On Tuesday, March 09, 2010, the Des Moines Register came up with a great article about state government’s dysfunction.  Their analysis of low-income and childhood aid programs was spot on.  I preach government reform and here is my proof that it isn’t occurring.  Not that we need more proof! (Story written by Jason Clayworth)

The story noted that 59 separate boards monitor the states low income family programs.  The programs work toward the health and education of children ages 0-5.  The program receives nearly $336 million a year and is managed by 4-different state agencies.

State officials have noted that there is very little over site on where the money is going and there is no data that shows how many children are being helped.  There is also no accountability whether these programs are creating results.

I am not criticizing the programs because we have NO data; rather, the article lays out a picture of extreme spending of tax-payer dollars that has no accountability as to whether were making a difference in the lives of children.  I am looking for objective data rather than subjective thoughts.

This is where we need results based government.  What are the objectives and goals of the program and, are we achieving results?  I have been told that this cannot be done.  This is incorrect, you create a baseline and each year the state should see some form of objective results.  When the taxpayer is funding $336 million program, government must show that it is creating a benefit to society.

 HF 2399 dealt with a study creating nuclear power in Iowa

Thank-you Mr. President

Mr. President and Senate colleagues,

I applaud this bill and say IT”S ABOUT TIME!!

My greatest worry is our economy and future jobs in this great state.

We are all aware of that 100 degree day with 99% humidity and no wind in the middle of an Iowa summer. Or days like today where it is foggy.  On these days no power is being generated by wind mills or solar panels. But, we are maxing out our energy usage on these days. 

Business does not stop using power on these days and the only power that we have during these hot humid salutary days is called base load generation. 

In 2001 the Iowa legislature passed a bill to increase base load generation.  At that time we realized how important energy was to our Iowa economy, and to the growth of our economy.

Since that point, we tried to build a base load generation plant in Marshalltown, but failed because of government interference.   We tried to build a plant in Waterloo, but again failed because of government interference.

Now, 9 years later, we are back at the table! However, again it seems like there is significant legislative interference. Let’s not bury our heads in the sand!!! We need base load power. That hot humid day will again come this summer Today’s foggy day might be here again tomorrow.

Let’s work with President Obama and make nuclear power work in Iowa!

The greatest problem with this bill, it takes 3-years to do the study and another 10-years to build a plant.  I can only hope this time we can all vote yes and support a base load energy plant in Iowa that is 10-years overdue and still another 13-years away.  I can only hope our Iowa economy can wait this long.  

 Thank-you Mr. President!

In education sub-appropriations today, a bill passed out of committee on a straight party-line vote.  Republicans against and Democrats in support.

5090 – The bill creates a myriad of new policies.  Several of these areas are extreme changes that have been developed by the Iowa State Education Association (union) to payback teachers for previous salary cuts.

The bill requires all schools to repay teachers salaries for any funding that has been cut for professional development and teacher quality.  Many schools cut 10% of these funds through the across the board cut which occurred in October.  This bill states, this money must be paid back and no cuts may be made to these areas in future budgets. 

The School Board Association received a declaratory ruling by the Dept. of Education that approved these cuts.  The teachers union saw this as an infringement on teachers salaries and demanded pay back for the cut funds through this bill. 

The following school districts, in my area, will need to pay back the teachers the following amounts:

Akron/Westfield – $25,562

Boyden/Hull – $30,551

Central Lyon – $33,457

George Little Rock – $24,612

Le Mars – $105,201

MOC/FV – $65,497

Rock Valley – $27,914

Sioux Center – $49,214

West Lyon – $35,379

West Sioux – $36,510

Northwest AEA – $112,229

The payback could likely come from property taxes. And, property taxes will be increased because school districts will need to use other money to pay for general school costs.  Teacher salaries are off limits.

It seems the Iowa State Education Association again has NO regard about whether schools have enough money to stay open in rural Iowa.  It’s all about making sure teachers get their salary without any cuts.  This bill is bad for; kids, property owners, and school districts.  Everyone loses but the teachers.

Good Bills Debated This Week 

SF 2356 A bill that creates a healthcare information exchange. The system will offer information about each Iowa health center which would include; quality of care, cost of procedures, and health center specifications.   This idea helps promote more transparency in health care and creates the opportunity for open competition amongst hospitals.

SF 2354 A bill that reforms campaign finance laws.  The bill requires a vote of stock holders or unions on how much money should be spent on campaigns and who is receiving the money.

