ABI, Business and Agriculture Organizations Pen Letter to EPC
ABI and several other organizations submitted a letter to members of the Environmental Protection Commission urging their denial of a petition to establish numeric nutrient criteria for lakes. The EPC would have received and discussed the letter at the meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 23, but the meeting was canceled due to inclement weather. The letter pointed out several legislative and regulatory initiatives that have taken place to improve Iowa’s water quality.
Read the letter
. This is just one example of action ABI is taking to ensure the Regulatory Reform priority is accomplished for 2019.
Insurance Commissioner Speaks to House Commerce
On Tuesday, Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen provided an update to members of the House Commerce Committee about the Insurance Division. Commissioner Ommen discussed the economic footprint of Iowa’s insurance industry, stating that 43,000 jobs are tied to the industry and it ranks second in terms of GDP output for the economy.
Read more
.
ABI Comments Before Subcommittee on Security Breaches
Members of an Iowa House Commerce subcommittee met Wednesday to hear from the attorney general’s office regarding
HSB 14
. HSB 14 expands notification requirements when a security breach occurs. Section 3, which deals with reducing the current exemptions provided to certain businesses, and Section 4, which adds a new requirement for employers to notify the AG’s office if an employee’s information has been subject to a breach, are especially problematic. The ABI public policy team, as well as other business groups, voiced those concerns during the subcommittee. The legislation did not advance out of the subcommittee.
Packed Meeting on Iowa’s Bottle Deposit Law
Members of a Senate Natural Resources subcommittee met late Wednesday afternoon to discuss
SF 59
, which increases the amount paid to redemption centers from one penny to two pennies and gets the cans out of grocery and convenience stores. ABI spoke specifically in opposition to the section of the bill that increases the handling fee for ABI’s bottler members. We expect more bills to be filed and this issue to receive a lot of attention in the 2019 session.
Federal Spotlight: U.S. Chamber Urges Government Be Reopened
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently submitted a
letter
to the president and members of Congress requesting the government be opened as soon as possible citing effects the shutdown is having on the economy and the business community. We are now almost five weeks into the partial shutdown, which is the longest in American history. The impasse is occurring largely because of differences regarding appropriations for border security.
Read more
.