Posts Tagged ‘Iowa’

From the Iowa State House:

(DES MOINES) – After three days of debate, the House passed House File 525 on Friday. House File 525 makes changes designed to save taxpayer’s dollars. The bill does not eliminate Iowa’s collective bargaining law, rather it addresses two things: what is within the scope of negotiations between management and labor along with arbitration procedures.

“We’re leveling the playing field for taxpayers,” said Rep. Ron Jorgensen (R-Sioux City), the bill’s floor manager.

This bill addresses the cost of government in Iowa. Today, 84% of state employees pay nothing for their health care. Republicans added a provision that required each public employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement to pay at least $100 for the own health insurance. Employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, which includes state legislators, were previously required to contribute at least $100 towards their own health care coverage in both House File 45 and Senate File 209.

“The state can no longer afford and the taxpayers can no longer support health care insurance which does not require the employee to at least contribute something to their own health care coverage,” said Rep. Jorgensen.

The list of items that will still be bargained for is largely unchanged and still includes: wages, hours, vacations, insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift differentials, overtime compensation, supplemental pay, seniority, transfer procedures, job classifications, health and safety matters, evaluation procedures, in-service training, and other matters mutually agreed upon.

The reform measure allows arbitrators flexibility when dealing with contract negotiations. Currently arbitrators are forced to pick either management’s offer or the union’s offer. The bill will allow arbitrators the ability to find a middle ground between the positions and will save taxpayers money.

The bill was approved Friday afternoon after a very long, very open and transparent debate. House File 525 saw 15 hours of debate in the House Labor Committee and approximately 30 hours debate in the House Chamber. There was also a 2 hour public hearing held earlier this week on the bill. The bill passed the House, 58 to 38, and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

From IowaPolitics.com:

GOP nominee for Attorney General Brenna Findley’s campaign demonstrated strength the latest fundraising report, once again out-raising the incumbent first elected in 1978.

Findley has also continued to out-work and out-raise her opponent, with her 2010 fundraising reports showing that she has raised a total of $1,026,020.82 this year to the incumbent’s $391,989.00.

“Our message to get Iowa back on track is gaining ground. Voters are disillusioned with politics as usual and are demanding change,” Findley noted. “I’ve been campaigning in all 99 counties, listening to Iowans. As Attorney General I will work hard to stop Washington-style spending in Iowa, clean up state government, lock up sexual predators and keep them locked up, and protect Iowans from being forced to buy Washington’s handpicked health insurance.”

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From The Iowa Republican:

Earlier this year, Governor Chet Culver found himself in the middle of a pay-to-play scandal when it became known that he had accepted political contributions from three individuals who were trying to get a gambling license for a Fort Dodge casino.

While Culver said there was no connection between his support of the Fort Dodge casino and the contributions, his campaign had already returned the contributions before the story made statewide news. Even though the contributions were returned, Culver is still under investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations.

More recently, Iowa’s Attorney General, Tom Miller, returned a $10,000 contribution that he received in 1995 from Peter DeCoster, the son of Jack DeCoster. The DeCosters’ factory egg farm has been identified as the source of the recent salmonella outbreak. DeCoster had been on the state’s habitual offenders list until the contribution to Miller’s campaign was made.

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