SF 2329 A bill that creates a study on what to do with the ICN network.  Sell it, make it better or leave it the same.  (I vote to sell it.  Webinars are the new way to communicate)

SF 2197 A bill that creates a misdemeanor ticket if someone gives false information to police, firefighter, or medical care provider.    

Bad Bills

 HF 2318 Bill removing term limits on several government committees.  I believe ALL offices should have term limits.

I Look forward to doing my work next week and watching Rock Valley and Hull Western Christian play some great basketball at the Wells Fargo Center.

We have all seen our health insurance dramatically increase.  As a state, it’s time we did something about it. The Senate Republicans have filed the following bills over the last 2-months.  However,  the Democrats have refused to bring them to the floor for debate.

 SF 2121 Low-cost catastrophic health plans for those under 30. Iowa Senate Republicans propose legislation that will encourage the development of low cost catastrophic insurance products that will provide base care for younger Iowans.

SF 2282 The Patients Right to Know Act.  Iowa Senate Republicans believe the information age provides a tremendous opportunity to dramatically improve access to tools that compare cost and quality in the delivery of health care services on-line. We propose legislation to establish a statewide information hub that brings together both cost and outcome quality data in a searchable format for online consumers.

SF 2362 Prevention credits: putting a premium on wellness.  These “prevention credits” will allow an average Iowa family to save upwards of 15% on their health insurance premium or $1,635 on an average family policy. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services there is a return on investment of up to $4.91 for every dollar spent on wellness. This shift in policy will save Iowa families real money while reducing the long term cost of health care in the state.

SF 2005 Tort and lawsuit abuse reform.  No serious attempt at reducing rising health care and insurance costs can move forward without an honest attempt to address the issue of medical malpractice and tort reform. 

SF 2132 Expand health insurance tax deductibility to individuals and small business.  Current law allows large employers the opportunity to deduct health care costs “above the line” – meaning a straight dollar for dollar reduction in their taxable income equal to the employer share of health insurance costs.  This creates a significant incentive to provide health insurance.

With a significant portion of our population now working for small businesses or for themselves, we believe such above the line deductions for health insurance costs should be extended to all businesses and individuals.

SF 2097 and SF 2139 No unfunded federal mandate and choice of health care.  With the state struggling to currently pay its’ obligations any additional unfunded mandate handed down by the federal government on health care would break the bank. In addition Senate Republicans do not believe it is important or right to force individuals to purchase something they may not want.

SF 2133  No pre-existing exclusions when changing plans with the same insurance provider.  The simple act of moving from Plan A to Plan B (for whatever reason) within the same insurance company should not provide an opportunity to base coverage exclusions as if the employee were accessing coverage with that company for the first time.

**Additionally, Senate Republicans believe Iowans should be allowed to purchase health insurance across state lines. Federal law currently precludes this action from happening.

Monday’s Senate floor debate centered on Iowa’s current health care system for uninsured adults.  Iowa’s current program serves 35,000 adults that are without insurance and are below the federal poverty line.  This poverty level is approximately, $44,000 for a family of four or $21,600 for a single individual.

The current program allows, Iowans who qualify, a means of health care at Iowa City hospital or Broadlawn hospital in Des Moines.  The new bill that passed allows these same Iowans to get care at local regional locations.  The location in NW Iowa would be the Greater Sioux Community Health Center in Sioux Center.

It was noted the same amount of money will be funded for this program.  It is drawn down on a first come first serve basis. These added Centers in Iowa help to broaden care, rather than having people travel to Des Moines or Iowa City.

The bill that passed also creates an information exchange system.  The system will offer information about each Iowa health center which would include; quality of care, cost of procedures, and health center specifications.   This idea helps promote more transparency in health care and creates the opportunity for open competition amongst hospitals. 

Based on this information, I supported the bill and it passed 45-5.

This session, we past a transparency bill that would help shed light on how all government operates.  This session, both sides have articulated on the floor and in committee meetings,  how good policy is created.  This has become mere rhetoric. 

Each day we get a list of bills that will be debated on the Senate floor.  On Thursday, February 25, we also got a list of bills that were to be debated.  As we finished debating this list, a bill came up that wasn’t on the calendar.  It was the biggest bill that has hit the Senate floor in the last 20-years. (government reorganization bill) Included with this bill, was an amendment that got dropped on this bill.

