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29-05-2025
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Advocates seek governor's consideration on eminent domain, PBM, 911 service boards
The Iowa Capitol on May 8, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capitol Dispatch) As Gov. Kim Reynolds weighs which bills to sign into law from the 2025 legislative session, some organizations and local officials are asking the governor to reject certain measures approved by lawmakers. The governor has until June 14 to sign into law bills passed during the 2025 session. If she does not sign or veto a measure, it is considered a 'pocket veto' and is not enacted. Although there's still a little over two weeks until the deadline, advocates are asking Reynolds to consider 'pocket' or full vetos for several bills on her desk. The highest profile bill receiving this post-session attention is House File 639, the bill relating to the use of eminent domain in carbon capture pipeline projects. Though the measure passed the Senate following a contentious debate, Reynolds has not said whether she plans to sign the bill into law. When asked about the measure on Iowa Press last week, Reynolds said her team and legal counsel are currently in the process of evaluating the bill. She said she is hearing from people on both sides of the issue about how the legislation will impact Iowa. The bill will make multiple changes to regulations and requirements for the Iowa Utilities Commission, as well as allow more people to intervene in IUC proceedings. It also changes the definition of a 'common carrier' in Iowa law and increases insurance requirements for property damage coverage and reimbursements for landowners who face higher premiums because of a pipeline on their property. 'I want to make sure that I have given individual stakeholders the opportunity to weigh in, so that I can, again, make the best-informed decision that I can, based on information I've heard,' Reynolds said. While lawmakers in support of the measure and landowners who have called for more restrictions on the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines — particularly related to the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project — opponents to the bill said the language in the bill is too broad and could create legal problems for people who have already signed easement contracts if a project like Summit cannot be completed. This is not the only bill for which organizations are seeking further consideration: The governor has the ability to line-item veto certain elements within budget bills — a step some public safety advocates are asking for with regard to Senate File 659, this year's standings appropriations bill. The legislation is largely a budget bill dealing with various state spending obligations, but it also includes several policy components that were not passed as standalone measures during the legislative session. One of the policies including in this year's standings bill relates to costs from local 911 service boards. The measure would allow the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) to request reimbursement for 'reasonable costs' from local 911 service boards related to the delivery of 911 call traffic to public safety answering points, or PSAPs. Two organizations, the Iowa Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the state's National Emergency Number Association, have asked for Reynolds to veto this element of the bill, arguing it could add significant costs to local first responders that would impact their ability to perform public safety duties for Iowa communities. Chris Jasper, president of the Iowa National Emergency Number Association, said the bill's language is 'so broad' that it is difficult to tell the actual fiscal impact the measure would have on local 911 service boards. There is not a definition included in the legislation on what constitutes 'reasonable costs,' and there are not specifications on dollar amounts or how often local boards can be billed by the state under the provision. Jasper said his organization has requested clarification from the state on these questions but has not received answers. Though there are no financial estimates yet, funding coming from local first responders to the Iowa HSEMD would have to be compensated for through 'cut services, potentially cut staffing, or we would have to make up for that in raising taxes,' Jasper said. 'HSEMD sends a bill for $50,000 to a county to cover their expenses, that's $50,000 less that they have to use to purchase radio equipment for their public safety entities or to work on a project,' Jasper said. 'So they would either have to scrap that project, scrap purchasing new equipment, scrap updating their equipment, or they would have to take that $50,000 and get it from a tax increase.' Reynolds said on Iowa Press her staff is currently working on evaluating the legislation. Her office has received multiple letters and requests to veto the measure, she said, but she noted that many 911 service boards have money that is currently unspent. 'It's a critical system,' Reynolds said. 'We want to make sure that we sustain it. It's really important to keep Iowans safe. A component of this also is that they are sitting on a $66 million surplus. So, we have to take all of that into account and make sure we understand what their concerns are, what Homeland is looking at, and find a compromise that works for everyone, but most importantly that keeps that system sustainable and make sure that we are taking into account the safety of Iowans.' Jasper disputed Reynolds' characterization that the money was a 'surplus.' The figure of more than $60 million is divided between Iowa's 99 counties, and many of the projects these county boards are taking on cost millions of dollars, he said, that require savings to pursue. 'When we're talking about equipment, you know, a (computer-aided dispatch) system is a million dollars plus,' Jasper said. 