2022 Legislative Updates

This week the House and Senate reached agreement on how much the state will spend from the state’s general fund in the next budget year. For Fiscal Year 2023, the state will spend a total of $8.2059 billion from the general fund.  This is an increase of $81 million when compared to the current fiscal year.  The subcommittee budget targets are divided as follows:

The Senate came back to session on Wednesday and voted all nine budget bills out of Senate Appropriations Committee. Here is what is agreed to on the budget bills that affect UNI:

HF 2564 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – FY 2023

UNI is funded at status quo level in the economic development budget bill for FY 2023. UNI’s line items are funded as follows:

• $3,000,000 for Regents Innovation Fund ($900,000 to UNI)
• $1,066,419 for UNI Business and Community Services (BCS)
• $394,321 for additive manufacturing

HF 2575 EDUCATION – FY 2023

The Regents universities are appropriated a total increase of $5.5 million in FY 2023, to be distributed by the Board. No appropriation is provided for UNI@IACC (our request was $1.6 million). UNI’s FY 2023 budget line items are status quo and funded at the following:

• $98,296,620 for base operations
• $6,354,848 million for STEM education
• $172,768 for the recycling and reuse center
• $123,523 for real estate education

HF 2579 REBUILD IOWA INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (RIIF) – FY 2023

UNI’s FY 2024 Industrial Technology Center funding is moved up a year, for a total of $26.5 million in FY 2023.

Both the House and Senate will be back in session next week with a final push to adjournment. All budget bills need to be voted on before adjournment. There may be some policy bills they will also vote on.

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

This week and next week, the House and Senate had, and will have, no floor debate or committee work. The lawmakers are in their home districts and will be called back when an agreement is made. The leaders are required to gavel in and gavel out every three days while the legislative session is still in session. The hold up is still with the K-12 private school scholarship bill.  We do not know how long this will go.

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

It was a short week of floor debate as the majority party works behind the scenes negotiating an agreement prior to adjournment.

The unemployment benefits bill, HF 2355, had final passage this week and now goes to the Governor. The Senate receded on their amendment that would have required a one-week waiting period to get unemployment benefits. The bill reduces state unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 16 weeks and adjusts the amount of unemployment benefits for failure to accept work without good cause. Current law says Iowa Workforce Development decides when an individual has failed, without good cause, either to apply for available, suitable work when directed by the department or to accept suitable work when offered that individual. Work is suitable if the work meets all the other criteria and if the gross weekly wages for the work equal or exceed the following percentages of the individual’s average weekly wage for insured work paid to the individual during that quarter of the individual’s base period in which the individual’s wages were highest. The bill changes the percentages, as follows:

• 100% if the work is offered during the first week of unemployment (current law is 100% during the first five weeks)
• 90% if the work is offered during the second and third week of unemployment current law is 75% during the 6th through the 12th week)
• 80% if the work is offered during the fourth and fifth week of unemployment (current law is 70% during the 13^th through the 18^th week)
• 70% if the work is offered during the sixth through eighth week of unemployment
• 60% if the work if offered after the eighth week of unemployment (current law is 65% after the 18^th week)

The House and Senate also passed SF 2383, the Governor’s workforce regulation bill. Division two of the bill applies to work-based learning. It would require the Department of Education to have a process for school boards to report annually on student participation in work-based learning programs. The Board of Educational Examiners would be required to develop a certification for work-based learning supervisors and this certification will be considered a professional development program. Prior to high school graduation, the students’ individualized career and academic plan would need to advise them how to successfully complete the free application for federal student aid and must identify the coursework and work-based learning needed in grades nine through twelve to support the student’s postsecondary education and career options.

We are still waiting on the state budget agreement. When the majority party comes to an agreement, the Legislature will come back into session and finish their work prior to adjournment. At this time, it is hard to determine when this will happen.

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

Happy Earth Day!

Since Wednesday, the Senate have gaveled in for procedural purposes only. All week, the House has gaveled in for procedural purposes only. Legislators cannot go more than three days without convening during a legislative session. Their weekly per diem expense checks ran out on Tuesday.

There is currently a stalemate on certain pieces of legislation to get to adjournment. We’re hearing the biggest difference is on the school choice or school voucher bill; depending on your polital party determines what you call the bill. There are two different bills, the House’s HF 2577 and the Senate and Governor’s SF 2369. These two bills also include language regarding high school civics exams. The House bill (HF 2577) requires the most recent version of the civics test developed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services be used as the assessment of student’s knowledge of US government and civics, and on or before June 30 of each year, each school district and nonpublic school must submit the results of the assessment to the Department of Education. The Senate bill (SF 2369) also requires a student answer at least 70% of the questions on the civics test correctly as a condition of graduation from high school. A student who fails to answer at least 70% of the questions correctly may retake the civics test as many times as necessary.

