Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Five

The pace continued during week 5 with 164 bills scheduled for consideration in Committees and 165 scheduled for subcommittee discussions. Next week is funnel week - which means bills must be considered in a subcommittee and pass the Committee by next Friday. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule. Although based on the large numbers of bills moving through Committees, it doesn’t seem like many bills are actually getting “funneled”. 

Budget discussions continued on Monday. The meetings are interesting because presenters highlight important programs in the State for which they are responsible. Both the House and Senate held meetings. In the Senate Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee, Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham discussed economic development in the state. Director Durham's presentation which can be found here, contains many interesting statistics. In her discussion on workforce Durham indicated the state is moving in a positive direction citing the fact that wage growth is up 5.7%, Iowa has the 6th highest labor force participation in the U.S., and we have recovered 179,300 jobs since the pandemic. As Durham discussed housing, she emphasized the fact that Iowa is the number one state for millennial home ownership and has the lowest income-to-mortgage ratio in the U.S. 

Electric Utilities. Two bills were filed this week that to varying degrees reflect the recommendations of the Iowa Utilities Board’s study on ratemaking principles for rate-regulated utilities conducted over the interim. The IUB’s consultant, London Economics International, LLC made recommendations in a report that can be found here. 

• HSB 658 - This bill, requested by House Commerce Chairperson Shannon Lundgren, has several components. It allows advance ratemaking principles to be applied to energy storage facilities and allows investor-owned utilities to seek ratemaking approval for generating facilities greater than 40 megawatts. Current law is 300 MW. Alternate energy production facilities, energy storage facilities or significant alterations to existing plants can also be the subject of advance ratemaking. 

The bill allows the Iowa Utilities Board to require an integrated resource plan as a condition of advance ratemaking approval. It requires the IUB to conduct further review of performance-based regulation frameworks and various components to ensure utility services are safe, adequate, reliable and affordable and provided at nondiscriminatory, just, and reasonable rates based on cost of service. The report would be due on October 1, 2026. 

The House Subcommittee which met on Thursday moved the bill forward with an amendment that in addition to some technical changes, declares that it is the intent of the General Assembly to “encourage the development of nuclear electric power generation within the state using nuclear reactors and to use nuclear power to meet local and regional electric needs. 

• SF 2244 - This bill is sponsored by Senator Mike Klimesh, who is also Chair of the subcommittee which meets next Tuesday. A utility is prohibited from setting a different rate for a customer of the same service class unless the utility shows a measurable difference in the cost of providing service. 

The bill requires rate-regulated electric utilities to file an integrated resource plan (IRP) within one year of enactment. IRP approval is conducted as a contested case proceeding. The IRP is required to include all utility facilities and resources for the provision of electric service, all contractual arrangements including demand response, energy efficiency measures, peak load management, distributed generation, power purchase agreements and wholesale market purchases. The plan must describe all current generation, transmission and distribution facilities. The IRP must include projected demand for service by customer class and characteristic load shape and proposed facilities and resources to meet the demand over the next ten years. The IRP is a very comprehensive look at the utilities resources both now and for the future. 

Behavioral Health Redesign.  The much discussed Department of Health and Human Services behavioral health reform initiative will result in a comprehensive change to Iowa’s mental health and behavioral health system. For more information, click here. As part of this redesign,  DHHS has posted snapshots of each county in the state and one for the overall state which identifies life expectancy and ranks counties, access to care, mental health, addictive disorders, economic stability and income, housing and transportation and healthy behaviors and outcomes. This information can be found here. 

HSB 653 and SSB 3146, the proposed Governor’s bills, were filed this week. The House bill passed a subcommittee on Thursday. The senate has a subcommittee planned for Monday.  The bills provide for the transition to be complete by July 1, 2025. 

For more information on this initiative, Director Kelly Garcia and additional DHHS staff will hold two Town Hall meetings next Tuesday, February 13 at 10am and 2:30pm. 

• Tuesday, February 13 at 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  -  Register in advance for this webinar: 
  https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_83JbLsgISvaaIdm2oKZhVg 
   
• Tuesday, February 13 at 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 pm -  Register in advance for this webinar: 
  https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_wB7-HhW9RJidY-o5eKSiRA 

Once registered, you'll receive a confirmation email with the link to the townhall. 

In the Know  

The first legislative session was held in 1846. The session lasted 57 days, commencing on November 30 and adjourning sine die on February 25. The longest session on record was in 1978 when the legislature started on January 9 and adjourned an amazing 188 days later on July 15. The original Iowa Constitution, which was adopted in 1857, required the general assembly to meet in session every other year on the second Monday of January. The original Iowa Constitution is located in the Secretary of State’s Office in the Capitol Building. 

Legislative Forums  

While many lawmakers hold forums in their districts year-round, it’s especially important for them to hear from constituents when they’re making decisions during the legislative session.  The events listed below are opportunities to get involved. You can also find these events on BrownWinick’s Iowa Political Events page.   

Key Dates — 2024 Iowa Legislative Session 

Scene on the Hill  

February 8, 2024: BrownWinick GR client Kim Pang meets with lawmakers including Rep. Sharon Steckman.