The process of moving this legislative session toward adjournment continued last week as the House and Senate made sure that key legislation remained alive for future debate. The “second funnel” occurred last week. In order to stay alive, a bill must have passed at least one chamber of the General Assembly and passed out of committee in the other chamber.

This winnowing process is used to make sure that major pieces of legislation can be considered before the April 22 adjournment date. However, bills in either the House or Senate Ways and Means Committees or the Appropriations Committees are “funnel-proof” and remain eligible for debate at any time.

As the Chair, much of my time is devoted to finalizing the Health and Human Services (HHS) budget proposal. At $1.2 billion, it is the largest single appropriation bill that comes before the Iowa Legislature for consideration. This bill funds services provided by the Iowa Departments of Public Health, Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Elder Affairs, Human Rights, and the Iowa Veterans Home at Marshalltown.

The largest single appropriation in the HHS budget bill is to fund Medicaid. For 2008, we budgeted $834 million for Medicaid and, as the need increases, we are required by the federal government to increase this budget item. For every $1 that the State of Iowa invests in the Medicaid budget, we receive about $2 from the federal government. Thus, combining state and federal funds, Iowa utilizes about $2.5 billion in government health care services. Over 10% of Iowa’s population relies on Medicaid to obtain their health care. On any given day in Iowa 325,000 people utilize Medicaid, and, over a span of a year, more than half a million Iowans use Medicaid.

The HHS budget provides services for Iowa’s most vulnerable citizens: newborns, frail elderly, people with disabilities, veterans, people with chronic health problems, and children who are removed from their homes by the juvenile court and are wards of the state. This budget represents nearly 20% of the total state budget.

The Medicaid budget for 2009 will need about $45 million more than the ’08 budget. About $16 million in additional appropriations is needed to make up for the loss of federal dollars to the IowaCare program. The state of Iowa, along with all other states, is being required to pick up more of the health care costs, as the federal government reduces its share of providing services for the poor, disabled, mentally ill, elderly and veterans.

It is obvious that the health care system in this country is in need of repair. So, I also continue to devote much of my time to the health care reform bill, HF 2539 which passed nearly unanimously in the Iowa House and is now in the Senate. We are working with the Senate to develop a unified plan that is capable of garnering the support of Republicans as well at the majority party Democrats.

Bills of interest that made it through the funnel:

• Legislation establishing a mandatory model core curriculum to be used by all Iowa accredited schools, SF 2216, is now ready for consideration in the House.
• HF 2610, which cracks down on CEOs who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, has been sent to the House Ways and Means committee.
• HF 2537, to expand Iowa’s Bottle Law to more types of containers, is now in the House Ways and Means Committee.
• Two bills that protect consumers from identity theft, SF 2308 and 2277, are both ready for debate in the House.
• Legislation that would require schools to provide physical education and healthier food, SF 2279, known as the Healthy Kids law, has passed the Senate and is now eligible for House debate.
• HF 2623 is a bill preventing students from dropping out of school before age 17, rather than 16, has moved to the House Ways and Means Committee.
• Legislation to convert the current one-cent school infrastructure local option sales tax to a statewide sales tax for school infrastructure and property tax relief, HF 2663, is alive and can be debated at any time in the House.

In addition, all the necessary appropriations bills must be passed before the session can end. When that work is done, the state budget will be balanced and fiscally responsible.

You can write me at the State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319; call me at 515/281-7328 or e-mail me at  ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.

Ro

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