The state budget bills also need to be completed before adjournment. The House has sent the Senate nine budget bills. One budget bill remains that we have not seen, the standings and miscellaneous provisions bill. This bill is always the last budget to be voted on.

When the majority party comes to an agreement, the Legislature will come back into session and finish their work prior to adjournment. At this time, it is hard to determine when this will happen.

Budget Bills:

HF 2560 AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES

HF 2565 ADMINISTRATION & REGULATION

HF 2564 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

HF 2575 EDUCATION

HF 2578 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

HF 2558 JUDICIAL BRANCH

HF 2559 JUSTICE SYSTEMS

HF 2579 REBUILD IOWA INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (RIIF)

HF 2557 ROAD USE TAX FUND (DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION)

Highlights of Eligible Policy Bills:

HF 604 Language development for deaf and hard of hearing children. (to Governor)

HF 2081 Eliminates taking Praxis II test to receive teaching license. Requires 80 field experience hours for traditional prep programs and 50 field experience hours for intern teaching prep programs (RAPIL). (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate) – This language is also included in SF 2369, the school choice/school voucher bill.

HF 2083 Allows all applicants preparing to become a teacher be eligible for Teach Iowa Scholar grants (not just top 25% academically) if the teacher is going to teach in-state. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate) – This language is also included in SF 2377, the Senate’s alternative pathway to teacher licensure bill.

HF 2302 Establishes affirmative defenses for entities using cybersecurity programs. (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)

HF 2398 No renewal requirement for teachers employed for at least ten years and who possesses a master’s or doctoral degree, unless the teacher holds an evaluator approval endorsement, which must be renewed at least once every ten years. Requires continuing background checks every five years for teachers who are not subject to these renewal requirements. Allows the BOEE to charge a reasonable fee for these background checks. Adds charter schools and private schools to background checks. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate) – Similar language is also included in SF 2369, the school choice/school voucher bill.

HF 2443 Contract enforceability regarding smart contracts and distributed ledger technology. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate)

HF 2461 Allows some recourse in the case of a ransomware attack. (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)

HF 2495 If moneys are appropriated, the college student aid commission shall develop and administer a scholarship program to provide scholarships to individuals with intellectual, developmental, or learning disabilities who are at least eighteen years of age and who are enrolled in a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program that has been approved by the United States department of education, to help offset the cost associated with the tuition and fees (i.e. UI REACH). (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)

HF 2496 Relates to procedural requirements for placing an officer’s name on a Brady-Giglio list. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate)

HF 2580  Relates to AEAs and professional development, and includes a requirement that the legislature create their own committee during the 2022 and 2023 legislative interim, to review teacher practitioner preparation programs. (Eligible for House floor debate)

SF 2196 Employers must give one copy of an employee’s personnel file at no cost, upon request. (Passed Senate, eligible for House floor debate)

SF 2369 Governor’s K-12 school choice/school voucher bill. (Passed Senate, eligible in House Appropriations Committee)

SF 2377 Provides an alternative pathway for teacher licensure, adjusts the Teach Iowa scholar program, residency requirements for BOEE licenses and use of school district management levy for teacher recruitment. (Passed Senate, eligible for House floor debate)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

Lawmakers went home this week and are now “on-call”. The majority party in the House and Senate are negotiating behind the scenes to come to an agreement on the state budget. We do not know how long this will take. Lawmakers will return and vote on the bills when agreements are made.

The 100^th day of the 2022 General Assembly in next Tuesday, April 19, and that is the last day they receive their daily expense pay. I can definitely say this legislative session will go longer than 100 days!

There was no additional movement on policy bills specifically affecting UNI this week. Please look at my previous posts to find any bills you’re interested in. A couple bills of interest that were voted on this week are as follows:

• SF 2383 is the Governor’s workforce regulation bill that has passed the Senate by a vote of 48-0. Division two of the bill applies to work-based learning. It would require the Department of Education to have a process for school boards to report annually on student participation in work-based learning programs. The Board of Educational Examiners would be required to develop a certification for work-based learning supervisors and this certification will be considered a professional development program. Prior to high school graduation, the students’ individualized career and academic plan would need to advise them how to successfully complete the free application for federal student aid and must identify the coursework and work-based learning needed in grades nine through twelve to support the student’s postsecondary education and career options. The bill is currently on the House floor eligible for debate.
• If you want to read about the changes the House and Senate want to do on Iowa’s bottle bill, it’s SF 2378. The House amended the Senate’s bill this week and sent it back to the Senate.

