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Enforcement of new ‘texting while driving’ law complicated

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As of this Saturday, a motorist in Iowa can be pulled over if a police officer suspects the driver is paying attention to a screen inside the vehicle rather than the road.

Many new state laws take effect July 1, including the new crackdown on “texting while driving.” Legislators, though, acknowledge it’ll be difficult for law enforcement to write tickets.

The new law still lets people use an electronic device to talk or to navigate with some sort of GPS app. Representative Gary Worthan of Storm Lake said during House debate this spring that the law specifically prohibits police from seizing the phone without a warrant.

“If the person is stopped, they can say: ‘Well, I was just dialing a phone number,'” Worthan said. “The officer, to prove otherwise, would have to…get a search warrant from a magistrate before they could seize that phone or go to the phone company and get records.”

According to Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City, the new law is just an “incremental” step.

“I think it’s hard to explain what we’re doing here to the average Iowan,” Bolkcom said during senate debate.

Former Governor Branstad and a coalition of safety advocates had urged legislators to pass a “hands-free” law instead. The ticket for motorists who admit to texting, Snapchatting or even playing a game while driving is $30. Court fees will be tacked onto that.

Lawmakers like Worthan cited data indicating “lane departures” are causing more accidents and officials suspect the trend is due to the use of smart phones.

Senator Grassley getting lots of input from Iowans on health care bill

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Senator Chuck Grassley. (file photo)

Iowa’s U.S. Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley are releasing noncommittal statements about the Senate’s version of the health care bill. Neither have expressed whether they’re leaning toward voting for or against the proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act.

Grassley says he’s getting many hundreds of email, calls and letters from Iowans about the legislation. “I’m still continuing to study this 144-page draft bill over the next few days and I hope we make a decision this week,” Grassley says, “but if we don’t, then I’m going to have another couple weeks to study the 144-page bill.”

Grassley, a Republican, says there were many promises made with the ACA that simply were not kept and changes need to be made. “We were promised 25% reductions in premiums in 2009 and they’ve gone up over 100%,” Grassley says. “We were promised if you like your doctor, you can keep it. A lot of people have had to change doctors. If you like your insurance, you can keep it. A lot of people have changed it.”

While many Iowans are pleading with their senators to leave the ACA intact, Grassley says action is needed to correct problems that were created by the earlier health care plan. “Currently, if nothing is passed, 72,000 Iowans on Obamacare will face hardship keeping their insurance this fall,” Grassley says. “You know, 94 or 95 counties only have one, Medica. If it stays in Iowa, they’re going to have increases in premiums of 43-and-a-half percent.”

While Grassley hasn’t said how he’d vote on the Senate version of the bill, he is convinced the ACA needs to be repealed and replaced, he’s just not sure yet if this is the best way to do it. Grassley says, “Even if Hillary Clinton had been elected president, the Democrats are admitting now there would be a lot of changes having to be made to Obamacare.”

Five Republican senators have already said they will vote against the bill. If all Democrats vote no, which is expected, there won’t be enough support to pass it. The U.S. House has already passed its own version of the health care bill.

Auditors find Harlan official submitted altered, improper travel claims

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State Auditor Mary Mosiman. (file photo)

A special investigation by the state auditor’s office has identified nearly $145,000 in “improper and unsupported” payments to the long-time city administrator in Harlan.

Terry Cox started working for the City of Harlan in 1977 and became city administrator in 1980. He resigned last year after other city officials raised concerns about his travel expenses. Auditors reviewed records for the last dozen years Cox worked for the city. The review concludes Cox got more than $123,000 in improper travel reimbursements.

That includes paying for alcohol, golf outings and excessive mileage claims. Auditors also determined Cox submitted claims for events that actually were not held or which he didn’t attend.

According to State Auditor Mary Mosiman, Cox was overpaid $35,000 for hours he did not work in his last 12 years on the job. Auditors also discovered Cox continued getting a monthly car allowance which had been discontinued.

The auditor’s report indicates Cox was a big tipper. Some of his tabs included tips of more than 20 percent. The review discovered Cox was double-dipping and on 20 occasions had submitted claims for expenses that already had been paid by a professional organization. The state auditor’s report that’s available online includes copies of some of his travel claims, including receipts for travel to Council Bluffs casinos where arrivals and departure times were either “covered with correction fluid or crossed out with different handwritten dates added.” There’s also one instance where he submitted the same hotel bill at Harrah’s three different times.

