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2018 Legislative Priority: Workforce
ABI public policy staff unveiled the 2018 Legislative Priority at the Advanced Manufacturing Conference Wednesday. The priority and policies were approved by the ABI Board of Directors and are a reflection of more than 300 members participating in the annual policy development process. ABI has had a focus on workforce the last several years and 2018 is no exception. The association has outlined several specific items the Legislature can do to ensure Iowa has a pro-jobs climate. Click here to read the 2018 priority. The full priorities and policies will be available at the 2018 Legislative Reception.
Employee Voter Registration Week is September 25-29
Although Employee Voter Registration Week (EVRW) officially begins September 25, ABI had the opportunity to join Gov. Reynolds, Secretary of State Paul Pate and several organizations focused on increasing voter participation at the Capitol this week for a proclamation signing. In addition to the proclamation event, ABI is partnering with BIPAC to ensure ABI members and Iowa employees have all the resources they need to get registered to vote. Go to
www.EmployeesVote.com
for an infographic, one pager and sample messaging. As you have events next week, be sure to tweet using the hashtag #employeesvote.
Senator Bill Anderson Resigning from Iowa Senate
State Senator Bill Anderson (R-Pierson) has said he will resign his seat in the very near future to take a job running the Cherokee Area Economic Development Corporation. Anderson will also move on from his current position as a policy staffer for Congressman Steve King. Anderson, a two-term state senator first elected in 2010, represents Senate District 3, which is in the northwestern part of the state. It is comprised of most of Plymouth County and about half of Woodbury County, excluding most of Sioux City.
Anderson is working in concert with the governor's office concerning the timing of his resignation to ensure a special election is held before the start of the 2018 legislative session. Most observers expect this seat to remain in Republicans' hands as the GOP currently has 17,635 active voters compared to the Democrats 8,741 active voters. Senator Anderson has been a consistent, pro-jobs legislator during his time in office. Read more from the
Sioux City Journal
.
Senator Robert Dvorsky Not Seeking Re-election in 2018
State Senator Robert Dvorsky (D-Coralville) has announced that he will not pursue re-election in 2018. He is retiring to spend more time with his kids and to travel.
Dvorsky has served in the Senate since 1994 and was the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee for 12 of those years. He also served eight years in the House. Senator Dvorsky represents Senate District 37, which is in the eastern part of the state. The district covers all of Cedar County, a small part of Muscatine County and parts of Johnson County, including the city of Coralville.
Democrats are expected to maintain this seat in 2018 as voter registration totals show that Democrats currently have 15,292 active voters while Republicans have 10,277 active voters in the district. Dvorsky's pro-jobs voting record this past session was 36%. Read more from the
Iowa City Press-Citizen
.
Environmental Protection Commission Met this Week
Brad Hartkopf, ABI public policy coordinator, attended a meeting of the Environmental Protection Commission held this week at the Capitol. DNR Director Chuck Gipp provided an overview of the department's FY19 budget proposal. The proposal includes a request of $954,000 from the Technology Reinvestment Fund for an Air Quality E-Application system. The commission approved the budget recommendation. Other business affecting ABI members that was approved includes a contract for ambient air quality and the permit fee for the Water Use and Allocation Program. These water use fees doubled to $134 to cover a lack of general fund dollars allocated to the program. Please contact Brad Hartkopf at
bhartkopf@iowaabi.org
if you have further questions on these issues.
Federal Spotlight: Health Care Reform Not Dead Yet
Efforts are underway to make one last push to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Graham-Cassidy bill, named after the top two sponsors of the legislation--Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)--seeks to take ACA money used to fund Medicaid expansion and subsidies and instead use those resources as block grants to the states.
Approximately $500 billion would be divided among the states through a formula and would allow the states the flexibility and authority to make decisions regarding Medicaid and health care for their constituents. States that expanded Medicaid under the ACA are likely to lose more federal money than gain the way the bill is written right now. The proposed block grants to the states will expire in 2026.
