What to Watch: Week of March 9, 2020

IAC Priority Legislation

On Thursday, March 6, Senate Bill 1339 (Clerk on Magistrate Commission) passed out of the House Judiciary and Rules Committee with a due pass recommendation. It is now on the 3^rd reading calendar awaiting a final vote in the House.

On Friday, March 7, House Bill 463 (Juvenile Pretrial Release) passed out of the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee with a due pass recommendation. It will be filed for a 2^nd reading in the Senate and should receive a vote by the end of the week.

Senate Bill 1268 (Write-in Deadline), Senate Bill 1269 (Security of Ballots), and Senate Bill 1306 (Uncontested City Elections) have navigated the entire bill making process and are simply awaiting Governor Little’s signature.

Other Legislation

IAC and the treasurers have been monitoring House Bill 518 which would require treasurers to include data from the previous tax year on the property tax notice including a break-down of bonds and levies. This bill passed the House a week and a half ago. After reaching out to the bill sponsor, Rep. Ricks agreed to amend the bill to change the requirements to being required to include an insert with the notice providing the information, or to provide a link or QR code to the information on the county website. This is now on its way to the amending order in the Senate.

House Bill 608 was introduced late last week. It could have an impact on transportation funding. The bill would allow government agencies to receive a rebate on sales and use taxes remitted to the state tax commission by contractors who purchase or use road materials on behalf of a governmental agency. We will continue to monitor this legislation.

House Bill 611 is a bill that would restrict regulation of tobacco products and e-cigarettes by local governments if the restrictions are more restrictive than state law. This bill was also introduced late last week. We will monitor this legislation and update the membership as needed.