Auditors reviewed the “player’s card” Cox had at casinos in Council Bluffs, Altoona and Kansas City to connect some of the dots in their investigation. The 121-page report has been forwarded to the Shelby County Attorney, the state attorney general’s office and the Division of Criminal Investigation.

U.S. ag secretary to join Branstad in Beijing to promote U.S. beef

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Sonny Perdue

The U.S. secretary of agriculture and U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad, the former Iowa governor, will meet in Beijing Friday for a ceremony “to formally mark the return of U.S. beef to the Chinese market.”

According to the U.S.D.A., Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue will arrive in China with a shipment of beef from the Greater Omaha Packing Company. The beef is from cattle that were raised in Nebraska. Perdue and Branstad plan to cut into a piece of prime rib at the ceremony in Beijing.

Thirteen years ago China forbid shipments of U.S. beef after a case of Mad Cow disease was confirmed in Washington state. Secretary Perdue said in a written statement that there’s no doubt in his mind that “when the Chinese people taste our high-quality U.S beef, they’ll want more of it.”

The U.S.D.A.’s Export Verification Program so far has confirmed processing facilities in Nebraska and Kansas are now eligible to ship U.S. beef to China. According to the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, the requirements to export beef to China are “more stringent” than for other countries. Iowa ranks seventh among U.S. states in beef production.

China imported $2.5 billion worth of beef last year, none of it from the United States. On Friday at noon, Perdue and Branstad will host the event promoting U.S. beef at the huge new InterContinental hotel in Beijing. On Saturday, Perdue will be in a Shanghai supermarket for a “cooking demonstration” to promote U.S. beef.

Governor keeping it nice, says Nebraska Senator welcome

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

Governor Kim Reynolds isn’t commenting on the remarks made by the chair of the Iowa Republican Party criticizing a Nebraska Senator.

Party chair Jeff Kaufmann said during a rally by President Donald Trump last week in Cedar Rapids that he’s tired of Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse criticizing the president. Kaufmann said if Sasse doesn’t love Trump, he should stay on his side of the Missouri River.

Governor Reynolds was asked about the remarks at her weekly meeting with reporters. “You know, we are Iowa nice in Iowa and we are welcoming to everybody. And I’m proud of that Iowa nice designation. I am not going to second guess what other people say,” according to Reynolds. She was asked a second time about the remarks.

“I am going to focus on growing the economy, getting Iowans the skills that they need to be successful, to putting in place the most competitive business environment so that we can lead the nation as a destination spot that not only keeps our young people in this state — but says to Iowans who have left —‘Come back here because we have great things happening in Iowa’,” Reynolds says. “That’s my message, that’s what I am working on.”

Sasse is scheduled to speak in central Iowa next month. He’s the keynote speaker at a fundraiser for Story County Republicans.

 

State Auditor: budget in good shape, more info needed on tax credits, abatement

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State Auditor Mary Mosiman.

State Auditor Mary Mosiman says the governor and legislators are doing some good things with the state budget, but says there are some challenges ahead.
Mosiman released her review of the budget today.

“Our budget is balanced, we are doing very well in adhering to sound budgeting principles — which is essential for government entities –the deviations that we have are minimal,”according to Mosiman. “We have practically eliminated using one-time revenue sources for ongoing expenditures. The multi-year accelerated financial commitments have expired. And we are doing a better job of using the best estimates available in the budget.”

Mosiman, who is a Republican,  had praise for the handling of the drop in revenue when the state tax collections came in below the forecast revenue.

“We did react timely when it became clear that our revenues were not coming in as expected. Again, the legislature and the governor’s office showed fiscal discipline did not exceed its resources,” Mosiman says. The state had to use 131 million dollars in cash reserves to cover the shortfall in tax revenues. Mosiman says things won’t get any easier in trying to forecast state revenue.

“Gaining a better understanding of Iowa’s changing revenue environment will be one of our greatest challenges and opportunities in this coming year,” Mosiman says. “But we also need to have accountability and transparency in matters that impact our revenues — such as tax credits and abatements.” Mosiman expanded on her view of the tax credits and abatements.

