileage on their income tax forms as a charitable donation.

Filed Under: Human Interest, News Tagged With: ,

Biodiesel use almost doubles in year’s time

April 11, 2012 By

Figures from the Iowa Department of Revenue show the sale of biodiesel nearly doubled in Iowa from 2010 to 2011. The figures show sales of biodiesel went from 7.4 million gallons to 13.9 million. Iowa Biodiesel Board executive director, Randy Olson, says he’s pleased to see the numbers, which indicate drivers of the big rigs are using the product.

“Reports and analysis suggest that truckstops along our interstate highway system are embracing the use of biodiesel. The economics have been very favorable for biodiesel in 2011,” Olson says. “Truck stop operators are clearly patriotic folks as are truckers, and the trucking industry have been strong supporters of biodiesel.”

Olson says federal tax incentives, the federal renewable fuel standard and the state tax credit have all helped biodiesel. “He says there’s a (state) retailers credit in 2011 that incented blends of B-2 or 2% biodiesel at 3-cents-per-gallon, and in 2012 retailers are incented four-and-a-half cents for blends of 5% biodiesel, B-5,” Olson says.

The figures show biodiesel makes up around 42% of all diesel sold at the retail level in Iowa. “Biodiesel would be normal petroleum diesel that’s blended with any percentage of renewable biodiesel,” Olson explains. “So biodiesel can be made from agricultural co-products like soybean oil, or animal fats, or even recycled restaurant greases. And any product that is made out of those renewable agriculture byproducts can be blended into diesel at any percentage.”

Olson says the blended fuel performance is comparable to the straight diesel. “Blends of biodiesel up to B-20 perform very comparably to petroleum diesel, and very importantly, it’s good for Iowa’s economy, it’s good for Iowa’s environment because it burns cleaner. And it’s good for our nation’s energy security. For every gallon of biodiesel we use, we import less foreign petroleum. And I think we all agree that’s a good idea,” Olson says.

Iowa is home to 13 biodiesel plants that produced about 175 million gallons of biodiesel in 2011.

 

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, News Tagged With: , ,

Traffic camera ban wins House approval, Senate action doubtful

April 3, 2012 By

Traffic camera in Des Moines.

Traffic enforcement cameras would be banned in Iowa under legislation that won approval in the Iowa House tonight. Critics like Representative Walt Rogers of Cedar Falls say it’s a personal liberty issue.

“As I’ve talked to a lot of people about this issue around the state and in this building, back home, there’s one word that kept coming out very clearly — even from supporters of traffic cameras…and that word was hate,” Rogers said to open debate on the bill earlier this afternoon. “People hate these things.”

Representative Dave Jacoby of Coralville didn’t disagree, but he argued city and county officials should have the authority to install the cameras if they so choose.

“Traffic cameras — I hate them. They work,” Jacoby said. “It’s none of our business.”

The bill passed on a 58-42 vote. Representative Jeremy Taylor of Sioux City — where traffic camera fines used to run $190 — is a strong supporter of the ban.

“The out-of-state, for-profit vendor had 574 errors in Sioux City alone,” Taylor said during debate. “That ought to give this body pause if we’re talking about justice and if we’re talking about fairness.”

Supporters of the devices, like Representative Mary Wolfe of Clinton, argue they’ve improved safety on roads where speeders are caught on camera and at intersections where vehicles are caught running red lights.

“The first person who dies at an intersection where there was a traffic camera and we take it down — that’s going to be a difficult one for us to explain,” Wolfe said.

Representative Renee Schulte of Cedar Rapids said this bill was the number one concern of the constituents she talked with this past weekend.

“And it wasn’t to please ban the traffic cameras. It was to please let us keep the traffic cameras because it makes our S-curve (on Interstate-380) in Cedar Rapids more safe,” Schulte said. “Every day I get email about why I need to keep the cameras in my community.”

Others, like Representative Gary Worthan of Storm Lake, warned a culture that accepts traffic cameras would soon accept the use of more invasive “Radio Frequency Identification.”

“This is a rights issue,” Worthan said. “This is just the first step in a long process that puts the RFID chip under the skin and ‘Big Brother’ knows exactly what you’re doing every minute of the day.”

Supporters of the bill say 15 other states and 21 U.S. cities have banned traffic enforcement cameras. However, the bill is unlikely to be considered in the Iowa Senate. Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal has often said if you don’t want a ticket from one of the red light cameras in his hometown of Council Bluffs, you shouldn’t run a red light.

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