This actually sounds like a good idea:
A program to give financial assistance to rural attorneys is in the works at the Iowa Capitol, and lawmakers say it will be vital to ensure Iowans continue to have adequate legal representation.
House File 2407, which House lawmakers passed out of a committee Thursday, would create a program to pay participating attorneys over five years.
Each payment would be equal to 90 percent of the cost of in-state tuition at the University of Iowa law school — around $22,000 — each year for five years.
The state would partner with counties and cities to provide the payments, requiring participating local governments to pay 35 percent of the cost each year, while the state pays the remainder.
To be eligible, cities or counties would need to have a population of less than 26,000 and be at least 20 miles from a city with a population of 50,000.
A participating attorney also would need to contract with the state to provide public defense to residents who cannot afford an attorney.
Rep. Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, said the state has been struggling with a shortage of contract attorneys and attorneys in rural areas, and similar programs have had success in other states.
“Hopefully, we have the same success, both in terms of attracting attorneys to rural areas, but also increasing the number of contract attorneys that we have, doing that important work across the state,” he said.
The program would be limited to five attorneys during the first year as a pilot program, Lohse said, before potentially being opened to more applicants.
After passage in the House Appropriations Committee, the bill is eligible for vote in the full chamber.
Certain firefighters and police officers in Iowa would have broader claims for disability benefits under a bill House lawmakers passed on Thursday.
House File 2680 would change the state's pension program for professional police officers and firefighters, which covers police departments in 49 of Iowa's largest cities and fire departments in 38 of those.
Under the bill, the pension would cover disabilities that were caused from long-term physical stress but not traceable to a specific incident. It would also cover mental health problems like post-traumatic stress disorder caused by traumatic incidents on the job.
The bill has been in the works for several years and passed the House multiple times, but it has not been signed into law. The bill is now eligible for consideration in the Senate, where a similar bill passed out of committee last year.
Iowa businesses retain an overall positive sentiment regarding the state’s economy, according to the latest quarterly survey from the Iowa Business Council.
The overall economic outlook in the year’s first quarter was put at 63.16 by the council’s member businesses. That’s an increase from the previous quarter and above the historical average. Any measurement above 50 indicates a positive outlook on the economy, the Council said.
“The first quarter findings show continued optimism in Iowa’s economy,” Phil Jasper, president of Raytheon and chair of the Iowa Business Council, said in a statement. “With sizable increases in most categories, these results further indicate an acceleration of growth for Iowa’s overall business climate.”
The Iowa Business Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents 22 of the state’s largest employers. The Council’s Economic Outlook Survey has been conducted quarterly since 2004.
Sales of E15 — gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol — hit a record high in Iowa in 2023, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
Iowa's E15 sales reached 178 million gallons last year, the organization said, a 47 percent increase from the previous year.
E15 sales represented about 13.3 percent of the state's gasoline sales. Also, a record 68 million gallons of biodiesel was blended into Iowa diesel in 2023.
Iowa is the top producer of corn-based ethanol in the country, producing as much as 4.5 billion gallons a year.
"Iowans appreciate having cheaper, cleaner burning E15 as an option at the pump, leading to record breaking sales in 2023," Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement. "Biofuels not only play a huge role in Iowa’s agriculture economy, but provide Iowans with a cheaper alternative to regular fuel.
“Iowa was the first state in the country to adopt an E15 standard."
www.thegazette.com
A program to give financial assistance to rural attorneys is in the works at the Iowa Capitol, and lawmakers say it will be vital to ensure Iowans continue to have adequate legal representation.
House File 2407, which House lawmakers passed out of a committee Thursday, would create a program to pay participating attorneys over five years.
Each payment would be equal to 90 percent of the cost of in-state tuition at the University of Iowa law school — around $22,000 — each year for five years.
The state would partner with counties and cities to provide the payments, requiring participating local governments to pay 35 percent of the cost each year, while the state pays the remainder.
To be eligible, cities or counties would need to have a population of less than 26,000 and be at least 20 miles from a city with a population of 50,000.
A participating attorney also would need to contract with the state to provide public defense to residents who cannot afford an attorney.
Rep. Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, said the state has been struggling with a shortage of contract attorneys and attorneys in rural areas, and similar programs have had success in other states.
“Hopefully, we have the same success, both in terms of attracting attorneys to rural areas, but also increasing the number of contract attorneys that we have, doing that important work across the state,” he said.
The program would be limited to five attorneys during the first year as a pilot program, Lohse said, before potentially being opened to more applicants.
After passage in the House Appropriations Committee, the bill is eligible for vote in the full chamber.
Police, firefighter disability change advances
Certain firefighters and police officers in Iowa would have broader claims for disability benefits under a bill House lawmakers passed on Thursday.
House File 2680 would change the state's pension program for professional police officers and firefighters, which covers police departments in 49 of Iowa's largest cities and fire departments in 38 of those.
Under the bill, the pension would cover disabilities that were caused from long-term physical stress but not traceable to a specific incident. It would also cover mental health problems like post-traumatic stress disorder caused by traumatic incidents on the job.
The bill has been in the works for several years and passed the House multiple times, but it has not been signed into law. The bill is now eligible for consideration in the Senate, where a similar bill passed out of committee last year.
Positive outlook from Iowa businesses
Iowa businesses retain an overall positive sentiment regarding the state’s economy, according to the latest quarterly survey from the Iowa Business Council.
The overall economic outlook in the year’s first quarter was put at 63.16 by the council’s member businesses. That’s an increase from the previous quarter and above the historical average. Any measurement above 50 indicates a positive outlook on the economy, the Council said.
“The first quarter findings show continued optimism in Iowa’s economy,” Phil Jasper, president of Raytheon and chair of the Iowa Business Council, said in a statement. “With sizable increases in most categories, these results further indicate an acceleration of growth for Iowa’s overall business climate.”
The Iowa Business Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents 22 of the state’s largest employers. The Council’s Economic Outlook Survey has been conducted quarterly since 2004.
E15 sales set record in 2023
Sales of E15 — gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol — hit a record high in Iowa in 2023, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
Iowa's E15 sales reached 178 million gallons last year, the organization said, a 47 percent increase from the previous year.
E15 sales represented about 13.3 percent of the state's gasoline sales. Also, a record 68 million gallons of biodiesel was blended into Iowa diesel in 2023.
Iowa is the top producer of corn-based ethanol in the country, producing as much as 4.5 billion gallons a year.
"Iowans appreciate having cheaper, cleaner burning E15 as an option at the pump, leading to record breaking sales in 2023," Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement. "Biofuels not only play a huge role in Iowa’s agriculture economy, but provide Iowans with a cheaper alternative to regular fuel.
“Iowa was the first state in the country to adopt an E15 standard."
Capitol Notebook: Iowa bill to pay rural attorneys advances
Also, House widens police, firefighter disability help
www.thegazette.com
