The eleventh week of the legislative session focused on floor debate before another major legislative deadline next week.
One bill debated this week was Senate File 547, known as the “hands free” bill. This bill is designed to keep Iowa roads safer from the dangers of cell phone usage while driving. Current Iowa law prohibits sending and viewing of text messages while driving.
Senate File 315 also passed the Senate this week with bipartisan support. Senate File 315 allows for the sale of fresh, or unpasteurized, milk and dairy products for small producers with 10 dairy animals or less directly to consumers.
On Tuesday we celebrated National Agriculture Day. This is a great time to recognize the hard work the farmers in Iowa put in to feed the world. Iowa has over 80,000 farms and is a leader in corn, soybean, and livestock production.
On Wednesday, the Senate passed Senate File 506 to reform Iowa’s Certificate of Need law. Certificate of Need (CON) was a federal policy designed to assess the needs of health care facilities in a community and help improve access to care, while controlling costs by avoiding duplication.
Senate File 506 reforms Iowa’s CON law so that it no longer applies to community mental health facilities, birth centers, and rehabilitation facilities. Institutional health facilities, like hospitals, nursing facilities, residential facilities, and ambulatory surgical centers, would still be under CON with targeted regulations. Under this bill, institutional health facilities would not need to apply for CON to replace equipment, buy new equipment, or change services.
Fifteen other states have repealed or amended their laws since the federal policy was repealed in 1986 because they have not been effective in controlling costs or improving access to services. Our neighbor, South Dakota, is one example.
Ths bill changes the state’s role in how it oversees health facilities growth in our state. Health care access, cost, and quality services are something we hear about from our constituents often, and we have been working hard to ensure Iowans have access to the care they need, when they need it. Especially mental health and rehabilitation services.