State Auditor Mary Mosiman answers queitons about the state budget.

“What I am specifically saying with any type of credit or abatement is, the expected return needs to be known, it needs to be evaluated, it needs to be available for the decision makers. At least since I’ve been the state auditor, the three tax credit reports that we issued, that was clear in our reports that return on investment was not clearly and accurately reported,” Mosiman says. She says it is important for the decision makers to keep up on all the factors that can impact state tax revenues, including the impact of online sales.

“Just like our past performance, just like the farm economy and things like that, they have to take into account the current demographics. How are people making their purchases? Are they purchasing goods and services which are taxed — or are they purchasing services which are not necessarily taxed,” Mosiman explains.

Mayors from Iowa talk infrastructure funding at national conference

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Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol.

At least three Iowans are among nearly 300 of the top elected leaders from cities across the country who are gathered in south Florida for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol says they’re covering a range of important topics. “There are a lot of issues that are going to be effecting Dubuque and a lot of them are infrastructure-related,” Mayor Buol says. “Certainly, the question of health care and how that whole debate is going to unfold will have a real impact on cities across the country.”

Many cities have overwhelming needs right now, according to Buol, and he says it’s time for the federal government to get an infrastructure bill passed so vital projects can get underway. “We’ll have different things throughout the year where we’re meeting with federal legislators, state legislators on some of these same issues,” Buol says. “It’s really to bring awareness and also to let them know what cities need and what are the best ways we can partner with the federal government to get those things done.” Buol is in his 12th year as mayor of Dubuque.

Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart says they were able to talk with an administration official about community development block grants and their importance to cities for making infrastructure improvements. He says now it’s up to Congress to pass the bill with funding.

“We know it’s coming, when its’ coming that’s another story. So, we’re hoping that there is bipartisan support to move that infrastructure support to our communities,” Hart says. He says it appears the administration supports rebuilding infrastructure, and in funding beyond the community development block grants.

“They were talking about not just providing infrastructure dollars –but also providing cities for dollars for upkeep. Because, ten years, 20 years down the road down the road, we will need to replace things and do certain things. They were talking about — I think they said 16 percent of all infrastructure things comes from out federal government,” Hart says. Hart says many mayors feel they could use even more federal support.

“Of course we’d like to see that number go higher and higher — that’s what we are hoping for — that’s what the push is,” Hart says. He says the infrastructure needs vary widely between cities, from Los Angeles which could use help in building public transportation, to Waterloo which needs help with repairing bridges and its water treatment plant.

“We will be continuing reaching out, trying to find every avenue, and trying to make our message heard to the current federal administration to try and support some of these needs that we have,” according to Hart. Hart says the infrastructure issue is one where politics are put aside, as all mayors have needs and understand what their counterparts are going through. He is in his first term as mayor of Waterloo.

The mayor of Des Moines also attended.

Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson also contributed to this story.

Governor says budget won’t impact state parks for July 4th

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

This is the final week of the current state budget year and Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s keeping an eye on the bottom line, knowing there is going to be a budget shortfall brought on by lower than expected state revenues.

“We’re continuing to monitor it every day. It fluctuates daily as we monitor not only revenues, but expenditures going out,” Reynolds says. “We won’t be making a final decision until September 30th when the accrual period ends. We will have to wait up until that time until we know what strategy we will have to use.”

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources director had indicated the budget shortage might force the department to close some state Parks. Reynolds was asked today during here weekly meeting with reporters  if those heading out for the Fourth of July would see any closed signs at state parks.

“Nope, nope, they are going to be open and we encourage families across the state to get out and enjoy the wonderful state parks that we have right here in the state of Iowa,” Reynolds says. “No, because I had indicated because it was so late in the session that it was not practical for use to expect the various agencies to enact any more cuts.” Reynolds says she is still planning to borrow 50 million dollars from the state emergency fund to cover the budget deficit unless there is a dramatic change in the bottom line through this week. She reiterated what she has said previously about the new fiscal year.