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

There are more signs we are nearing the end of the legislative session. However, there are still major pieces of legislation that need to be adopted, including the FY 2023 state budget. But debate is slowing down as they work behind the scenes negotiating. It’s more than likely they will go past the 100^th day of the 2022 General Assembly, which is April 19 and the last day they receive per diem pay.

This week the House passed their final two budget bills and sent them to the Senate. The House’s Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund bill moves the last year (FY 2024) funding for the modernization of the Industrial Technology Center building to next fiscal year (FY 2023) in the total amount of $26.5 million.

It is my understanding that the majority party will now negotiate the budget bills behind the scenes and when there is an agreement, the Senate will amend the budget bill and send it back to the House to concur. We do not know how long this will take.

Here’s the list of the nine budget bills:

HF 2560 AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES

HF 2565 ADMINISTRATION & REGULATION

HF 2564 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

HF 2575 EDUCATION

HF 2578 HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

HF 2558 JUDICIAL BRANCH

HF 2559 JUSTICE SYSTEMS

HF 2579 REBUILD IOWA INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (RIIF)

HF 2557 ROAD USE TAX FUND (DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION)

There may be a tenth budget bill that is called the standings and miscellaneous appropriations bill, which can make changes to many things. We have not seen this bill yet from either chamber.

There was no additional movement on policy bills affecting UNI this week. Please look at my previous posts to find any bills you’re interested in.

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

We are seeing signs that the end of the legislative session is nearing. There is a lot of time waiting for debate to happen while legislators are in caucus for hours going over all the bills on their respective debate calendars. There is some floor debate and committee work on bills that pertain to budgeting or taxes. Some of the controversial policy bills are being sent to the other chamber for consideration.

We are still waiting for the Senate to start debating on the state budget. The 100^th day of the 2022 General Assembly is April 19, which is also the lawmaker’s last day to receive their per diem pay.

This week, the House passed their education budget bill, HF 2575, by a vote of 58-36. The bill freezes all three Regent universities’ operating budgets for the next fiscal year, FY 2023, which starts July 1, 2022, and creates a new $12 million scholarship program within the Iowa College Student Aid Commission for Iowa resident students who attend a Regent university. The bill also provides a new $300,000 appropriation for UNI@DMACC. The House amended the bill and:

• Removed most of the reporting requirements for the Board of Regents to the General Assembly. If this language remains in the final budget bill, the Board will continue to require the universities to report on their activities, which includes all the financials, income and expenditures as well as grants and gifts, economic development activities, and all things relevant to student development, enrollment and graduation rates. The reports will still be made to the Board of Regents; the Board has a statutory governance role to ensure that the institutions it governs complies with the statutory requirements imposed by the Legislature. The bill is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee awaiting a subcommittee meeting.
• Requires the college student aid commission, in collaboration with the Iowa department of public health, to convene a task force that will study how to consolidate and improve health-related student financial assistance programs and submit a report by December 15, 2022.
• Requires the Board of Regents to issue a request for proposals for a higher education needs assessment for northwest Iowa, including the Sioux City area. The objectives of the assessment is to determine the current and long-term demands for various undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates in northwest Iowa, determine the current and future demands for higher education programming from the Western Iowa Regents Resource Center and the center’s capacity to respond to current and future demands for higher education programming, and to identify the information necessary to ensure that efforts to meet current and future higher education demands in northwest Iowa are effective, efficient, and responsive to the higher education needs of the students and stakeholders of the region and the postsecondary institutions that serve the area. The assessment is to separately assess and determine the current and long-term prospects for online learning and distance education in both undergraduate and graduate degree programs for students residing within Iowa and out of state. The results and recommendations must be reported to the General Assembly by October 1, 2023.

In the House, HF 2580 was voted out of the House Appropriations Committee. The bill relates to AEAs and professional development, and includes a requirement that the legislature create their own committee during the 2022 and 2023 legislative interim, to review teacher practitioner preparation programs. The bill is currently on the House floor awaiting debate.

The Senate passed SF 2377 by a vote of 49-0. The bill provides an alternative pathway for teacher licensure. It also adjusts the Teach Iowa scholar program and the use of revenues from the school district management levy. The bill is in the House Ways and Means Committee with a subcommittee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 5.

Civics instruction requirements are different in the House bill HF 2577, which passed the House and is in the Senate, and the Senate bill SF 2369, which passed the Senate and is now in the House. The House requires the most recent version of the civics test developed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services be used as the assessment of student’s knowledge of US government and civics, and on or before June 30 of each year, each school district and nonpublic school must submit the results of the assessment to the Department of Education. The Senate bill also requires a student answer at least 70% of the questions on the civics test correctly as a condition of graduation from high school. A student who fails to answer at least 70% of the questions correctly may retake the civics test as many times as necessary.

