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Greetings!
Not a lot to report this week as the House and Senate only met for a brief time. House leaders sent members home Tuesday night unless they were part of a committee. They were not in session on Wednesday or Thursday. The Senate didn't meet on Thursday but Appropriations chairs, leaders and budget chairs met in respective meetings to hash out deals. After talking to key members, it appears negotiations are not going very well. We know preschool, allowable growth and taxes are all hot topics! The Senate is planning on business as usual next week. I believe the House plans to have members there on Monday.
If you recall, the House has passed major appropriations bills and the Senate has yet to take many of them to the floor for debate. The plan is to have a deal in place before the Senate takes the remaining bills to the floor.
The Senate Appropriations Committee did meet on Monday, April 25th and passed an amendment to HF 649, the HHS approps bill. There is a NOBA which I find helpful to see the differences between the House bill and the Senate amendment. Some items that might be of interest to you are:
I am sure many of you are wondering about preschool. All I know is that preschool is part of the negotiations. I don't know how things will end up but will keep you posted and let you know any updates as soon as I do. Stay in touch ~ Sheila |
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RESOURCES
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NIEER Releases 2010 Yearbook
The State of Preschool 2010: State Preschool Yearbook
In the 2009-2010 school year, the effects of the recession became fully apparent despite federal government aid to the states for education. Total enrollment barely increased over the prior year. Total spending by the states decreased, and per-child spending declined in inflation-adjusted dollars. Check out info on Iowa here.
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Bills of Interest
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SF 525 - Reorganizing the state mental health system in Human Services Committee. -passed Senate on 4/20.
SF 404 - -An act relating to health information technology. Passed Senate March 15th.
SF 295 - An Act relating to donation of newborn umbilical cord blood. Subcommittee, Bolkcom, Boettger, and Jochum. Passed Senate on March 14th.
SF 31 - An Act increasing the amount of the earned income tax credit and including retroactive applicability provisions. Passed out of subcommittee on 2/10.
SF 113 - pay day loan institutions - reducing interest rate to 36%. Passed Subcommittee 2/24. On to full Committee
SF 508 - An Act relating to state and local financial matters by revising certain appropriations and appropriating federal funds made available from federal block grants and other non state sources, allocating portions of federal block -passed both Houses
HF 645 - An Act relating to the funding of, the operation of, and appropriation of moneys to the college student aid commission, the department for the blind, the department of education.
HF 649 - An Act relating to and making appropriations for health and human services and including other related provisions and appropriations, and including effective, retroactive, and applicability date provisions
NEW:
HF 626 - An Act relating to county and state responsibilities for mental health, mental retardation, and developmental disabilities services for adults and children, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions.
 Bills Signed By Governor:
HF 562 - an act relating to the child abuse registry. 4/6/11
HF 45 - An Act relating to public funding and regulatory matters and making, reducing, and transferring appropriations and revising fund amounts and including effective, retroactive, and other applicability date provision. 3/1/11. SF 209 - increases the state earned income tax credit, creates a new tax relief fund, coupling and bonus depreciation language. Governor vetoed portions of bill. 4/21. SF 482 - makes proposed technical changes. Includes provisions on child care resource and referral agencies. 4/28 |
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Quote
"Children, after all, are not just adults-in-the-making. They are people whose current needs and rights and experiences must be taken seriously."
Alfie Kohn
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Child Health Update
by Carrie Fitzgerald
On child-only health insurance plans in Iowa, I'm afraid I have bad news. At this point it is my understanding that there are NO insurance companies selling child-only plans in Iowa anymore. Two weeks ago I told you there were two companies still selling those plans, but after families contacted those companies to purchase plans and were turned down, the Iowa Insurance Division confirmed that these companies are NOT selling the plans after all. Like you, I am greatly disappointed in this news since it means that unless a child is eligible for hawk-i or Medicaid in Iowa, there is no option to get them individual coverage, at least to my knowledge. The plan now is for companies to sell child-only plans during an open enrollment period from July 1st until August 14th. However until that time, I don't have a solution for a family who wants to purchase an individual plan for a child. I'm very sorry.
Last, it's with a mix of sadness and excitement that I let you all know that I am leaving my position at CFPC on May 13th. I am going to a new position at First Focus in Washington, DC with a start date of May 31st. At First Focus I will continue to work on health policy issues as they relate to children at the national and state levels. Naturally I intend to rely on what I have learned from all of you as we worked together to improve children's health policies in Iowa over the last five years. Thank you again and again for your help as together we were able to get 60,000 more kids covered with health care coverage in Iowa since 2007.
Hopefully I will be around and available for questions and comments until the END of this legislative session, fingers crossed (they won't go past May 13th , will they?). Before I move on, I will be sure to send out my new contact information in DC.
Thanks all and a good weekend to everyone.
Carrie
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