Committees move legislation

February 2, 2017

House and Senate policy committees have moved several pieces of legislation out of subcommittees and full committees. The ABI public policy team attended 14 subcommittees this week on issues ranging from making permanent the Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB) and trespass liability to Iowa Prison Industries an utility maintenance vehicles, all on behalf of members. In addition to attending subcommittees, ABI’s lobbyists followed bills through the committee process and worked with legislators to educate them on issues important to ABI members. Here are just a few highlights of bills that moved through the process this week:

HSB 35: Codifies common law as it relates to the liability of trespassers. Passed the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 18-1 on Wednesday. A companion bill in the Senate, SSB 1011, passed a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.
          Position: ABI supports
          Staff contact: Jessica Harder

SSB 1026: Requires an apprentice to be a resident of Iowa to obtain financial assistance awards from the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Passed the Senate State Government Committee on Wednesday. HSB40 passed the House Economic Growth Committee on Tuesday.
          Position: ABI supports
          Staff Contact: Brad Hartkopf

HF 69: Increases the penalty and makes trespassing a scheduled fine. The goal it to deter individuals from trespassing on private property. The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee 19-0.
          Position: ABI supports
          Staff contact: Jessica Harder

HSB 49: Relates to Iowa Prison Industries and competition with the private sector. Passed a House State Government subcommittee with amendment. Another bill was introduced in the Senate dealing with the same topic.
          Position: ABI supports
          Staff contact: Brad Hartkopf

HF 2: Sets parameters for placement of global positioning device with an individual’s knowledge. Bill still allows employers to use GPS on vehicles driven by employees. The bill passed the House Public Safety Committee with amendment this week.
          Position: ABI is undecided
          Staff contact: Nicole Crain, Jessica Harder, Brad Hartkopf

HSB 44: Makes permanent the Property Assessment Appeals Board (PAAB). The bill also makes changes to how an appeal is filed. The bill passed a House Ways and Means subcommittee Thursday morning.
          Position: ABI supports
          Staff contact: Nicole Crain