Do you think it`s true that good and bad things come in threes? Well it certainly seemed that way this week in the Iowa Legislature, where it was the second "funnel" week of the session. By today all bills not dealing with spending or taxing have to pass out of their originating chamber and out of committee in the other chamber to remain alive. This eliminates many bills!
We had three disappointments related to our legislative agenda:
(1) The bill to legalize online poker was brought up for debate in the Senate. An amendment requiring that all casinos applying for the new license be smoke free was offered by Sens. Bob Dvorsky (D-Iowa City) and Randy Feenstra (R-Orange City). Unfortunately the amendment was determined to be not relevant (germane) to the bill so was not even debated. The House did not take the bill up so it is now dead for the session. The stand-alone bills eliminating the casino smoking exemption died earlier in the session, so it seems likely this issue will not be addressed this session.
(2) The education reform bill was passed in the House this week. The massive bill had dozens of amendments, most of which were defeated. One of those amendments, offered by Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (D-Des Moines), would have required that all K-12 school property be tobacco and nicotine free. That amendment was ruled not relevant, so Rep. Abdul-Samad requested that the House suspend the rules to consider the amendment. That motion failed, so the amendment was not considered.
(3) A bill sponsored by Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, establishing a consumer-friendly health insurance exchange was eligible for consideration in the Senate but was not brought up for debate by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. It now seems almost certain that the Legislature will not pass legislation establishing an exchange this year.
Luckily we also have some good news!
(1) The K-12 tobacco-free school requirement is part of the Senate education reform bill. This bill will likely end up in conference committee where we will urge members to include it.
(2) A number of House and Senate leaders have pledged that funding for tobacco prevention and cessation will be restored in Health & Human Resources appropriations bill. We are hopeful that will happen and will continue to work to see that it does.
(3) Sixty high school students from across the state came to the Capitol on Tuesday and made their voices heard on tobacco-related issues. All costs associated with this youth advocacy day were covered by the Iowa Tobacco Prevention Alliance. The kids did a great job. They were articulate advocates for public investment in tobacco prevention and cessation!
As always, feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns - peggy.huppert@cancer.org.
