Governor Reynolds has submitted a bill to the legislature that would give Iowa governors authority to transfer up to 10% of funds out of the state’s Economic Emergency Fund to respond to disasters.
Under current law, the legislature has to approve those withdrawals, but the legislature’s generally in session from January through part of May — and last summer’s massive flooding hit northwest Iowa in June. The governor’s bill would also require insurance umpires, appraisers and independent adjusters to be licensed to work in the State of Iowa.
“While we recognize most public adjusters assess and evaluate damage in a professional manner, there’s often you know dishonest and predatory adjusters that may fraudulently inflate these claims and estimates to line their own pockets, so these protections will offer kind of enhanced tools for the department to investigate and go after these bad actors,” said Craig Sepich, a lobbyist with the National Insurance Crime Bureau
The bill would also set aside $2 million for demolishing buildings damaged in the 2024 disasters, along with nearly $12 million for repairing storm-affected homes.
(Reporting by Isabella Luu, Iowa Public Radio)