Voice of Iowa Business Newsletter

June 4, 2020

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Iowa Senate Passes Cannabidiol Bill with Employer Protections; Heads to Governor’s Desk

On Wednesday evening the Iowa Senate passed HF2589 . The bill includes and expands employer protections related to the use of marijuana in the workplace. The bill passed with bipartisan support 32-17 after a contentious debate. The legislation was previously passed by the Iowa House on March 10 with a vote of 52-48. The bill makes it more clear and ensures employers may maintain a zero-tolerance policy in the workplace concerning marijuana. It also limits the liability of employers who dismiss someone for violating the zero-tolerance policy. This is an issue ABI has worked on for the last few years, and we’re very pleased the Legislature has passed this language. ABI would like to thank all ABI members who contacted their legislators about this important issue. We would also like to thank Sen. Waylon Brown, Sen. Dan Dawson, Rep. Jarad Klein and Sen. Brad Zaun for their instrumental leadership on this issue. At this time, Gov. Kim Reynolds has signaled she will sign the legislation.

ACTION ALERT: Contact Your Legislator and Tell Them to Support COVID-19 Liability Protection Bill

We need your help to get Iowans working again. The ABI public policy team is requesting you reach out to your state representative and urge them to support amendment H-8173 to SF2338. The bill contains substantive and important liability protection for businesses related to COVID-19. The bill, which passed House Commerce on Wednesday, could be considered by the full House as early as the first part of next week. The common sense protections ensure businesses can get back into operation without the fear of facing an explosion of lawsuits. We need you to contact your state representative TODAY and ask them to vote for SF2338 as passed out of committee. ABI has created a simple and easy way for you to do that. Use our online tool to submit a pre-written letter to your legislator and include information about how COVID-19 has affected your ability to do business.

Record Turnout for Iowa’s Primary; Notable Results from Tuesday

Secretary of State (SOS) Paul Pate announced a record number of Iowans cast their ballots in the June 2 primary. Voters chose the respective Republican and Democratic nominees for a number of offices at the county, state and federal level. The SOS released Wednesday that more than 500,000 ballots were cast. The record turnout is likely attributable to absentee ballot requests being sent to all registered voters.

Perhaps the biggest result of the night came in the 4th Congressional District as State Sen. Randy Feenstra defeated longtime incumbent Congressman Steve King by approximately 10 points. The victory for Feenstra turns this race from a toss-up to being a likely Republican hold in the fall.

Other Congressional primary results include David Young becoming the Republican nominee for the 3rd District. The former two-term Congressman will challenge Congresswoman Cindy Axne in a rematch from 2018. Republican State Rep. Ashley Hinson will take on Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer in the 1st District, and Republican State Sen. Mariannette Miller-Meeks will challenge former Democratic Lt. Gov. nominee Rita Hart in the 2nd District. Theresa Greenfield also won the U.S. Senate Democratic primary by a resounding margin. She’ll take on U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst in November. View the full unofficial results .

Registration is Open for ABI Public Policy Committee Meetings

Following the adjournment of the 88th General Assembly, which is likely to occur late next week, the ABI public policy staff will turn our attention to the development of ABI’s policy statements for 2021. Regional meetings will be held and ABI's five public policy committees will meet in August to begin the process of providing policy recommendations to ABI’s Board of Directors, who will formally set the organization’s policies in September. The Employment and Workforce Committee will meet on Wednesday, August 5 and the Workplace and Product Safety Committee will meet on Thursday, August 6. Tax, Environment and Economic Growth Committee meetings have not been set yet. Meetings will be held in at ABI in Des Moines at 11:30 a.m. A Zoom video conference meeting will take place if we’re not able to gather together due to COVID-19.

REC Projects Smaller Budget for FY21

The Revenue Estimating Conference, a three-person panel that provides revenue projections for the governor and Legislature, met last Friday and predicted the budget will need to be lowered by approximately $65 million for the coming fiscal year. The REC estimated the state will take in $7.877 billion for FY21, which begins July 1. That number is about $360 million less than the REC projected in mid-March, which is largely attributable to the effects of the coronavirus on the economy. The governor is also looking at how the state will use the CARES Act funding being received from the federal government. Read more from the Des Moines Register .

Governor Signs Legislation Into Law

On Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law several pieces of legislation that had been approved prior to the Legislature suspending the session in March. Of the 14 bills signed , two of them are pieces of legislation ABI supports. SF2196 extends the repeal date of the Cell Siting Act from July 1, 2022 to 2025. This will ensure companies can expand communication technology into more areas. SF2337 is a bill that strengthens the requirements a plaintiff attorney must bring to file a lawsuit related to asbestos. ABI appreciates the governor signing both pieces of legislation.

Initial Unemployment Claims Cut in Half from Last Week as State Reopens

Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) announced there were 6,920 initial unemployment claims filed by individuals for the week of May 24-30. That number is approximately half of what it was for the previous week. It is a positive sign people are beginning to get back to work as Gov. Reynolds continues to reopen businesses. There was $51 million paid out of the unemployment trust fund for the same week. The number of continuing weekly unemployment claims was 165,195, which is down by about 15,000 from last week. The top sectors that saw the most initial claims filed included manufacturing (1,897); health care and social assistance (784); and those not identified by industry including the self-employed, independent contractors, etc. (553). Read IWD's news release .

ABI UPDATE

Next Week: Join Us for a Virtual Regional Meeting

Since we won't see you at conference due to COVID-19, we came up with another way to network–a series of virtual regional meetings. Get updates on ABI, the ABI Foundation and our public policy efforts; ask questions; and tell us how we can best serve you.

Find the meeting for your region:

Northeast Iowa | June 9, 10-11 a.m. | Register
Southeast Iowa | June 9, 1:30-2:30 p.m. | Register
Northwest Iowa | June 10, 9-10 a.m. | Register
Southwest Iowa | June 10, 11 a.m.-noon | Register
Central Iowa (Polk County) | June 11, 10-11 a.m. | Register

Spend a casual day networking with Iowa's fore most business leaders at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club. Find your foursome, or register as a single golfer to be placed in a foursome, at the state's premier executive golf event. Register now .

FROM THE DESK OF...

Pandemic Shows Value of Buy ABI Program

David Hildahl

Marketing Manager

ABI

The Buy ABI affinity program has always been a valuable benefit for members.

(If you’re among those who save hundreds or thousands of dollars on business products and services annually through the program, you know what I mean.)

The program has proven even more valuable during the pandemic. Here are a few examples:

The safety of your employees has never been more important. To combat COVID-19, Cedar Ridge Distillery and Mississippi River Distilling Company both offer a 20% discount on one-gallon jugs of bulk hand sanitizer, with quarts, drums and totes also available at discounted prices. And Storey Kenworthy has continued to provide in-demand cleaners and disinfectants, along with all kinds of office supplies, to members at significant cost savings.

It can be challenging to stay in compliance in the rapidly changing world of employment laws and regulations. HRsimple added new chapters to its digital Iowa Human Resources Library on COVID-19 in the workplace—from required signage to telecommuting policy to handling pandemics and communicable diseases in the workplace. Read more .