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

The House proposed education budget, HF 2575, freezes all three Regent universities’ operating budgets for the next fiscal year, FY 2023, which starts July 1, 2022. Instead, the bill creates a new scholarship program for Iowa resident students who attend a Regent university. The House is appropriating $12 million to the Iowa College Student Aid Commission to administer this new scholarship program. All the funds will be for students in "high demand" fields as determined by College Student Aid and Iowa Workforce Development, in consultation with the Regent universities. Half of the scholarship funding would be available for students who want to be teachers.  Full-time students can receive $2,500 per semester for 3 semesters and an additional $2,500 if they are employed in a high demand field in Iowa for a year.

As it relates to UNI’s budget line-items, the House proposed education budget bill HF 2575 and their economic development budget bill HF 2564 do the following:

• Freezes UNI’s general operating budget; UNI had requested an additional $4 million investment (HF 2575).
• Appropriates $300,000 for the new degree attainment program UNI@IACC (Iowa Community Colleges); UNI had requested a total of $1.6 million (HF 2575).
• Status quo appropriation of $6.35 million for STEM education (HF 2575)
• Status quo appropriation of $172,768 for the recycling and reuse center (HF 2575)
• Status quo appropriation of $123,523 for real estate education (HF 2575)
• Status quo appropriation of $1.1 million for economic development (HF 2564)
• Status quo appropriation of $394,321 for UNI’s additive manufacturing (HF 2564)
• Status quo appropriation of $900,000 from the Regents Innovation Fund (HF 2564)

There are no agreements with the Senate at this time. We have not seen any Senate budget bills. The House education budget bill has been voted out of the House Appropriations Committee and is eligible for debate by the full House next week. The House economic development budget bill passed the House on Thursday by a vote of 74-18 and was sent to the Senate Appropriation Committee for consideration.

Upcoming Dates

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

The House has started releasing some of their budget bills. The economic development budget bill has passed the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday: LSB 5002 – FY 2023 Economic Development Appropriations. Currently there are no agreements with the Senate. UNI’s funded line items in the House economic development budget bill are funded at status quo:

• $1.1 million for BCS programs
• $900,000 from the Regents Innovation Fund to BCS
• $394,321 for UNI’s additive manufacturing

Today also marks the Legislature’s second funnel day, meaning Senate policy bills must pass the Senate and out of a House Committee and House policy bills must pass the House and out of a Senate committee for them to remain eligible this year. This date does not apply to tax, spending and government oversight bills.

Highlights of Eligible Policy Bills:

HF 604 Language development for deaf and hard of hearing children. (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate – there will be a Senate amendment)

HF 2081 Eliminates taking Praxis II test to receive teaching license. Requires 80 field experience hours for traditional prep programs and 50 field experience hours for intern teaching prep programs (RAPIL). (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)

HF 2083 Allows all applicants preparing to become a teacher be eligible for Teach Iowa Scholar grants (not just top 25% academically) if the teacher is going to teach in-state. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate)

HF 2298 Immunization against COVID-19 cannot be required for enrollment in any licensed child care center, elementary or secondary school or postsecondary school in Iowa. (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)

HF 2302 Establishes affirmative defenses for entities using cybersecurity programs. (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)

HF 2398 No renewal requirement for teachers employed for at least ten years and who possesses a master’s or doctoral degree, unless the teacher holds an evaluator approval endorsement, which must be renewed at least once every ten years. Requires continuing background checks every five years for teachers who are not subject to these renewal requirements. Allows the BOEE to charge a reasonable fee for these background checks. Adds charter schools and private schools to background checks. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate – there will be a Senate amendment)

HF 2443 Contract enforceability regarding smart contracts and distributed ledger technology. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate)

HF 2461 Allows some recourse in the case of a ransomware attack. (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)

HF 2495 If moneys are appropriated, the college student aid commission shall develop and administer a scholarship program to provide scholarships to individuals with intellectual, developmental, or learning disabilities who are at least eighteen years of age and who are enrolled in a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program that has been approved by the United States department of education, to help offset the cost associated with the tuition and fees (i.e. UI REACH). (Passed House, on Senate floor eligible for debate)

HF 2496 Relates to procedural requirements for placing an officer’s name on a Brady-Giglio list. (Passed House, eligible for Senate floor debate)

SF 2196 Employers must give one copy of an employee’s personnel file at no cost, upon request. (Passed Senate, eligible for House floor debate)

SF 2202 Teach Iowa Scholar grants, alternative licensing for teachers, residency requirements for BOEE licenses and use of school district management levy for teacher recruitment. (Eligible for Senate floor debate)

SF 2369 Governor’s K-12 school transparency bill, including language regarding teacher librarians and civics exams (Eligible for Senate floor debate) (House companion bill is HSB 672 in House Appropriations Committee, similar HF 2498 pertaining to teacher librarians and eligible for House floor debate; and similar to HF 2499 in House Appropriations Committee)

Highlights of policy bills that died:

HF 2418 Civics exam

HF 2500 Online alternative teacher preparation program

SF 2312 Public land acquisition restrictions

Upcoming Dates

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

UNI Day at the Capitol! Monday was such a great day with everyone from UNI coming together to showcase who we are and what we do. Below are some photos from the very successful day.

