Bills by area-legislators still alive at Iowa Capitol

DES MOINES — One week past the first crucial funnel week deadline at the Iowa Capitol, several pieces of legislation introduced or co-sponsored by Jasper County lawmakers are still alive at the statehouse.

A fetal heartbeat abortion ban making its way through the Iowa Senate aims to make it illegal for a doctor to perform an abortion if a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

Any abortion performed would require a physician to test for the fetal heartbeat before the procedure. Except in cases of a medical emergency, a doctor who does not comply could be charged with a Class D felony and face up to five years in prison.

This would effectively ban any abortion in Iowa six weeks after conception. One Jasper County senator is a primary backer of the controversial SSB 3143.

Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, represents Lynnville, Sully, Monroe and areas of rural eastern Jasper County. She’s the floor manager for the bill and has characterized it as a human rights issue.

“As a pro-life individual, I support this bill because it would codify the basic human right to life as evidenced by the medically objective, presence of a heartbeat,” Sinclair said.

Republican supporters hope, if challenged in the United States Supreme Court, the bill could be a test for the 1973 Roe V. Wade decision making abortion legal in the U.S.

“I can’t speculate as to the outcome of a court challenge,” Sinclair said Thursday.

Here are some of the other bills introduced or sponsored by Jasper County legislators that made it through the funnel:

School bus ride times

Sinclair has introduced another high-profile bill that has caught the attention of Iowa parents and school districts this session. SF 2137 would remove the maximum one-way school bus ride time for elementary and middle school students of 60 minutes and 75 minutes for high schoolers.

The bill goes even further, allowing school boards to have one-way rides beyond 75 minutes if the board passes a resolution to do so, holds two public hearings on that proposed resolution describing changes to the bus route and notifies all affected persons within the days of the route change.

Backers of the bill cited Greene County schools last week as an example of a school district that could eliminate two bus routes under the proposal, saving $100,000. Sinclair, who is the Senate Education Committee chairperson, said it’s about allowing local control and decision making so they can find cost savings where possible.

All 27 Senate Republicans were able to bring three Democrats on board last week to pass the bill. It now moves the Iowa House.

Restoring rights to felons

Rep. Greg Heartsill , R-Columbia, introduced a bill with Rep. Mary Lynne Wolfe, D-Clinton, that aims to restore certain rights to convicted felons after their sentence has been served.

HF 2266 does not lay out which rights — voting, fire arms possession, serving on a jury — would be restored, or if the law would be attributed to felons convicted of both non-violent and violent offenses.

The bill passed a House subcommittee Feb. 12, and made it through the first funnel. But Heartsill, who represents Monroe and rural parts of Jasper County south of Newton, thinks the bill might not see the full House until the 2019 legislative session.

Heartsill said he hopes the bill will spur an interim study committee before next year’s session to define what restoration of rights would look like. Iowa is one of a handful of states that does not allow convicted felons the right to vote after they’ve completed their sentence. The state’s Supreme Court upheld a voting ban for felons in 2016.

“If they’ve done their time, when will they get to exercise their rights as a full-fledged citizen again?” Heartsill said. “It’s been talked about and kicked around, but no one’s taken it seriously.”

Municipal enforcement of fireworks

After the first year of legalized consumer-grade fireworks in Iowa, some cities set limitations beyond the state statue on the times and number of days in the year their residents are allowed to set off explosive devices.

But some local police and county sheriff’s offices found it difficult to enforce the new Iowa law.

HF 2314 would allow cities and local law enforcement to charge certain fireworks violations as municipal infractions as opposed to violations of state code. It was originally introduced by Rep. Wes Breckenridge, D-Newton.

“It’s a combination of cities and law enforcement asking for assistance,” Breckenridge said.

The bill was approved by the House Committee on Local Government and is available for debate by the full House. Breckenridge said he believes the bill has some bipartisan support.

Medicaid reimbursement for EMS transport

A bipartisan plan to provide supplemental reimbursement from Medicaid to local and council ambulance services made it through the funnel and passed the House Feb. 20.

The measure, originally introduced by Breckenridge and Rep. Ashley Hinson , R-Marion, will require the Department of Human Services to submit a Medicaid state plan amendment to the federal government and establish a method to provide the Medicaid reimbursement for eligible ground emergency transports for Medicaid patients and beneficiaries.

Breckenridge said the bill would be particularly beneficial to rural and volunteer EMS services. He’s optimistic the bill could make it to the governor’s desk either by a stand alone measure or part of a broader Medicaid reform package.

“It will help lessen the strain on public ambulance crews to reach out to the federal government for Medicaid dollars,” he said.

Controversies with fence viewers

HF 2340 — introduced by Heartsill — passed the Iowa House last week in a bipartisan 98-0 vote. It would update the state’s rural fencing laws attempting to eliminate conflicts of interest with appointed mediators, known as fence viewers, who settle fence line disputes on Iowa’s agricultural properties.

Current Iowa law states when someone wants to erect a fence in rural Iowa to separate their ag-land from their neighbor’s, both property owners must split the cost. If there is a dispute between the property owners, a fence viewer acts as a mediator, assess the situation and makes a determination. The fence viewer’s decision is legally binding and can only be appealed in district court.

Heartsill said there are instances where the fence viewer might be a family member or friend of one of the parties, giving the perception of a conflict of interest. The existing statue does not require the fence viewer to recuse themselves in these cases. HF 2340 would change that. It would also require fence viewers to take topography such as bogs and wetlands into consideration before ordering a property owner to pay for a fence.

Heartsill’s bill has cleared both a subcommittee and the full House Agricultural Committee

Seizure of firearms and Assets Forfeiture

Two bills adding more guidelines in the handling and sale of property seized during a criminal investigation or state infraction are still alive in the House.

HF 2342 would prohibit a law enforcement officer, department employee and their immediate family members from purchasing a weapon at auction, seized during in a public nuisance incident or as part of a criminal investigation.

The bill specifically references the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Department of Public Safety, agencies that routinely auction off sporting shotguns and rifles seized in state wildlife law violations. Heartsill, who introduced the bill, said it’s an attempt to avoid conflicts of interests and ensure a member of the enforcing department does not gain personally from any case.

A related bill, HF 2393, specifies that the IDNR would return any item seized in the course of an investigation within 30 days if the subject was found not guilty, the case is dismissed or the statute of limitations expires.

Sen. Chaz Allen, D-Newton, did not respond to requests for comments for this story.

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com