A theme this week in the Iowa Senate was reducing needless regulations on Iowans, prospective Iowans, and Iowa small businesses.
SF 455 provided relief on over-regulation of storm water by local governments. SF 455 simply says local governments cannot regulate topsoil beyond the standards set by the DNR. This language provides clarity for small businesses working to build affordable housing and avoid the added costs inherent in excessive regulation.
SF 477 removes requirements for doctors in a handful of countries to practice in Iowa without repetitive and duplicative training delaying their ability to work here. Demand for health care professionals is high in all parts of Iowa, especially rural Iowa. This bill is one more policy, in addition to rural emergency health licensing, and medical tort reform, to expand health care availability and control costs across Iowa.
Senate File 326 was passed this week, which would allow pharmacies in Iowa to dispense Epi-Pens without a prescription. The bill also allows self-administered hormonal contraceptives to be dispensed and administered by state pharmacists for patients 18-years and older without a prescription.
Another bill passed this week, Senate File 318, would establish the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship within the Department of Workforce Development. The goal of this bill to help address the workforce challenges our state continues to experience and give more people the skills they need to be successful in the industries that need them.
File 251 addresses administrative costs in schools. Iowa Code already restricts the amount a school district can spend on administrative costs to no more than 5% of the general fund budget. This bill better defines administrative expenditures as those which do not relate directly to students and their instruction. This includes salaries for administrators and office staff, school administration, general administration, and data processing and collection services. The bill also exempts schools with less than 1,000 students so we are not inhibiting schools that rely on sharing agreements or rural and small schools from being able to provide essential services.
The goal with this legislation is to ensure the dollars spent on K-12 education in Iowa is spent is focused on getting the resources into the classroom rather than growing administration.
Senate File 398 requires the Department of Education to provide educational resources and technical assistance to school districts with career and technical student organizations related to robotics and robotics teams and competitions. This bill will allow additional resources to support and expand robotics programs across the state and allow more students to benefit from the program.