The legislation also repeals the employer mandate, the individual mandate, the medical device tax and the essential health benefits provision in the ACA. Time is of the essence, as Republicans only have until the end of the month to repeal the ACA with a simple majority in the Senate, because they are using the arcane method of budget reconciliation to avoid a filibuster by Democrats. This situation remains extremely fluid and is something ABI will continue to follow closely.
Opportunity: Small Business Clean Air Act Compliance Panel
According to a press release from the Department of Natural Resources, the State of Iowa is seeking small business owners and other individuals to serve on the Clean Air Act Compliance Advisory Panel (CAP). The CAP gives advisory opinions on the effectiveness of the small business stationary source and environmental assistance program. The panel also reviews the information that is developed for small businesses.
The panel is comprised of seven members. Two members are Governor appointees, four members are legislative appointees and one is the Director of the DNR or the Director's designee. If you are a small business owner or represent small business and are interested in serving on this panel, please contact
Brad Hartkopf
with ABI. If you have further questions about the CAP, you can go to
www.iowadnr.gov/airsmallbusinessassistance
. You can also reach out to Christine Paulson at
Christine.Paulson@dnr.iowa.gov
or by phone at 515-725-9510.
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Improving Board Performance
An engaged board is a critical component to a successful business. Whether you're a privately held corporation, an ESOP or a public company, there are steps you can take to ensure your board is creating value for your business. Join CIRAS and ABI as we bring in an expert in board performance and family-owned businesses to help take your business to the next level.
Tuesday, September 26, 1-6 p.m.
Economic Development Core Facility
1805 Collaboration Place
Ames, IA 50010
Cost: $250 | $150 for ABI Members
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Terry Ebke
What You Need to Know About the Equifax Data Breach
Equifax, Inc--a major credit bureau, announced on Thursday, 9/7/17, that a massive data breach was discovered in July, which may have exposed names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and addresses of approximately 143 million U.S. consumers. The current US population is approximately 326 million, so this data breach potentially affected 44% of Americans! (For ages 18 - 65, it potentially affected two out of three.) In addition, a smaller amount of driver's license numbers, credit card numbers and certain documents were obtained. The breach lasted from mid-May to July 2017.
This is just the latest example of how, no matter how careful you are, there are forces beyond your control that can still lead to your personally identifiable information being exposed.
Keep reading...
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Funding for Spring and Summer 2018 Internships is Now Available
(
IEDA
)
Grants are available to small and medium-sized Iowa companies in targeted industries to support internship programs. The goal is to transition interns to full-time employment in Iowa upon graduation.
Learn more about the program.
ABI Members Invited to Attend Home Base Iowa Summit (
Home Base Iowa)
Learn how your organization can use Home Base Iowa and help make Iowa the state of choice for veterans and transitioning service members for employment, education and continued service in communities that are welcoming, affordable, safe and family-friendly. The October 3 event is free.
Register now
and
view the agenda
.
ABI Members Invited to Grand Opening of LightEdge Altoona Data Center
(LightEdge)
Join LightEdge for the grand opening of its newest data center, October 5, 3-6 p.m., at 1401 Northridge Circle NE in Altoona. There will be exclusive tours of the $25 million facility, food and drink, and a ribbon cutting. RSVP here.
Indian Hills Community College to Host Lasers in Manufacturing Symposium (IHCC)
The free symposium on October 5 will include presentations, supplier tabletop exhibits and live demos. Learn more and register online.
BrownWinick, Sukup and Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center to Hold Innovation Roadshow
(
BrownWinick
)
Business leaders and executives from north central Iowa will share examples of their successful integration of philosophies and actions that have fostered innovative thinking in their own businesses. The event is October 10, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield.
Learn more and register online
.
More than 250 MidAmerican employees and contractors rolled out two weeks ago in response to requests for assistance in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
Read more...
Storey Kenworthy Adds an 11th Iowa Location in Vinton
(News Release)
Monkeytown, the family owned office supplies company headquartered in Vinton, has joined forces with Des Moines-based Storey Kenworthy. Storey Kenworthy, now with 11 Iowa locations, is the state's largest family owned, independent office supplies and furniture dealership.
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