March 18, 2022

• The League issued an Action Alert for HF 2552 and SF 2371 on March 15. Read more about this harmful legislation below.

• March 18 is the second funnel. Learn more about this important procedural deadline on the Legislative Timetable.
• The year after the legislature began phasing out $152 million of property tax relief statewide, several bills are moving through the process this session that will shift the burden of property taxes from one entity to others or reduce local government revenues, including Business Property Tax Credit, Mobile Home Property Taxes and Alcohol Licenses.
• The U.S. Treasury Department is hosting a webinar on the NEU reporting requirement on March 21 at 2 p.m. Registration is required. If the RSVP limit has been reached, the webinar will be available on the Treasury’s website.

• Division 11 alters the Business Property Tax Credit (BPTC), moving from a capped credit to an uncapped revenue reduction and creating a backfill of $125 million to reimburse local governments for the losses. Even with the backfill, the amount appropriated is only sufficient to cover the losses until FY 2029, according to the Legislative Services Agency (LSA)'s Fiscal Note. After FY 2029, local governments will begin losing revenue where claims exceed the appropriation. The state has failed to maintain the commitment every time a "backfill" is created, as seen in changes to Machinery and Equipment taxation and Commercial and Industrial property rollback.
• The Fiscal Note, which can be found here, states that under this proposal, local governments lose revenues starting in FY 2030. This also assumes that the state continues to fund the $125 million backfill. If this isn't fully funded, local governments would lose those resources as well. This puts additional pressure on residential property taxes.
• The League has offered an amendment to this bill to remove harmful backfill language.
• Passed out of the House. There is a companion version in the Senate.

• Division 9 repeals the Mobile Home Square Footage Tax, which is levied on a per-foot basis on mobile homes and other structures within mobile home parks.
• Permanently exempts 100% of property taxes of all-new modular homes placed in a mobile home park/manufactured home community.
• The Fiscal Note shows a revenue reduction to local governments of at least $4.6 million per year.
• Passed out of the Ways & Means Committee and will be eligible for consideration by the House.

• Preempts local governments’ current authority and limits the removal of appointed utility board members. Requires unanimous approval of removal in all cities except for Des Moines.
• Passed out of the House and will be sent to the Senate where the legislation is eligible to be considered on the Floor.
• The League is registered against.

• Requires the cost of a public record request to be reasonable and allows for the reasonableness to be challenged. States that redaction fees should only be used for legally protected information.
• Passed out of the Ways & Means Committee and will be eligible for consideration by the House.

• Allows cities to create revitalization districts in certain areas, which will allow for abatement of property taxes after the owner-occupied home undergoes significant renovations.
• Passed out of committee and will be eligible for consideration by the Senate.

• Creates a definition of "no-impact home-based business" and preempts cities and counties from regulating them.

• Passed out of the Commerce Committee and will be eligible for consideration by the Senate.

• Allows a city or county to request an expedited hearing in order to abate a bar that is a public safety nuisance under specific conditions, including repeat assaults, firearm discharge, or rioting caused by the patrons or ownership of the bar.
• Passed out of the State Government Committee and will be eligible for consideration by the Senate.
• The League is registered in support because it will help cities address public safety nuisances within their communities. If this is valuable to your community, we encourage you to reach out to your legislators and express support.

• Grants the state and it’s agents liability protection when engaged in debris removal on public property for damages to public property if the local government has requested the assistance and a disaster has been declared pursuant to Code of Iowa Chapter 29C.
• Passed the House and will be eligible to be considered by the Senate.

• Allows a city or county to establish emergency response districts for the purpose of regional public safety departments.
• Passed through the House Local Government Committee.

• SSB 3157 | Local Option Sales and Services Tax Alteration and IWILL Funding

• HF 2296 | Right-of-Way Management Deregulation

• SF 2361 | Workforce/Housing Omnibus
• SF 2374 | Alcohol License Restructuring
• SF 2319 & SF 2352 | Automated Traffic Cameras
  
  • SF 2319 seeks to ban automatic traffic cameras entirely
    
  • SF 2352 provides additional regulations and requirements to utilize automated traffic cameras.

Communication with your legislators is crucial to impacting policy in the statehouse. Take advantage of the local legislative forums listed below. Additionally, you can contact your legislative directly.

March 19

• Fairfield Legislative Forum
• Spencer Legislative Forum
• Arlington Legislative Forum
• Harlan Legislative Coffee
• Cedar Rapids Legislative Forum
• Storm Lake Legislative Forum
• Breda Legislative Forum
• Eldridge Legislative Forum
• Washington Legislative Forum

March 21

• Marti's Monday Morning Coffee

Our mailing address is:
Iowa League of Cities
500 SW 7th St Ste 101
Des Moines, IA 50309-4506