IOWA CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

Norm Pawlewski – Lobbyist

March 27 – March 31, 2006

TOUCHPLAY – STILL “IN PLAY”

            If you thought that the passage of the “TouchPlay” machine ban, signed into law by the Governor meant the end of the debate on the issue, you were wrong.  S.F. 2747 survived the last funnel and, therefore, is still eligible to be passed into law.  H.F. 2747 would delay the video lottery ban until September 1^st in exchange for agreements not to sue the state.  TouchPlay owners and distributors’ lobbyists are working the Senate side hard to get H.F. 2747 passed.

            If you believe the original 45 days after enactment for removal should stand, then you need to contact Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle, and your own senator as well.  Encourage them to leave the “TouchPlay ban” as is, with no extensions for any reason.  Unless they hear from you like they did for the Senate ban bill that passed 40 to 10 and the House ban bill that passed 80 to 16, the ban could be delayed.  Your contacts changed the dynamic of the TouchPlay debate last month.  It can again. 

            Another bill that needs your attention and action is S.F. 2094, the “Zero-Tolerance Policy for Sexual Predators.”  The bill passed the Senate on a 48 – 0 majority.  The bill, modeled after the “Jessica’s Law” which has passed in a number of states and is being touted by Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, would mandate a minimum prison sentence of 25 years for an adult convicted of a first-time sexual offense against a child age 12 or under.  The 25 years-to-life prison sentence would apply to those age 18 or older that are convicted of lascivious acts with a child, sexual exploitation of a minor, or sexual abuse second degree, with no possibility of parole.  The current maximum prison sentence for lascivious acts with a child is 10 years; sexual exploitation of a minor is 10 years; and sexual abuse in the second degree is 25 years. 

            The bill also would make harboring or protecting a sex offender from law enforcement a class D felony, carrying a maximum five-year prison term and a $7,500 fine.  Currently, there is no specified punishment for knowingly and intentionally withholding or providing false information about a sex offender to law enforcement. 

            Rep. Clel Boudler (R) Dist. 58, Adair, Audubon, Cass and Guthrie Counties and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D) Dist. 67, Polk County, who are chair and ranking member of the House Public Safety Committee, said that while they support the 25-to-life concept in S.F. 2094, “That bill will not be going forward.”  They said that S.F. 2094 had serious policy issues that still need to be addressed and that they have a bill in House Ways and Means Committee that can be used to increase sex offender penalties. 

            The House has been lobbied by the Iowa County Attorneys Association to weaken the bill.  They claim that S.F. 2094 “will seriously harm children.”  They said the bill will lead to more trials and the re-victimization of children, “ which makes recovery from abuse even more difficult,” leads to less reporting of these cases and that drastic changes to the Iowa criminal sentencing scheme “should not be considered until they are studied carefully for their full impact upon the justice system.” 

            If you disagree with the County Attorneys Association and believe stiffer sentences should be mandated for sexual abuse of children, please contact your state representatives to apprise them of your concerns.

            During the second week in February, H.F. 2400 and an identical Senate companion bill, S.F. 2175, were introduced which would require “Newborn Visits” for each household with a newborn for the purpose of assessing the home environment, among other things.  These visits would be at the behest of the state, not an option offered to parents as they are currently in many parts of the state.  Neither of these bills made it through the first funnel date in March.  The sponsor of the House Bill, Rep. Lisa K. Heddens (D) Dist. 46, Boone and Story Counties, and some of her colleagues have introduced a house resolution, H.R. 151, to set up an interim committee to study “Newborn Home Visits.”  The interim committee would meet during the summer.  This is another attempt by the Governor to implement his “French Connection,” a cradle through puberty and beyond intrusion into how Iowans raise their children.  The parents of Iowa neither need nor want big brother observing and grading their child rearing skills.  These socialist ideas are couched in innocuous terms like “early childhood development,” and “newborn assessment.” 

            If the interim committee is approved, we will monitor and report.

            Finally, senators are still haggling over appropriations.  Only two appropriation bills have made it to the Governor’s desk:  Federal Block Grants and Transportation Appropriation.  Nine appropriations bills have passed the House but not the evenly split Senate.  So much for being forced to compromise when nobody has a clear majority.