President Barack Obama used a visit to Iowa on Earth Day to announce that his administration is establishing a program to authorize for the first time the leasing of federal waters for projects to generate electricity from wind as well as from ocean currents and other renewable sources.
"This will open the door to major investments in offshore clean energy," Obama said. "For example, there is enormous interest in wind projects off the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware, and today's announcement will enable these projects to move forward."
The program being established through the U.S. Department of Interior will develop the renewable-energy projects on the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable the nation to tap into the ocean's sustainable resources to generate clean energy.
In a three-hour visit Wednesday, Obama toured and then spoke to an invitation-only crowd of about 200 at Trinity Structural Towers in Newton, the former Maytag appliance factory that now houses a green manufacturing facility producing towers for wind-energy production and employing dozens of former Maytag employees.
Richard Mulbrook of Trinity Structural Towers said that it's good to know the company's hard work hasn't gone unnoticed. Mulbrook used to work for Maytag before the plant closed in October 2007 and is now the maintenance manager at Trinity.
"I remember when I got let go from Maytag and the plant was closing," Mulbrook said. "It was a tough day for Newton. I worked there for 22 years, and I wasn't really sure what I was going to do afterwards. Out of the blue Trinity showed up. And Trinity, in real fashion, they came in here and made it happen in a very short time. We had some hope. We had a new beginning."
The Iowa legislature shut down much of the day Wednesday so Democrats could attend the event. Among those present were U.S. Representative Leonard Boswell, Governor Chet Culver, First Lady Mari Culver, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack, Vilsack Chief of Staff John Norris, Senate President Jack Kibbie, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Michael Kiernan, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, Secretary of State Michael Mauro, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, state Senators Jack Kibbie, Bob Dvorsky, and Dennis Black, and state Representatives Tyler Olson and Ako Abdul-Samad.
Obama said his budget invests $15 billion each year for 10 years to develop clean energy, including wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, and clean-coal technology. He said if the nation fully pursues its potential for wind energy on land and offshore, wind can generate as much as 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030, creating as many as 250,000 jobs in the process.
Obama also said he believes that putting a cap on carbon pollution would be another step toward encouraging cleaner and renewable energy sources. "And in this way, every company can determine for itself whether it makes sense to spend the money to become cleaner or more efficient, or to spend the money on a certain amount of allowable pollution," he said.
Senate Passes Changes to Iowa's Sex-Offender Rules
Some Republican and Democratic senators exchanged hugs Thursday night after months of work behind closed doors to change Iowa's controversial law that prevents sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools and day cares. The legislation was met with unanimous approval by the Iowa Senate.
"This bill is an example of what is good in politics," said Senator Pat Ward (R-West Des Moines). "Democrats and Republicans have come together and worked to improve the 2,000-foot rule that applies to sex offenders. This is 2,000-foot plus. It's smarter, it's tougher, and it's safer than current law.
"This bill restricts where a sex offender is at all times, not just where they sleep at night," Ward said. "We're adding 16 hours of restrictions to each sex offender's day - restrictions on where they can go and what they do. ... As a parent, I believe that our kids and our grandkids will live in a safer state as a result of this law. One of the primary roles of government is to provide for the safety of the people. This bill does just that."
Senate File 340 would classify sex offenders into three tiers and prohibit sex offenders from working, loitering, or being present within 300 feet of "exclusionary zones," or areas where children frequent such as schools, child-care centers, playgrounds, arcades, pools, and fairs. Under the bill, the 2,000-foot law would apply only to sex offenders who have committed the worst offenses against children. The legislation is intended to bring Iowa into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act.
Senate passage of the bill was ushered in by Culver, who after weeks of silence on the issue lent his support to the bill Thursday. As of Friday morning, the House had yet to vote on the bill.
Earlier in the week, more than a dozen Iowa county sheriffs and deputies testified at a public hearing that Iowa's 2,000-foot rule has forced sex offenders underground. They said changes proposed in Senate File 340 would give law enforcement practical tools to better protect Iowa's children.
"We all agree this is a top priority," said Appanoose County Sheriff Gary Anderson, president of the Iowa Sheriff's & Deputies Association. He said when he takes his children to the park and sees a sex offender, "I feel like I'm victimizing my own children. We leave the park. Shouldn't the sex offender be the one who leaves the park?"
Sale of Liquor in Convenience Stores Stirs Debate
The question of whether to allow Iowa convenience stores to more easily sell hard liquor has stirred a surprising, emotional end-of-session debate in the Iowa legislature that's been likened to past debates about another vice - gambling.
Representative Jodi Tymeson (R-Winterset) compared the issue to TouchPlay, the devices resembling slot machines that four years ago ended up in bars, convenience stores, grocery stores, and restaurants across the state. Lawmakers eventually ended up banning the devices. "For any of you that are wondering whether Iowans are going to like hard liquor in convenience stores, I just ask you to reflect back on how much they liked having TouchPlay machines in convenience stores," she said.
