BW INSIGHTS

2019 Legislative Session - Week 4

By BrownWinick | 02.11.2019

Once again, legalized sports betting is top of minds for Iowa legislators. Over the course of two two-hour hearings on eight different sports betting bills (HSB101, HSB102, HSB103, HSB124 SSB1080, SSB1081, SSB1079, and SSB1100), House and Senate lawmakers heard pitches from the Iowa Lottery, casinos, and sports leagues about who should regulate,... Read More

HF 193 Has Been Introduced in the Iowa Legislature

By BrownWinick | 02.06.2019

HF 193 has been introduced in the Iowa Legislature. It prohibits any “wind generation facility” or “wind energy conversion property” from being located within 2500 feet of any residence. It is an important and far reaching bill despite its brevity. The bill incorporates the definitions of these terms found in Iowa Code sections 476C.1 and 427B.26.... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 3

By BrownWinick | 02.04.2019

Despite the blast of arctic air hitting Iowa Wednesday, lawmakers didn’t miss a day of work this week. So far, legislators have filed roughly 560 bills. On average, at least 2,000 bills are introduced each session. As expected, the main order of business on Monday was the House debate on whether to seat Rep. Michael Bergan (R-Dorchester). He won... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 2

By BrownWinick | 02.01.2019

Despite having less time due to the MLK Day holiday, lawmakers significantly picked up their pace for the second week of the 2019 legislative session. With each chamber filing more than 100 bills between Tuesday and Friday, there are now at least 350 measures up for consideration. Meanwhile, Rep. Michael Bergan (R-Dorchester) is one step closer to... Read More

Financing Renewable Energy Projects

By BrownWinick | 01.29.2019

BrownWinick's Energy Practice Group is proud to have been asked to contribute to the Iowa Chapter for the new American Bar Association treatise on Financing Renewable Energy Projects: A Global Analysis and Review of Related Power Purchase Agreements. It is a valuable resource for developers seeking to develop projects anywhere in the world. This... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 1

By BrownWinick | 01.25.2019

Monday, January 14th marked the first day of the 2019 legislative session as thirty-one new lawmakers were sworn-in to office. Republicans maintained their “trifecta” with Governor Reynolds’ November victory and their retained majorities in the Iowa Senate and House. The Senate Republicans increased their caucus by three seats as they now have 32... Read More

The Struggle is Real: Collecting Payments for Nursing Home Care

By BrownWinick | 01.18.2019

In recent years, we have seen an increase in nursing homes struggling to obtain payment for care provided to residents. Certainly, Iowa’s elimination of the 90-day retroactivity for Medicaid coverage (which has now been reinstated for nursing home care) contributed to this to some extent, but the problem seems to occur more frequently than ever.... Read More

Iowa DOT Issues Report on Electric Vehicles

By BrownWinick | 01.10.2019

On December 31, 2018, the Iowa DOT released a report analyzing the potential effect of electric vehicles on the Road Use Tax Fund in Iowa. Because these vehicles use no gasoline, they do not pay the state fuel tax. The number of electric vehicles is relatively small at this time, so the impact on the Road Use Tax Fund is not immediately... Read More

Principal Trademark Registration vs. Supplemental Trademark Registration

By BrownWinick | 11.08.2018

Prosecuting a trademark at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is one of the most strict administrative proceedings in the world. The USPTO is very active in examining applications and is constantly policing the trademark registers. Yes, that says registers, as in plural. There is actually more than one register available to those... Read More

State Health Facilities Council Update - October 24, 2018

By BrownWinick | 10.25.2018

The State Health Facilities Council (the “Council”) met on October 24, 2018, and granted a certificate of need (“CON”) to each of the following projects: • The construction of a 40-bed rehabilitation hospital in Johnson County by Mercy Medical Center and Kindred Healthcare at a cost of $7,508,963. • The construction of a 40-bed rehabilitation... Read More