Bills that DID NOT pass the legislative funnel
CCI Action organizers and leaders are your eyes and ears at the Statehouse. We're tracking bills- both good and bad - and will let you know when your call or email can have the biggest impact. Click here to sign up for our email action updates.Below is a list of the bills that did not pass out of committee and failed to make it through the first funnel:These bills could come up again in the 2018 legislative session.The Good:Environmental JusticeHF 63 Requiring Pipeline Impact Statements – This bill, introduced by Chuck Isenhart (D-Dubuque) would prevent the IUB from issuing an oil pipeline permit until an environmental impact statement has been completed. Although this wouldn’t affect #DAPL, we support this in the event we see more pipelines looking to cross Iowa. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***SF131 – Closing part of the LLC Factory Farm Loophole – Across the state we’re seeing more and more factory farm corporations exploit a loophole that allows them to build multiple “small” factory farms, one-right-after-another, under different LLCs to avoid manure management and construction regulations, and separation distances from places like homes, schools, and parks. This bill, introduced by Sen. Johnson (D- Ocheyedan), changes permit threshold for small factory farms from 500 AU (1,250 hogs) to 250 AU (625 hogs) and removes regulation exemptions for factory farms that house between 250 AU (625 hogs) and 999 AU (2,499 hogs). This bill does not address the part of the loophole that allows factory farm corporations to build multiple under different LLCs – it just lessens the number of factory farms that can be exempt from separation distances. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***HF 155 Crude Oil Spill Fund - This bill, introduced by Representatives Isenhart (D) & Kearns (D) establishes a crude oil disaster fund and fee (on hazardous materials transported via pipelines) to deal with oil spills and related training, inspections, etc. It also requires the state to take reasonable efforts to recover any costs from the corporation responsible for any spill. ***Did not survive legislative funnel*** Worker JusticeSF 80 Cracking Down on Wage Theft – This bill, introduced by 13 Senate Democrats, would crack down on wage theft in all of its forms. When employers give workers bad checks, take extra money for unstated reasons, or even just don’t pay their workers, this bill would increase penalties against the employer and better protect workers who are victimized. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***HF 105 Raising The Wage – This bill, introduced by 12 House Democrats, increases the state minimum wage to $8 as of July 1, 2017, $9 as of January 1, 2018, $10 as of January 2018 and $11 as of January 2020. Increases the state minimum wage by the same COLA for Social Security benefits. ***Did not survive the legislative funnel***This is a step in the right direction – but we know we need a living wage of $15/hour. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***SF 141 Regulating Payroll Debit Cards – This bill, introduced by 11 Senate Democrats, allows employees to receive payment voluntarily through a debit card IF the employer gives appropriate notice that this payment method is voluntary and lists all potential charges. Other requirements include allowing employees to check their balance, receive paper statements, and more. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***SF 216 Regulating Payday Loans – This bill, introduced by Senator Joe Bolkcom (D- Iowa City) would cap the interest rates for payday loans at 36%. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***Racial JusticeHF 27 Iowa Dream Act – This bill, introduced by three Democrats in the house, would allow Iowa students who graduate from Iowa high schools to attend Iowa’s public universities for in state tuition rates, regardless of immigration status. Also known as the DREAM Act or the IOWA Act in the past, we support nurturing all of Iowa’s students and providing quality, affordable learning opportunities. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***Voter JusticeSF 65/HF 194/HF 247 Automatic Voter Registration - This bill, introduced by Senator Janet Peterson (D-Des Moines) & Rep. Hunter, 10 D’s in house, automatically registers Iowans to vote! More registered voters is a good thing – we want to see more people voting, not fewer. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***HF 101/HF 168/SF 203 Public Financing of Elections/Small Donor Matching – These bills, introduced by Representatives Hunter and Isenhart (respectively) in the House and Senator Joe Bolkcom (D – Iowa City) in the Senate, would establish Voter Owned Iowa Clean Elections (VOICE) or a small dollar matched public financing system. Both policies would help us reduce the influence of big money on our election system. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***The Bad:Environmental JusticeSF 14/SF 167 Sales Tax Increase – These bills increase the state sales tax to fund the Iowa Water & Land Legacy Fund. This plan is flawed for a number of reasons, including the fact that sales taxes are regressive; throwing good money after bad does nothing to stop the cause of pollution at its source; and we would be better served by making corporate ag pay to clean up their own mess. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***HF 100 – Refusing to Enforce EPA Federal Regulations (like the Clean Water Act) – This bill, introduced by 7 House Republicans, would nullify regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Iowa. Iowa has a clean water crisis. We need mandatory regulations, stronger enforcement and tougher fines. And we know our existing DNR and state leaders lack the political will do to that. We also questions the constitutionality of this bill. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***SF149 – Amending Rulemaking – Among other rulemaking amendments, this bill states that state law cannot be more stringent than federal law. Federal law is meant to be a floor for states to build upon, not a ceiling that blocks us from going above and beyond. This bill was introduced by Sen. Zaun (R-Urbandale) ***Did not survive legislative funnel***SF 158 – Operating In The Shadows - This bill, introduced by Mark Chelgren (R)and 9 other Republicans, strikes the requirement for newspaper publication of government notices if the government puts up the appropriate notice on its website. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***HF 243 – Engineering Exclusions – This bill, introduced by Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R), excludes some soil and water conservation practices related to building a factory farm. This is factory farm deregulation, plain and simple. ***Did not survive legislative funnel***Worker JusticeAll bill we are tracking passed the funnel.Racial JusticeAll bills we are tracking passed the funnel.Voter JusticeHF 150- Gutting Same Day Registration – This bill eliminates election day and in-person absentee registration, also known as same-day voter registration, and restores earlier provisions related to voter registration. ***Did not survive legislative funnel*** OtherSSB 1064/HF 196 – Payday Loans on Steroids – This bill expands payday loan amounts from $500 to $2500, which would further trap low income Iowans in a cycle of debt. ***Did not survive legislative funnel*** Learn more:
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