Category: Burlington

Click here: More than 600 business organizations, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Apple to McDonald’s, have sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner pressing him to move on immigration legislation this year.

Click here:  “At first, we thought that most of the letters would be sent by right-wing extremists,” Schwarz-Friesel said. “But I was very surprised to discover that they were actually sent by people from the [left] social mainstream – professors, Ph.D.s, lawyers, priests, university and high-school students.”

Jonathan Turley, professor of public interest law at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said the legislative branch of the U.S. government is in danger of becoming irrelevant in the face of continued executive overreach.

“My view [is] that the president, has in fact, exceeded his authority in a way that is creating a destabilizing influence in a three branch system,” Turley said. “I want to emphasize, of course, this problem didn’t begin with President Obama, I was critical of his predecessor President Bush as well, but the rate at which executive power has been concentrated in our system is accelerating. And frankly, I am very alarmed by the implications of that aggregation of power.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZabKoPtgG3E

News from the Hill…    

Drones…    

One of the bills we passed out of the House and sent over to the Senate was HF 2289.  This bill regulates the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s).  The number of UAV’s is fairly low at this time, but they are becoming much more popular and affordable to the average person.  While normally I am not an individual who votes for more regulations, the use of UAV’s are presently unregulated.  The bill permits individuals to purchase and use UAV’s.  However, they may not use them to harass, stalk, intimidate or terrorize others.  This bill does not affect the military, but other Government Agencies must have permission to purchase UAV’s and they may not record information without a warrant unless there is an emergency and court approved within 48 hours.  UAV’s may be purchased for about $30 up to several thousand dollars.  They may be small enough to hold in your hand or several feet long. 

 There may need to be further changes to this law in the future, as the uses and number of people that may own them increase.  There will be some very good uses that will be available sometime in the future.  But there will also be some uses that none of us would want to occur.  Technology will continue to change and become more affordable for more to use and/or abuse.  The intent is to maintain the balance of personal freedoms and property rights of those who may own the UAV’s and those who may be affected by others flying the UAV’s.   I voted for this bill in the Public Safety Committee and I voted for the bill on the House Floor.   

 Firearm Suppressors…    

Thursday one of the bills that passed off the House floor and sent over to the Senate was a bill allowing Iowans to purchase and possess firearm suppressors in accordance with Federal law.  A suppressor help to minimize the sound that comes from the use of a firearm.  Federal law requires a person purchasing a suppressor to: be a resident of the United States, legally eligible to purchase a firearm, pass an extensive Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives background check, pay a onetime $200 Transfer Tax, fee per suppressor, reside in a state where civilians can legally own suppressors, be at least 21 to purchase a suppressor from a dealer, be at least 18 to possess a suppressor as a beneficiary of a trust or corporation.  This will help to protect the hearing of those using their firearms as well as reducing the sound for others who may be affected by the sound.  I support this bill and voted for it on the House Floor.

 Ways & Means…    

This week there was more floor action and less committee work, with the exception of the Ways and Means Committee.  We assigned 15 bills and several of the subcommittees met and passed their respective bills on to the full committee.  We should debate several of those bills next week in the full committee.  One of those that will pass out of the Ways and Means Committee next week will be, HSB 644, the Internal Revenue Code update.  House Study Bill 644 updates Iowa Code references to the Internal Revenue Code to January 1, 2014, which ensures that federal income tax revisions made by Congress in 2013 are applicable for Iowa income tax purposes.   This applies retroactively to January 1, 2013, for tax years beginning on or after that date.  In addition, House Study Bill 644 repeals the Iowa generation-skipping transfer tax and the Iowa estate tax.  Both of these taxes have not been collected for Iowa for deaths occurring after December 31, 2004.

 Normally I try to run this bill out of the committee very early in the year.  But this year the Federal government hadn’t made any major changes to their tax code by the end of the year.  I have been waiting to see if the Federal Government would make any changes in their Tax Code in January or February so we could make the same changes in our Iowa Tax Code.  However, they have not made any changes so we will pass the bill and get it on its way to the Governor’s Desk.  

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” – Ronald Reagan

 For more information on these and other bills:  www.legis.iowa.gov

 Until next time,

Tom Sands

 This weekend’s forums:   Saturday, March 1^st

        9:00 AM – 10:30 AM   Muscatine Community College Student Center

        11:15 AM-12:15 PM   State Bank of Wapello Community Room