“People are going to wake up on July 1st and they’re not going to notice any difference from June 30th to July first. We were able to make the appropriate education appropriations, the final payment. We were able to take care of the Medicaid payment. And so, they will see no change from June 30th to July first,” according to Reynolds. She says they state is and lawmakers are still planning to pay back the money they borrow to cover the deficit in the next two fiscal years. Reynolds says that should not be a problem.

“You have to remember though still, we are still seeing growth. It is not as robust as we had hoped for. We still have a significant amount of reserves in our economic cash emergency fund and our cash reserve fund,” Reynolds says. “Much of that happens throughout the budgeting process. So, that’s the goal of the legislature as well as this office to get that done.”

 

 

Ernst proposes legislation to allow states flexibility with federal poverty programs

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Senator Joni Ernst talks about her legislation with Governor Kim Reynolds.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is cosponsoring legislation with fellow Republican Senator Marco Rubio or Florida, which she says will help states make better use of federal programs for those trying to get out of poverty.

Ernst, who is from Red Oak, says her travels around the state raised several questions about poverty issues. “How can we help Iowans overcome financial hardships and obstacles? Is the federal government hurting or helping? How can we as a nation do better?,” Ernst says. She says she came to the conclusion that something needs to be done to improve the system.

“The reality is — despite over 80 programs and billion of taxpayer dollars spent annually — the federal governor often fails to address the barriers to self-sufficiency to those living in poverty,” according to Ernst. Ernst says she learned when she was still a state senator that the federal programs designed to help those in poverty can often end up being part of the problem. She cited a woman she met in Lenox who was getting assistance and had to make a tough decision about getting a promotion at her job at a care center.

“This young women went home and calculated what her pay increase would be along with all the government assistance she would lose. What she figured out, is that taking the promotion would actually cost her 200 dollars a month,” Ernst says. Ernst says the woman decided to go ahead and take the promotion and deal with the lost of funds to support her family. Ernst says her legislation gives state the flexibility to review and revise the programs to ensure those trying to improve themselves don’t fall off a cliff when their federal support levels go down.

“The Empowers Act would allow states to apply for four-year temporary waivers to integrate and reform two or more federal programs that assist folks in need,” Ernst explains. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds joined Ernst for the announcement of the legislation. Reynolds says too often the federal money comes with a one-size-fits-all approach that makes it tough to mesh with state programs.

“It’s nearly impossible for the two efforts to align despite having the same goal — and that goal is to empower Iowans and reduce poverty,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds says the system ends up with state organizations working in their own “silos.” If the bill becomes law — she would ask all her department heads to find opportunities to use it to help Iowans.

“Have them look at the opportunities that we have in front of us and see if collectively the can figure out a way to really break down those silos and take the flexibility that we have and to coordinate that in a better manner,” Reynolds says. “To really work smarter, to find ways to work smarter and serve more Iowans.”

Ernst says the states that get waivers would get the same amount of money that other states get for the same programs and would be required to put any savings back into programs to help people in poverty.

Ernst says Medicaid coverage is part of discussion on Senate health plan

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Senator Joni Ernst.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says she is still reviewing the Senate health care bill that was unveiled Thursday. She was asked at an event today what she would say to Iowans who are afraid they would lose their Medicaid coverage under the bill.

“I would say we’re still going through this bill, we’ll have some lengthy discussions, but I wouldn’t say we are losing it. We do need to go through the bill — but we want to make sure Iowans are protected,” Ernst says. She says Medicaid will be part of the discussion when they return to work on Monday.

“I think we are thoroughly vetting the bill and we will continue to move through that process. We will have a lot of time committed to speaking just about the health care bill. It’s up to leadership when they call that up for a vote ,”Ernst says. “But, we will continue to hear from our constituents, and we are already.” Ernst says she can’t yet specifically say what parts of the bill she would support or oppose.

“It was just released yesterday, so we have 142 pages to go through. And just as we did with the AHCA that came over from the House, I want to make sure that I have time to go through it, talk to my staff, talk to folks around Iowa and understand what the impacts of the bill are,” Ernst says. Ernst says the senators who put the bill together understand the issues facing Iowa.

“They are very aware of Iowa’s situation,” according to Reynolds, “but again we have to talk through this. Now that we have the draft — and again it is just draft text — to make sure it is workable for Iowa.” Ernst made her comments during an event at the Iowa State Capitol on another issue.