Thursday, the Revenue Estimating Conference met and lowered the state’s FY 2023 revenue estimate by $54 million from the December estimate, which is a decrease of $15 million from FY 2022. The Governor and the Legislature are required to abide by this March estimate for FY 2023 since the estimate is lower than the December estimate. The REC took a first look at FY 2024 and estimated a decrease of $196.4 million or -2.1% as compared to estimated FY 2023. This estimate includes the tax changes passed earlier this year. The REC was established as a way to arrive at consensus on the state General Fund revenue estimates to be used by both the Governor and Legislature for the budget process.

The following bills had floor or committee action this week:

HF 2493 PARA-EDUCATORS TO SUBSTITUTE TEACH. Sent to Governor

• Codifies current allowance under the Governor’s emergency Covid proclamation to allow para-educators to continue to substitute teach through the 2021-2022 K-12 school year.

HF 2081 PRAXIS TEST. Passed House, in Senate Education Committee (Senate subcommittee recommends passage)

• Eliminates the Praxis test requirements for teacher candidates to get their teaching license at the end of their teacher preparation program.

HF 2495 POSTSECONDARY SCHOLARSHIPS. Passed House, in Senate Education Committee (Senate subcommittee recommends passage)

• If moneys are appropriated, the college student aid commission shall develop and administer a scholarship program to provide scholarships to individuals with intellectual, developmental, or learning disabilities who are at least eighteen years of age and who are enrolled in a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program that has been approved by the United States department of education, to help offset the cost associated with the tuition and fees (i.e. UI REACH).

HF 2461 RANSOMWARE. Passed House, in Senate Commerce Committee (Senate subcommittee recommends amendment and passage)

• Allows some recourse in the case of a ransomware attack.

Next week Friday, March 18, is the legislature’s second self-imposed deadline for policy bills to remain eligible this session. Senate files must pass the Senate and out of a House Committee and House files must pass the House and out of a Senate committee for them to remain eligible this year. This date does not apply to tax, spending and government oversight bills.

Upcoming Dates

March 18 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

The following bills had floor action this week:

HF 2081 PRAXIS TEST. Passed House, in Senate Education Committee

• Eliminates the Praxis test requirements for teacher candidates to get their teaching license at the end of their teacher preparation program.

HF 2398 TEACHING LICENSE RENEWALS. Passed House, in Senate Education Committee

• No renewal requirement for a practitioner who has been employed as a practitioner for at least ten years and who possesses a master’s or doctoral degree, unless the practitioner holds an evaluator approval endorsement, which must be renewed at least once every ten years.
• Requires continuing background checks every five years for practitioners who are not subject to these renewal requirements. Allows the BOEE to charge a reasonable fee for these background checks.
• Adds charter schools and private schools to background checks.

HF 2495 POSTSECONDARY SCHOLARSHIPS. Passed House, in Senate Education Committee

• If moneys are appropriated, the college student aid commission shall develop and administer a scholarship program to provide scholarships to individuals with intellectual, developmental, or learning disabilities who are at least eighteen years of age and who are enrolled in a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program that has been approved by the United States department of education, to help offset the cost associated with the tuition and fees (i.e. UI REACH).

HF 2416 TRANSGENDER ATHLETES. Sent to Governor

• Prohibits transgender girls from participating in female, women’s or girls’ sports in K-12, community colleges and all higher education institutions.

HF 2461 RANSOMWARE. Passed House, in Senate Commerce Committee

• Allows some recourse in the case of a ransomware attack.

HF 2298 NO COVID IMMUNIZATIONS. Passed House, in Senate Judiciary Committee

• Immunization against COVID-19 cannot be required for enrollment in any licensed child care center, elementary or secondary school, or postsecondary school in Iowa.

SF 2325 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. Sent to the Governor

• Moves the repeal of the Iowa Energy Center to 2027 and contains other minor changes requested from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Upcoming Dates

March 7 – UNI Day at the Capitol

March 10 – Revenue Estimating Conference meeting

March 18 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

Floor action in both the House and Senate dominated this week’s activities. Two bills adopted this week and await the Governor’s signature include HF 2317, which cuts individual income taxes, corporate taxes and no longer requires Iowa taxes on retirement income; and SF 183, which allows all governmental entities to use a construction manager-at-risk alternative delivery method for their construction projects, and specifically prohibits Regents universities from using the design-build alternative delivery method.