The liquor issue was brought up this week by the Iowa Senate as an amendment to House File 809, the administration and regulation budget bill. Convenience stores can only sell hard liquor if they install a separate door, a walled-off section, a separate cash register, and a separate person ringing up liquor sales.
Under the Senate amendment, liquor could be sold just like any other merchandise on convenience-store shelves. But on Thursday, the Iowa House rejected that change on a 63-24 vote.
"One of the problems that I see we have in urban communities, and particularly poor communities, minority communities, is the fact that there is an abundance of alcohol, beer, various liquors," said Representative Deborah Berry (D-Waterloo). "To me, by making it easier, I do believe that we are going to see an increase in alcoholism among our young people, an increase in communities that are already distressed. Look at the human capital side of this."
But Representative Steve Lukan (R-New Vienna) said convenience stores should make the choice for themselves whether they want to sell hard liquor. He said many state actions, such as the increase in the cigarette tax, have worked against these businesses.
"This is about keeping businesses open in a lot of places," he said. "We've done an awful lot to weigh down small-business people in this state. I'm not a super big fan of drinking, but I come from a small-business background. I know how hard it is to keep those places open and keep those places going."
Representative Doug Struyk (R-Council Bluffs) called the Senate move to more openly sell liquor in convenience stores "a brave thing" and noted how those stores already sell beer, wine, lottery tickets, and other things that you must be 18 or 21 to buy. He compared the issue to only allowing floating casinos.
"Convenience stores do an awful lot of age-regulated things, and they're able to handle that," Struyk said. "All we're doing is removing a fallacy. We're removing the waterbed underneath the casinos ... We were living on a pipe dream there of having gaming only on water. Thinking that a convenience store is more able to regulate people buying hard alcohol because they have a separate cash register and a door is the same fallacy."
The issue appears dead for the year. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) said later Thursday that given the vote in the House, he doesn't plan to spend a lot of time trying revive the issue.
Democratic Leaders Tell Schools to Stop Issuing Pink Slips
Iowa Democratic legislative leaders on Thursday called on school administrators across the state to immediately stop sending out pink slips to teachers, saying that federal stimulus money will be used to to fill budget gaps and prevent these layoffs.
"Help is on the way," Gronstal said. "Use the stimulus funds as directed to fix your budget shortfalls and prevent teacher layoffs. Now is not the time to dismantle Iowa's schools."
House Speaker Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque) said a portion of the $386 million that Iowa received from the federal-stimulus package for education will be used to fully fund 4-percent allowable growth for the 2009-10 school year.
"We will get through these tough times, and we will do it without harming the educational progress of our children," Murphy said. "Most children get only one chance to be a third-grader. We are working together to help each child make the most of that opportunity."
One district, Cardinal of Eldon in southeast Iowa, sent out pink slips to 23 of its 51 teachers. "You heard that right," Gronstal said. "The district sent out pink slips to nearly 50 percent of its teachers. This is outrageous. In the next few days, we will vote to direct large amounts of stimulus dollars to public education."
The Democrats also cited more than a dozen other school districts that are threatening to fire a large number of their staff: Bettendorf, Central City, Grinnell, Independence, Clinton, Columbus Junction, River Valley, Sac City, Sibley, Solon, Knoxville, Battle Creek, and Wall Lake.
But Larry Sigel, school-finance director for the Iowa Association of School Boards, defended school districts' actions. He said by law, pink slips must be sent out by April 30, or teachers' contracts are automatically renewed. On average, about 80 percent of a school district's budget is used to pay for personnel.
Sigel said that while lawmakers plan to fully fund allowable growth, that doesn't necessarily mean an increase in money for every school district, because the money is distributed per pupil.
Last fall, 249 (69 percent) of Iowa's school districts reported a decrease in certified enrollment, according to the Iowa Department of Education. Even with 4-percent allowable growth, more than 100 districts are on the state's budget guarantee, which has helped to keep shrinking districts afloat.
"We're very thankful for 4 percent in this economic climate," Sigel said. "But federal stimulus just supplants state dollars. It doesn't address declining enrollment. It's not a silver bullet."
Right to Sue for Consumer Fraud Sent to Governor
In a matter of hours, a bill that would allow Iowa victims of consumer fraud to sue was approved 95-1 by the Iowa House and 48-0 by the Senate, sending it to the governor's desk. Should he sign the bill, Iowa would join the rest of the nation in allowing such lawsuits.
AARP said it was disappointed in the watered-down version of House File 712, which the group said is not as powerful and has protections that are too limited. However, the group representing Iowa's elders said passage of the bill will still provide a significant increase in protection for Iowa consumers and removes Iowa's dubious 10-year distinction of being the only state that does not allow consumers to have an individual legal remedy against consumer fraud.
A statement from the organization read: "Specifically, AARP continues to express our long-stated concerns with the number of industries exempted and shielded from action in the bill passed today. We are particularly concerned about the insurance industry and the recent decision seemingly out of the blue to add the cable industry to the exempted groups. AARP will be vigilant in monitoring the effects of these exemptions on consumers."
This weekly summary comes from IowaPolitics.com, an online government and politics news service. IowaPolitics.com staff contributed to this report.
