What I’m hearing while traveling in the district

Tornado-impacted communities receive funding

New federal money for Iowa flood recovery

July 1 means changes to Iowa law

Recovering from the disasters of 2008

 

 

  

Since the legislative session ended, I’ve been traveling through this senate district to report on what we accomplished. In the last month I’ve visited with community leaders in Aplington, Parkersburg, New Hartford Clarksville, Readlyn, Waverly, Oelwein, Sumner, Tripoli and West Union.

 

I reported that I worked this past legislative session to balance the state budget without raising taxes, protect our commitments to education and health care, and respond strongly to the economic recession and last year’s natural disasters.

 

I’ll keep traveling during the next several months, listening to your concerns and ideas. But, I want to share with you a couple of specific things I’ve heard so far.

 

Although significant progress has been made in many communities related to their recovery efforts from last year’s tornados and floods, there is still an awfully lot to do. We, here at the state level, must continue to work with our federal counterparts to improve the processes related to disaster recovery. 

 

 

Secondly, on a very positive note, people are seeing some signs of the economy turning around.

 

Although we are still seeing some businesses across the state cutting back on labor costs through personnel reductions, many are also beginning to bring back employees that have been laid off earlier this year. Plus, according to discussions I have had with business leaders in this Senate District, their backlog demand for their products has started to grow due to new orders.    

 

Thank you for allowing me to serve you as your State Senator. Please feel free to contact me throughout the summer and fall if you have any issues or concerns you wish to discuss.

 

 

 

Communities impacted by tornados in 2008 will receive additional funding to assist with rebuilding efforts.  During the 2009 Iowa General Assembly, legislators appropriated $200,000 to New Hartford and $750,000 to Parkersburg. The legislation became law when Governor Culver signed Senate File 478 on May 26.

 

 

 

Iowa will receive $516.7 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development for disaster recovery. The money comes from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, a flexible program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs such as home buyouts, public infrastructure projects, and assistance to businesses, economic revitalization and flood mitigation. Read more at www.governor.iowa.gov/news/2009/06/9_6.php.

 

 

 

July 1 is the day when most legislation approved during the 2009 session and signed into law by Governor Culver goes into effect. Here are some of the most significant changes you’ll see:

 

** Health insurance for 30,000 previously uninsured Iowa children from working families [SF 389].

 

** Smarter, tougher, safer laws that ban sex offenders from working at schools and daycares and from loitering around areas where children gather [SF 340].

 

** More small wind energy projects thanks to expanded tax credits for locating these projects at farms, schools and hospitals [SF 456], and new “Wind Innovation Zones” that provide tax credits to individuals who launch small wind projects [HF 810].

 

** An extension of unemployment benefits for unemployed Iowans involved in training programs [SF 197].

 

** A boost for community revitalization through an increase in historic tax credits from $20 million to $50 million annually [SF 481].

 

** New "disaster revitalization areas" where property valuations are capped at pre-disaster levels for a period of five years [SF 457].

 

** A requirement that insurance companies cover prosthetic devices [HF 311].

 

** A stop to home foreclosures on Iowa’s active-duty servicemembers [HF 706].

 

** Stronger home foreclosure protections that help Iowa home owners get the accurate information they need when facing foreclosure [SF 364].  

 

** New consumer protections for car buyers [SF 419], home buyers [SF 355], and those hiring a contractor for home improvements [HF 712].

 

You can learn more about these and other key 2009 legislation at www.iowasenatedemocrats.org/highlights_2009.pdf.

 

 

 

This year, the Legislature acted boldly and wisely to help our state rebuild, recover and emerge stronger than ever from the 2008 tornadoes and record-setting floods.

 

Highlights of our recovery efforts include:

 

** $195 million for disaster prevention and recovery projects, including $46.5 million for Cedar Rapids.

 

** $56 million for forgivable loans for housing, and to assist small businesses, nonprofit organizations and public infrastructure projects.

 

** Approval of the I-JOBS initiative to recover from last year’s floods, create and retain thousands of jobs, and strengthen the economy. The I-JOBS Board is already meeting to develop rules for the program, review applications and make grant decisions.

 

The Legislature also took steps to speed up disaster recovery by:

 

** Giving local communities more tools and flexibility in their disaster recovery efforts. For example, cities and counties can now issue bonds over a 30-year period for disaster recovery purposes and can create "disaster revitalization areas" that encourage redevelopment by capping property valuations at pre-disaster levels for a period of five years.

 

** Making it easier for homeowners to secure forgivable loans for disaster repairs.

 

** Making it easier for communities to clean up certain properties abandoned after the 2008 flooding.

 

** Helping more Iowans afford flood insurance by requiring eligible local governments to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). When local governments participate, insurance costs are greatly reduced for eligible homeowners.

 

Over the last year, Iowans put a great deal of effort into recovering from the 2008 floods. The experience has given us plenty of motivation to plan and protect ourselves from future disasters.

 

Strong flood prevention efforts will result in improved watersheds, increased protection for people and property, and a reduced tax burden for all Iowans in the long run.

 

This year’s efforts to enhance flood prevention include establishing the Iowa Flood Center. It will develop a statewide network to monitor the potential for flooding and give advance warnings.

 

To prevent flooding, we must slow down the passage of water through watersheds before it reaches our rivers and streams. That’s why we’ve added flood prevention responsibilities to the Water Resources Coordinating Council. This group of federal, state and local government agencies works with soil and water conservation programs. By working through existing programs, Iowa can better prevent flood damage while improving water quality and reducing soil loss.

 

Soil conservation structures are important to keeping water on the land and preventing damage to farm fields and others downstream. We appropriated $11.5 million for the repair of existing structures that were damaged last year and additional funding for new structures. These dollars mean more farmers can get funding for their projects.

 

A new website is available to help Iowans find information to deal with lingering stress from last year’s natural disasters. The Project Recovery Iowa site, administered by the Iowa Department of Human Services, includes information about free confidential crisis counseling. To learn more, visit www.projectrecoveryiowa.org or call Iowa Concern Hotline at 1-800-447-1985.

Iowa Workforce Development is still hiring workers for jobs repairing public buildings and cleaning up parks in the wake of last year's floods and tornadoes. To learn more, call the IWD office at 563-652-5000. Search for all kinds of jobs around the state at www.iowajobs.org.