The House has released their budget targets; we’re still awaiting the Senate’s budget subcommittee targets. The House’s target for the education budget subcommittee, which includes funding for the Department of Education, community colleges, and the Regents institutions, is $31 million more than the current fiscal year, FY 2022. Their target is also $7 million more than the Governor recommended. The House target for the economic development budget bill is $1.5 million more than FY 2022.

March 10^th is the when the Revenue Estimating Conference will hold their March meeting. The REC was established to arrive at consensus the state’s General Fund revenue estimates to be used by both the Governor and Legislature for their budget process. If the REC in their March meeting raises the net General Fund revenue estimate for the subsequent fiscal year, the Governor and Legislature are to use the lower amount estimated in December. If the REC during this meeting lowers the net General Fund revenue estimate for the subsequent fiscal year, then the Governor and Legislature are to use the lower amount.

STATUS OF BILLS OF INTEREST:

HF 2416 TRANSGENDER GIRL ATHLETES. Passed House, eligible for Senate Floor debate

• Prohibits transgender girls from participating in female, women’s or girls’ sports in K-12, community colleges and all higher education institutions (public and private).

HF 2081 PRAXIS TEST. On Monday’s House debate calendar

• Eliminates the Praxis test requirements for teacher candidates to get their teaching license at the end of their teacher preparation program.

HF 2398 TEACHING LICENSE RENEWALS. Eligible for House Floor debate

• No renewal requirements for teacher/administrators (licensed practitioners) with master’s or doctoral degrees.

HF 2421 TEACHER ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY TO LICENSURE. Eligible for House Floor debate

• Creates an alternative pathway to teacher licensure in the Iowa Code. This is similar to the Regents RAPIL program but less coursework is needed. If you have a bachelor’s degree, you will be able to teach in grades 6-12 if you meet the requirements of an endorsement area for the intern teacher license, have at least 3 years of work experience, a copy of an offer for employment from a K-12 school, complete required pedagogy training, complete at least 15 hours of coursework. The coursework and teaching can be at the same time. The intern teacher will be paid. They will work with a teacher leader in the school during co-teaching and planning time. After their one-year teacher intern license, if the K-12 school and the higher education institution who provided the coursework agree, they will recommend the teacher intern for initial licensure with BOEE. The Senate has a similar bill, SF 2202, which also includes changes to the Teach Iowa Scholar program and teacher recruitment incentives.

HF 2500 ONLINE TEACHER CERTIFICATION/ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY TO TEACHER LICENSURE. Eligible for House Floor debate.

• BOEE must issue a temporary initial teaching license to an applicant who has a bachelor’s degree and successfully completes an alternative teacher certification program that includes the required content training in the area in which the applicant seeks to be licensed and pedagogy training. The certification program must operate in at least five states and must have been in operation for at least ten years (i.e. americanboard.org).
• An individual who successfully completes the program and is granted a temporary initial teaching license is authorized to teach the subjects and grade levels that the individual successfully completed during the alternative teacher certification program.
• BOEE must treat an individual who successfully completes this certification program in the same manner as an individual who completes a traditional teacher preparation program and who receives an initial teaching license, including during the process of converting the temporary initial teaching license to a standard teaching license.

HF 2443 SMART CONTRACTS. Passed House, in Senate Judiciary Committee

• The use of distributed ledger technology and smart contracts is allowed within electronic transactions. Creates a way to include these electronic transactions for recording purposes (i.e. county recorders offices for real estate).

HF 2298 NO COVID IMMUNIZATIONS. Eligible for House Floor debate

• Immunization against COVID-19 cannot be required for enrollment in any licensed child care center, elementary or secondary school, or postsecondary school in Iowa.

SF 2250 GUNS AT WORK. Eligible for Senate Floor debate

• Allows a person to carry, transport, or possess firearms in their locked cars in employee parking lots.

HF 2039 REGENTS ATHLETICS PLAY EACH OTHER IN ALL SPORTS. Died in the House Education Committee

• The bill would have required all three Regent institutions to play each other in all athletic sports.

OTHER BILLS WE ARE MONITORING:

HF 2493/SF 2291 Para-educators to substitute teach; codifies current allowance under the Governor’s emergency Covid proclamation. Eligible for both House and Senate Floor debate

HF 2418 Social studies and civics instruction. Eligible for House Floor debate.

HF 2498 Teacher librarians/special ed/open enrollment. Eligible for House Floor debate.

HF 2499 K-12 library books/social studies and civics instruction. Eligible for House Floor debate.

