BW INSIGHTS

2019 Legislative Session - Week 8

By BrownWinick | 03.08.2019

Lawmakers raced bills through the committee process this week as Friday’s funnel deadline approached. Most legislation that hasn’t passed subcommittee and full committee in the House or Senate by now is officially “dead” for the 2019 session. Some measures are exempt from funnel—generally those dealing with government oversight, taxes and... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 7

By BrownWinick | 03.01.2019

Senate Republicans released their budget targets this week for the fiscal year beginning in July. Their total spending, about $7.62 billion, is roughly $50 million less than that proposed by the House GOP. The Senate version includes more spending for administration and regulation, and for economic development. As usual, one of the largest... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 6

By BrownWinick | 02.25.2019

House Republicans introduced their FY20 budget targets Tuesday (set out below), which call for slightly more spending than Governor Kim Reynolds proposed. Under the House plan, Standing Appropriations (or “Standings”) would receive the most funding, $3.86 billion. The Standings bill is typically the last piece of legislation passed each session,... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 5

By BrownWinick | 02.17.2019

A surprise Senate resignation capped-off the fifth week of legislative session. Sen. Jeff Danielson (D-Cedar Falls) stepped down from his seat Thursday, effective immediately. He simultaneously quit his position with the Cedar Falls Fire Department, where he has served for 25 years. In an interview with KWWL, a local TV station, Danielson said his... Read More

New Rules for ARNPs from the Iowa Board of Nursing

By BrownWinick | 02.11.2019

Advanced registered nurse practitioners (“ARNPs”) will soon have new Iowa Board of Nursing (“the Board”) rules to comply with. The rules, ARC 4132C, have been adopted by the Board; however, they are currently undergoing the rulemaking process and are not yet finalized. ARC 4132C will replace the current rules found at 655 Iowa Administrative Code... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 4

By BrownWinick | 02.11.2019

Once again, legalized sports betting is top of minds for Iowa legislators. Over the course of two two-hour hearings on eight different sports betting bills (HSB101, HSB102, HSB103, HSB124 SSB1080, SSB1081, SSB1079, and SSB1100), House and Senate lawmakers heard pitches from the Iowa Lottery, casinos, and sports leagues about who should regulate,... Read More

HF 193 Has Been Introduced in the Iowa Legislature

By BrownWinick | 02.06.2019

HF 193 has been introduced in the Iowa Legislature. It prohibits any “wind generation facility” or “wind energy conversion property” from being located within 2500 feet of any residence. It is an important and far reaching bill despite its brevity. The bill incorporates the definitions of these terms found in Iowa Code sections 476C.1 and 427B.26.... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 3

By BrownWinick | 02.04.2019

Despite the blast of arctic air hitting Iowa Wednesday, lawmakers didn’t miss a day of work this week. So far, legislators have filed roughly 560 bills. On average, at least 2,000 bills are introduced each session. As expected, the main order of business on Monday was the House debate on whether to seat Rep. Michael Bergan (R-Dorchester). He won... Read More

2019 Legislative Session - Week 2

By BrownWinick | 02.01.2019

Despite having less time due to the MLK Day holiday, lawmakers significantly picked up their pace for the second week of the 2019 legislative session. With each chamber filing more than 100 bills between Tuesday and Friday, there are now at least 350 measures up for consideration. Meanwhile, Rep. Michael Bergan (R-Dorchester) is one step closer to... Read More

Financing Renewable Energy Projects

By BrownWinick | 01.29.2019

BrownWinick's Energy Practice Group is proud to have been asked to contribute to the Iowa Chapter for the new American Bar Association treatise on Financing Renewable Energy Projects: A Global Analysis and Review of Related Power Purchase Agreements. It is a valuable resource for developers seeking to develop projects anywhere in the world. This... Read More