'We just did a radio project here in Muscatine County that was $3.9 million — I know Scott County just did one that was $8 million. And so when you think of these counties having $600,000 in the bank, they're doing exactly what they should be doing in their planning and accounting for projects, and saving that money to cover those costs. And so it may give this perception that we're sitting on a surplus of money, but when you break it down, we're really not.' Pharmacists and health care advocates have called for Reynolds to sign Senate File 383, a bill setting new regulations and requirements on pharmacy benefit managers, the entities negotiating prescription drug prices between pharmacies, drug manufacturers and insurance providers. The legislation would make multiple changes aimed at restricting certain PBM business practices that supporters of the bill say hurt rural pharmacists, like providing financial incentives or penalties for the use of mail-order or certain pharmacies to fill prescriptions. The measure also requires PBMs reimburse prescription drug costs at the national or Iowa average acquisition cost — a higher rate than some pharmacists say they currently receive — and sets a dispensing fee of $10.68 from PBMs to pharmacists for each prescription filled at rural and small pharmacies. In a letter to Reynolds Wednesday, a group of health care organizations and advocates including the Iowa Pharmacy Association, Iowa Association of Rural Health Clinics and Bleeding Disorders of the Heartland, urged the governor to sign the bill, saying it will help pharmacies in rural Iowa stay in business. Kate Gainer, executive vice president and CEO of the Iowa Pharmacy Association, said in a statement the measure is needed to support Iowa health care providers across the state by addressing PBM practices 'that drive up costs and limit patient choice.' 'It is this imperative that has brought many of Iowa's top healthcare organizations and rural community advocates together to support the signing of SF 383 into law,' Gainer said in a statement. 'Iowa patients can't afford to wait any longer.' Pharmacists and advocates in support of the bill have said PBM practices have contributed to the closure more than 200 pharmacies across Iowa, including 31 pharmacies that closed in 2024. But some business and insurance entities have said the bill will increase health care costs for Iowans. In a statement on the bill as it went through the legislature, organizations including the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) and Iowa Business Council said the legislation would increase health care costs for both businesses and individuals. A release from ABI said the bill would add an estimated $340 million in costs to private-sector health plans statewide in addition to raising costs by roughly $169 per insured Iowan each year. Joe Murphy, president of the Iowa Business Council, said in a statement the measure 'will substantially increase costs for Iowa businesses and their employees' during a period of economic uncertainty. 'At a time when inflationary pressures from tariffs and other economic headwinds are bearing down on our state, we cannot afford to add further cost burdens through legislative action,' Murphy said. 'We remain committed to a thoughtful, targeted approach to PBM reform—one that supports small, independent pharmacies serving Iowa.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
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Lawmakers approve budget for agriculture, natural resources
The Iowa Capitol on May 8, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capitol Dispatch) State representatives approved a budget from the Senate on Tuesday that would increase funding for agriculture and natural resources departments by $682,000 compared to the current fiscal year. The budget for the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year prioritizes funding to prevent the spread of foreign animal disease, supports state park maintenance and continues the Choose Iowa program, along with operations for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Senate File 646 would appropriate $46.6 million from the general fund and appropriate an additional $99.4 million from other funds for fiscal year 2026. The bill would put $1.8 million into the Choose Iowa fund for use on promotion, dairy innovation and value-added grants for Choose Iowa participants, which is on par with 2025 expected figures for the program. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Choose Iowa is a network of producers selling Iowa-grown goods and has nearly 300 members across the state. The bill also ends the Choose Iowa pilot purchasing program and creates the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program, with an appropriation of $200,000 to help food banks purchase locally produced foods. The pilot program previously had two divisions, one that helped local food banks and another that helped Iowa schools purchase from local growers. Local farmers and food-security advocates hoped the program would have substantial funding this year following the cancellation of funding from a similar federal program. Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, proposed an amendment to expand the purchasing program to include schools, but the House did not adopt the amendment. Scholten said the amendment would have made 'sure that (Iowa) kids are properly fed.' The appropriations bill would also eliminate the Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Fund in favor of creating an Iowa Animal Disease Prevention fund, which fulfills requests from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and other stakeholders for increased funds to protect against the threat of foreign animal diseases. Those funds would go toward animal disease equipment, vaccine research and updates to state technology to track an outbreak. Rep. Norlin Mommsen, R-DeWitt, tied the need for funding to the ongoing impact of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, which since 2022 has killed more than 169 million birds in the United States. The bill also appropriates $200,000 to the Iowa Geological Survey to research and map the state's aquifers. The bill allocates $12 million from the Environment First Fund, in lieu of a standing $20 million appropriation from the general fund, to extend the Resources Enhancement and Protection, or REAP, program through 2028. This program funds county conservation, city parks and open spaces, historic preservation, conservation education, soil and water enhancement, and other projects related to natural resources. Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, proposed an amendment, which failed, to fund the project at the full $20 million. 'It's a long time program that has never received the full amount of money for which it was authorized,' Kurth said. The bill also has a special general fund appropriation for state park maintenance, floodplain management and forestry health management. The budget bill faced some pushback from Democrats in both the House and Senate who said it did not adequately prioritize local food, water quality and conservation efforts. The bill advanced from both chambers, and with no adopted amendments in the House it now goes to the governor for final approval. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
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Iowa Senate committee moves budget bills as negotiations continue