This occurred Thursday, at 5:45pm,  the bill was debated on the floor and it was passed.  However, this bill begs the question?  The Democrats trumpeted this bill as the greatest reorganization and savings bill of our time.  From day one of session, this was “the great bill”  On Thursday, it was passed under the cloak of darkness, no sunlight on the amendment, no transparency, no time for organizations or agencies to respond to the amendment to make it better. It was rushed through, and NO comments were offered.

This is a very poor way of creating policy. The bill was  jammed through the process!    I am appalled at how the majority managed  this 300 page bill!  This is what power and politics creates.  Unfortunately, this “fly by the seat of you pants” method,  affects all of us through poor policy that has not been properly vetted. 

Below are my comments on the floor concerning this issue.

FeenstraTransparency 3-1-10

We had another week filled with floor debate.  Most bills were not controversial and created good policy; However, I noted a few that created a lot of debate.

Good Bills.

SF2331 – A bill allowing children on I-Hawk insurance to use local chiropractors.

SF 2007 – A bill supporting the preservation of the battleship USS Iowa

SF 2349 – A bill investigating autism insurance coverage

SF 2305 – a bill making improvements to the sex offender registry

SF 2351 – A bill that creates an enhanced penalty for domestic violence (strangulation)

Questionable Controversial bills

SF 2236 – requiring propane dealers to deliver fuel in the winter to someone who may not have enough money to pay upfront for the fuel.

SF 2321 – A bill prohibiting sending and receiving texts while driving

SF 2357 – Bill that takes guns from a person who allegedly commits domestic violence.

Bad Bill

SF 2323 – A bill creating gambling table games in casinos

SF 2316 – A bill requiring that no construction can occur in a 500 year flood plain.  So much for growth in several of our communities near the river.

This past summer governor Culver demanded, in an unprecedented move, that the Iowa Department of Revenue hold off on its tax collection efforts and have the state legislature go back and re-examine the tax fiasco it created that required flood victims and other taxpayers to pay increased state taxes because the Iowa Democrats refused to couple with the federal tax code last year.

The Department of Revenue has stated that those who took the tax deductions for flood related expenses must pay it back if legislative action is not taken.  This summer, the governor issued the following statement:

“the last thing our state tax laws should do is burden those who were victims of the last year’s historic floods and storms, and the issue of adopting federal law changes to Iowa should be addressed”  ……  “Therefore I am taking two steps.  First, I have directed the Department of Revenue to provide me with any and all options that may be implemented by executive action this calendar year.  Second, I will be speaking with legislative leaders, from both sides of the political aisle, to address this issue in 2010 the same bipartisanship approach that we gave to other disaster-related legislation.”

Well, we are 4-weeks away from the end of legislative session and this topic has not been brought up! So, do these disaster victims have to pay this money back? If no action is taken they will have to pay it back, AND, pay penalty and interest because the Democrats refused to be sympathetic to the flood victims.

This year it seems disaster victims will have two tax seasons.  April 15^th they will pay 2009 taxes and again this summer when they get an assessment notice that states that they owe for taxes, interest, and penalties for their 2008 taxes because their legislature decided not to act on their behalf!

Governor Culver had the right idea!!  However, it seems his party is not only letting him down but also letting down those who have been inflicted by this massive disaster.

The budget cuts are starting and the largest government agency looks like it will take the first hit.  The Department of Health and Human Services has been notified that their budget could be trimmed by as much as $173 million. 

DHS’s current budget is $1.13 billion; the 15% cut would bring the budget down to $954 million.  Agency director, Charlie Krogmeier, stated that the cut may require laying off 500 employees. The agency currently has about 5,700 employees.

The director also noted that all 99 counties have DHS workers and this could cause some regionalization of these county programs.  It could also involve closing some of the government wards and institutions around the state. Less staff may also create longer caseload waiting times for assistance with adoptions or to get approved for a specific program.

The largest agency expenditure is on Medicaid payments to low and moderate income Iowan’s.  Over 435,000 people are enrolled and are covered by Medicaid. 

As I read the data concerning this cut it struck me about why the legislature might cut this agency? I realized that there is a possibility that it could be back-filled with federal funds. I find it interesting that government always finds a way to keep its programs.  Taxpayers will continue to pay, if the State cannot find the means, the federal government will find a way to help out. 

I am learning that government has become a game.   A shuffling of money pots and programs.  We hear about the massive budget gap but it’s only a gap when you cannot find another fund or government agency to grab the money from.   It is impossible to get your hands around such massive bureaucracy.