It was another busy week at the Capitol as we approach the second funnel date (March 31). The fireworks bill passed out of the Senate, as well as a bill regarding texting and driving. The House saw bills about school home rule and CAFO’s, among other issues.
Fireworks: This bill could be coming to the House for debate soon. SF 489 passed out of the Senate with a 34-14 vote after hours of heated debate. SF 489 requires the fire marshal adopt rules to require that licensed retailers and community groups offer only consumer fireworks for sale in accordance with specified industry standards. The bill also requires that those selling fireworks must be licensed and maintain commercial general liability insurance with specified coverage amounts. A purchaser of fireworks must be 18 years of age. This bill also allows for communities to opt out of allowing the use of fireworks, though cities and towns would be required to allow their sale. This bill raises concern with safety issues as well as sales out of what I refer to as pop up tents, which some think would give Iowa towns an unappealing, substandard image to visitors. I would like to hear from constituents on this issue.
Texting and driving This bill passed out of the Senate with a 43-6 vote. This is an act relating to the use of electronic communication devices to write, send or view electronic messages while driving as a primary offense, and making penalties applicable. This bill prohibits the writing, sending or viewing an electronic message while driving. While this is a step in the right direction and I applaud my colleagues for attempting to make our roads safer, I would like to see us look at the hands free legislation that has been proposed. This bill does not include the dialing of a phone number to make a call. This makes it challenging for law enforcement to determine if the person is communicating through electronic messaging or dialing a number. One would be a primary offense which allows officers conduct the traffic stop and the other is not. We want to ensure the safety on our roadways and would ask citizens to pull over and stop when they utilize their phone.
School home rule: HF 573 was passed in the House this week. Proponents of the bill hope that it will give school districts more flexibility to make decisions about running their local schools. This would give parents a chance to find a district that fits their needs. Opponents contend that if all schools can create different rules and requirements, it would create confusion. Currently, under "Dillon's Rule," Iowa school districts may act in ways expressly permitted by the state of Iowa. This bill would change that rule to do the opposite: it would allow districts to do anything that ISN'T expressly prohibited by the state. For instance, Iowa law now restricts certain fees. Under the new proposed law, schools would have the flexibility to create fees for parking, graduation costs, insurance for technology or other fees. Schools might create quite different graduation requirements from neighboring schools. One legislator warned it might create "mass confusion" for parents. The bill passed on a vote of 61-38, with most Republicans voting in favor and most Democrats opposed. The bill now goes to the Senate.
'Nuisance' lawsuits and CAFO's: The Iowa House approved a bill that puts a limit on some damages associated with what some would describe as "nuisance" livestock lawsuits. The restriction on lawsuits would not apply to CAFO operators who violated rules habitually in the past or ones that have violated environmental regulations. But several legislators spoke in debate about their constituents who've suffered significant land value loss and health problems, and that they need the ability to ask for redress.
Sen. Chaz Allen and I will be joining Mayor Alleger for his Coffee with the Mayor at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Prairie City Library. Please plan on joining us for coffee and conversation.
Contact Rep. Wes Breckenridge
at 64-521-6714
or wes.breckenridge@legis.iowa.gov