March 15, 2007
This week has proven to be a very arduous one in the Iowa House.
On Monday night, the House Labor Committee took up the “Fair Share” bill ( SF413) and because we Republicans are so adamantly opposed to this effort to get the 60-year-old Right-to-Work law in Iowa changed, they argued against the bill for eight hours in committee. Because the Majority leader, Keven Mc Carthy had informed us that we would “tentatively go back into session at the end of Labor Committee”, the Democrat members stayed around. Republicans went home by 10 o’clock thinking it would be too late to go back into session. We found out the next day of the fire-works that occurred on the floor when Rep. Mc Carthy discovered he did not have a quorum at one o’clock in the morning!
Tuesday we began to debate the cigarette tax. Although Governor Culver built his whole budget around the passage of a $1 increase, Republicans oppose increasing the size of state government by 10.5% in one year. We offered numerous amendments that would ensure the money would truly go to address health care issues and tobacco cessation programs, when the bill before us put it into the General Fund.
Eighteen amendments were offered by Republican House members, an example which is:
H-1125 by Van Fossen: Cigarette Prohibition
Strikes everything after the enacting clause and provides for cigarette prohibition in the state beginning July 1, 2009.
H-1117 by Struyk: Sales tax exemption for all smoking cessation products
H-1133 by Lukan: Increase the legal age to buy cigarettes to 21.
H-1131 by Gipp, et al: Strikes the $1.36 tax on a pack of cigarette and replaces with a 98-cent per pack tax
H-1134 by Heaton: Prohibits wholesalers and other distributors of cigarettes from extending credit to retailers when they are delivered. The net effect of the amendment is to require full payment for the cigarettes when they are delivered to the retailer. This would treat cigarettes in the same manner as beer and liquor.
H-1130 by Raecker: The amendment would dedicate the revenue generated from the increase to be spent on tobacco prevention and cessation efforts. The CDC's tobacco control recommendations would be fully funded, along with $10 million for youth programs and $5 million for local tobacco enforcement efforts. The Legislature would set an amount to be used to assist Iowans in quitting smoking with the remaining to be used to address health issues that result from smoking.
H-1138 by Heaton The amendment creates two funds for health-related expenditures, with each half receiving half of the revenue generated from the increase in the tax. The first fund would fund tobacco prevention and cessation efforts. The CDC's tobacco control recommendations would be fully funded, along with $10 million for youth programs, $5 million for local tobacco enforcement efforts, and the remaining funds for cessation assistance. The other half would be in the Iowa Health Care Account and would be used to fund state efforts to provide insurance coverage to those Iowans currently without. On Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt extended an offer to the state to work together in addressing this issue. These funds would be used for that effort.
H-1145 by Rants: Strikes all the appropriation language in the bill and assures that ALL of the tax revenue is captured in the Health Care Trust fund for purposes of Purposes related to health care; substance abuse treatment and prevention; tobacco use prevention, cessation and control
H1132 by Jacobs, et al: Dedicates the first $25 million in new revenue from the tax increase to be distributed to the counties for mental health services. The money would be put out through the current mental health funding formula.
H-1140 by Kaufmann, et al: Appropriates the first $12.7 million of the tax increase to the Veteran’s Trust Fund (before the revenues flow to the Health Care Trust Fund). This money is to be used for Veteran’s Health Care
H-1127 by Struyk: Requires that revenues from the cigarette tax that are deposited in the Health Care Trust Fund be used for the above purposes and that the amount spent on these items must increase over the previous fiscal year and any amount not expended reverts to the Senior Living Trust Fund
H-1122 by Upmeyer: Increases the Medicaid provider rate by 3%
H-1123 by Rants: Changes the effective date to July 1, 2007
The debate concluded after eight hours with the Democrats accepting none of our amendments. The bill passed on a 58 – 40 vote. I was a dissenting vote.
Visitors to the Capitol
Former Representative Phil Tyrell and his daughter Mary Mc Cullough, John Manatt with the Harness Racing Association, Raymond Peak and Dan Anderson with Poweshiek Rural Water Association, and approximately 40 4-H Students from Poweshiek, Iowa, Tama, Benton, & Marshall counties and their sponsors.
Question of the Week…
Do you support a bill that requires students to stay in high school until the age of 18 or high school graduation?
I would appreciate your input. My phone number at the Capitol is 515-281-3221, or e-mail me at betty.deboef@legis.state.ia.us. I would welcome visitors at the Capitol, too!