The sky above the Iowa Capitol was crossed by contrails on March 11, 2025. (Photo by Kathie Obradovich/Iowa Capitol Dispatch) Though an agreement is yet to be reached on state spending for the upcoming fiscal year, the Senate Appropriations Committee moved four bills forward in a Tuesday meeting. Senators passed four budget bills through the appropriations committee Tuesday, making them available for floor debate in the chamber. This does not mean the issues causing budget bills to stall – disagreements in spending between the two chambers and calls by some senators to pass legislation related to eminent domain – have been resolved. The four bills all passed 13-9, with all Democrats and two Republicans, Sens. Sandy Salmon and David Sires, voted against. Other GOP members of the appropriations committee, including Sens. Dave Rowley and Dennis Guth, had signed onto the letter sent to Senate leadership saying they would oppose the passage of budget bills unless pipeline legislation was brought to the floor for debate, but they did not oppose the measures in the committee meeting. Though the bills did not receive full support from the majority party, the Senate spending bills on the state's education, health and human services, judicial, and Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF) budgets all passed the committee. The education and HHS appropriations bills — Senate Study Bill 1231 and Senate Study Bill 1237 respectively — are both measures where House Republicans have put forward a different budget target than Senate Republicans. Much of the focus in budget disagreements has been centered on House Republicans' ask for $14 million to continue pay supplements for education support staff, primarily paraeducators, a provision in the House standings bill. Neither the House nor Senate appropriations committees have moved on the standings appropriations bill yet. But there are other areas of disagreement. The House education appropriations bill, House Study Bill 337, includes an $8 million increase for community colleges that is not in the Senate bill. The committee advanced the Senate version of this bill without comments on the funding difference between the two chambers. However, Democrats did criticize the overall lack of funding increases going to the state's higher education system — including community colleges — in the budget bill, saying the spending proposal will lead to cost increases for Iowa families sending students to Iowa colleges and universities. Sen. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, said she 'can't think of a time in the history of funding education' that no new funding has gone to the state's regent universities, community colleges and Iowa tuition grants. She said she found the proposal to keep funding for higher education at the same level as the current fiscal year 'disturbing,' as the state's higher education system is critical for meeting the state's workforce needs and improving personal income growth. 'At a time when we have, by your definition, 'plenty of money,' it disturbs me that this particular budget comes with very little increase,' Winckler said. '… It's historic, and you need to be aware of when you vote for this budget, if you do, that you are underfunding the future of Iowans and the workforce. Sen. Jesse Green, R-Boone, said the budget keeps 'steady funding towards higher education.' He also said he was shocked after being elected to the Legislature to learn 'we subsidize college education to the amount that we actually do,' and said the current budget better aligns with Iowa voters' expectations for state spending. 'This year, I'll admit, when I was on the campaign trail, I had a lot of constituents ask to shrink government, literally asked us to shrink government, and here we have a status quo budget,' Green said. 'So … I think this aligns with our targets. I think this aligns with what Iowans are expecting of us at this point in time, they expect us to put more money into their hands than in the government.' Differences over nursing homes, Medicaid The Senate health and human services budget bill also has differences when compared to its House companion, House Study Bill 342. The House version has $9 million more, a total of $25 million, for nursing facility provider reimbursement rate adjustments while the Senate allocated $16 million. Another difference is the inclusion of language stating Iowa's Medicaid program funding 'shall not be used for sex reassignment surgery or treatment related to an individual's gender dysphoria diagnosis.' Blocking Medicaid coverage for transgender Iowans is something the Republican-controlled Legislature has attempted to enact before, but similar measures were struck down in courts. Supporters said this year's provision would be legal as Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a measure that removed gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, one of the legal protections cited in court decisions. But Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Marion, said the provision would still be found unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause, pointing to the 2021 district court ruling that found a similar law prohibiting Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care violated state civil rights laws and the Iowa constitution. 'It restricts (Medicaid coverage) based on someone's identity as transgender or non-gender conforming, and that is wrong and unconstitutional under Equal Protection,' Donahue said. The Senate language goes further than previous Iowa laws, as it applies to all medical treatment related to a person's gender dysphoria diagnosis. Keenan Crow, policy and advocacy director at One Iowa, said this provision could prevent transgender Iowans on Medicaid from accessing mental health care or other medical services not related to medically transitioning. Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, said last week House Republicans support a restriction on Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy, but would take up language that would not affect mental health care access for individuals with gender dysphoria. The Senate Appropriations Committee did not make or recommend any amendments to the bills passed Tuesday, meaning changes would come on the Senate floor during debate on these or other areas of contention. Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, the appropriations committee chair, asked for committee members to be prepared for another meeting to discuss the standings bill and any other remaining legislation as soon as compromises are reached. He said that could be as early as Thursday, but that negotiations could take longer. 'This is always kind of a time we have to be ready and able just to meet when we can meet if we want to try to get out of here as soon as we can,' Kraayenbrink said.