SF 2349 Governor’s education bill/school choice/social studies and civics instruction/teacher librarians/special ed/open enrollment. Eligible for Senate Floor debate

Upcoming Dates

March 7 – UNI Day at the Capitol

March 18 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

It’s the first funnel day at the Iowa Legislature. The funnel day means Senate policy bills need to come out of a Senate committee and House policy bills need to come out of a House committee for it to remain eligible for debate this legislative session. This date does not apply to tax, spending and government oversight bills.

There was a flurry of activity this week as subcommittees and committees worked into the late hours to get bills out of committee to meet this deadline. Once the dust settles over the coming weekend, I’ll have a better idea of what policy bills that apply to UNI are eligible for debate. However, please remember that nothing is ever completely dead. Bills can be attached as amendments to other bills.

This coming week will encompass a lot of floor debate. Bills that have passed one chamber need to pass out of a committee in the other chamber by March 18 for that policy bill to remain eligible this session. This is called the second funnel day. Again, this date also does not apply to tax, spending and government oversight bills.

Bills of interest to UNI that have passed today’s funnel day include the following bills:

HF 2081 PRAXIS TEST. A bill for an act relating to teachers, including the assessments administered to practitioner preparation program admission candidates and to practitioner preparation program students prior to students’ completion of a practitioner preparation program, and certain specified licenses for teachers created by the board of educational examiners, and including notice and applicability provisions (eligible for House Floor debate)

HF 2298 NO COVID IMMUNIZATIONS. A bill for an act relating to immunization against COVID-19 requirements for enrollment in any licensed child care center, elementary or secondary school, or postsecondary school in Iowa (eligible for House Floor debate)

HF 2398 TEACHING LICENSE RENEWALS. A bill for an act relating to renewal requirements for licenses issued by the board of educational examiners to practitioners with master’s or doctoral degrees (eligible for House Floor debate)

HF 2421 TEACHER REQUIREMENTS. A bill for an act relating to education, including requirements related to teacher intern license programs (alternative pathway to licensure) and licenses and authorizations issued by the board of educational examiners (eligible for House Floor debate)

HF 2443 SMART CONTRACTS. A bill for an act relating to contract enforceability regarding smart contracts and distributed ledger technology (eligible for House Floor debate)

SF 183 PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTS. A bill for an act relating to a construction manager-at-risk commercial construction alternative delivery method and prohibiting certain other alternative delivery methods in the public sector (prohibits Regents to use design build) and including effective date and applicability provisions (Passed Senate; eligible for House Floor debate)

SF 2202 TEACHER ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY TO LICENSURE. A bill for an act relating to education, including eligibility for grants under the teach Iowa scholar program, licenses issued by the board of educational examiners, and the use of revenues from the district management levy, and including applicability provisions (eligible for Senate Floor debate)

SF 2250 GUNS AT WORK. A bill for an act relating to the carrying, transportation, or possession of firearms on real property comprising a person’s place of employment (eligible for Senate Floor debate)

SF 2342 TRANSGENDER ATHLETES. A bill for an act relating to student eligibility requirements in school district, accredited nonpublic school, charter school, community college, and regent institution athletics based on sex (eligible for Senate Floor debate)

Upcoming Dates

March 7 – UNI Day at the Capitol

March 18 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

Five weeks of the legislative session are done and new bills continue to be filed daily for consideration. This link will provide a complete list of bills the Board of Regents are tracking that affect higher education: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/lobbyist/reports/declarations (in the box marked as lobbyist, type in Mary Braun).

This week was shorter as lawmakers stayed home on Monday to participate in the Iowa Caucuses that evening. The rest of the was filled with a lot of subcommittee and committee work on policy bills. Wednesday was STEM Day at the Capitol. There were students from across the state showcasing their STEM projects to lawmakers. Governor Reynolds and four lawmakers gave remarks. A big thank you to the UNI employees who work for the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council for all their work in putting this event together every year.

Next Friday is the Legislature’s first funnel date, when Senate policy bills need to come out of a Senate committee and House policy bills need to come out of a House committee to remain eligible for debate this legislative session. This date does not apply to tax, spending and government oversight bills. After Feb. 18 we’ll have a better sense of which bills are still alive that would have implications for UNI.

Any work by the lawmakers on the budget bills is happening behind the scenes. No budget bills that pertain to UNI have been introduced to date.

Upcoming Dates

February 18 – First Funnel – Bills not reported out of their originating committee by this date are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

March 7 – UNI Day at the Capitol

March 18 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

New bills continue to be filed daily for consideration. This link will provide a complete list of bills the Board of Regents are tracking: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/lobbyist/reports/declarations (in the box marked as lobbyist, type in Mary Braun).

