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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
Preparing for the 2012 session of Iowa’s 84th General Assembly
On the last day of the state’s fiscal year (June 30, 2011), the Iowa Legislature finally came to agreement on budget issues –mostly for education—that dogged legislators most of the session. Once those agreements were reached on the 172nd calendar day of the session, the House and the Senate gaveled out of session.
“Although we didn’t lose on any issues, we didn’t make the progress we had hoped to,” said ICA President Ross Havens. “It will take commitments from ICA members” to find success when legislators return in January 2012.
Here are three key state issues for ICA members in 2012:
HF589-Ag Protection Act
The Ag Protection Act was one of the most controversial bills in the
2011 legislature. It was brought forward by the poultry industry, and
other agriculture groups got on board.
Generally, the bill would punish people who use deception to gain access
to a livestock farm, and then use that access as a means to raise money
for radical animal rights group.
The bill faced immediate constitutional questions in regards to freedom
of speech, and animal rights groups came out in full force. The Humane
Society of the U.S. (HSUS) made this bill one of their main issues and
hired extra lobbyists to oppose it.
The bill did pass the House, and is ready to be taken up by the Senate
when it convenes in January 2012. The amended version of the bill
waiting for the Senate has changes that have attracted support from both
Republicans and Democrats. That version has been cleared by the
Attorney General’s office which determined there are no constitutional
questions in the new language.
SF288-Uultrasound/ET Techs
This bill would have allowed veterinarians to hire or contract with
certified ultrasound technicians for pregnancy detection and embryo
transfer technicians.
As the legislative session started, the Iowa Veternarian Medicine
Association (IVMA) gave every indication they would agree to this and
then as a bill was being drafted, stated that they would oppose any
effort to change the code.
The bill had support in the House ag committee, but the House leader
said he would not bring the bill to the floor. The ag committee chose to
set the bill aside until 2012 in hopes that leadership can have a
better understanding of how livestock farmers would benefit from this
bill.
HF618-Electrical Licensing
This bill would exempt farms from requiring licensed electricians and inspections on re-wired and new building electrical work.
Amendments were offered that would have changed the current law, but
they did not offer the full exemptions, which is current ICA policy. Ag
groups were split on this issue with some insisting on full exemption,
while others would have accepted the compromise.
As with the other bills, the Electrical Licensing bill can be brought
back up in 2012. With an election year upon them, Legislators may not be
as willing to go against unions as was evident in the last session.
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