This week was again filled with subcommittee and committee work on policy bills. The bill adjusting the Regents Alternative Pathway to Iowa Licensure (RAPIL) program for students who already hold a bachelors degree or higher has passed out of the Senate Education Committee. SF 2202 puts the teacher intern license for grades 6-12 from the Department of Education and Board of Educational Examiners rules into the Iowa Code. Currently, our program is within the DE and BOEE administrative rules. The main difference between the bill and current rules is the bill requires at least 15 additional hours of coursework while the current RAPIL program requires 28 credits. The bill requires the student to already have a bachelors degree or higher, at least three years work experience, complete the required pedagogy training, have a copy of an offer of employment from a school and work under the supervision of a teacher leader, including during co-teaching and planning time. After completion of the program, the school and the teacher preparation program recommend an initial teaching license for the student. The House will start work on their teacher intern license bill, HSB 632, next week.

The House had a subcommittee on HF 2158 relating to substitute authorizations for student teachers. At the subcommittee meeting we informed committee members that this bill is already contained in BOEE rules IAC 282.22.2. Anyone 21 and older who has received a minimum of an associate’s degree or 60 semester hours of college coursework and meets the other requirements under the BOEE rules, including passing a background check, can get their substitute authorization. We also reminded them that student teachers who substitute, those days do not count towards the law saying they need a full-time experience for a minimum of 14 weeks in duration during the teacher candidate’s final year of the teacher preparation program. We do not believe the bill will have any further consideration.

The Legislature’s first funnel date, when Senate policy bills need to come out of a Senate committee and House policy bills need to come out of a House committee to remain eligible for debate this legislative session, is coming up on February 18. This date does not apply to tax, spending and government oversight bills.

Upcoming Dates

February 18 – First Funnel – Bills not reported out of their originating committee by this date are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

March 7 – UNI Day at the Capitol

March 18 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

New bills continue to be filed daily for consideration. This link will provide a complete list of bills the Board of Regents are tracking: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/lobbyist/reports/declarations (in the box marked as lobbyist, type in Mary Braun).

This week was filled with subcommittee and committee work on policy bills. There was no floor debate in either the House or Senate chambers.

The budget subcommittees have started meeting but not jointly. The Senate budget subcommittees are holding only one meeting per subcommittee this session. All House budget subcommittees are holding their meetings twice a week. The university presidents are not being asked to present to the education budget subcommittee this year.

On Wednesday, January 25, Randy Pilkington, Executive Director of BCS, and Jerry Thiel, Director of the Metal Casting Center and Foundry 4.0 Center, presented UNI’s budget request to the House Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee. BCS programs that receive state funding include the Metal Casting Center, Foundry 4.0 Center, Advance Iowa, Family Business Center and the Institute for Decision Making.

The Legislature’s first funnel date, when Senate policy bills need to come out of a Senate committee and House policy bills need to come out of a House committee to remain eligible for debate this legislative session, is coming up on February 18. This date does not apply to tax, spending and government oversight bills.

Upcoming Dates

February 18 – First Funnel – Bills not reported out of their originating committee by this date are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

March 7 – UNI Day at the Capitol

March 18 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.

The Legislature was not in session on Monday in remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The remainder of the week was spent in legislative committee and subcommittee meetings.

New bills are being filed daily for consideration. As of today, the Board of Regents are registered on 49 bills for this legislative session.  This link will provide a complete list of bills we are tracking: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/lobbyist/reports/declarations (in the box marked as lobbyist, type in Mary Braun).

On Thursday, the House Education Committee unanimously amended and passed HSB 520. The bill, as amended, eliminates the requirement for students to pass an exit teacher preparation program examination (for UNI it’s the Praxis II test). The bill also requires UNI to let former students who didn't pass the test know they can apply for an initial license from the Board of Educational Examiners if the student completed all other requirements. The bill applies to all 32 teacher preparation programs in Iowa. If the standardized tests were eliminated, UNI would determine what was needed to do to have a valid end of program assessment that would not be constrained by requirements of having a nationally-normed, standardized exam. Removing the tests does not change UNI’s rigorous teacher prep program for students to achieve their bachelor degree to teach. The bill is now eligible for full House floor debate.

Upcoming Dates

January 25 – Randy Pilkington, Executive Director of BCS, and Jerry Thiel, Director of the Metal Casting Center and Foundry 4.0 Center, will present UNI’s budget requests to the House Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee

February 18 – First Funnel – Bills not reported out of their originating committee by this date are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

March 7 – UNI Day at the Capitol

March 18 – Second Funnel – House bills not passed out of Senate committees and Senate bills not passed out of House committees are no longer eligible for consideration (does not apply to budget, tax or oversight bills)

April 19 – 100th Calendar Day (lawmaker per diem expenses end)

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.