Legislative Update from Sen. Maggie Tinsman (R-Bettendorf)

Senators Take Action to Combat Meth Labs

This week in the Senate we moved forward with a bipartisan bill to help curb methamphetamine production in Iowa.

The relative ease it takes to cook up meth using accessible and affordable supplies has led to an abundance of meth labs across the state. According to the Governorís Office of Drug Control Policy, Iowa law enforcement dismantled a record-high 1,425 labs in 2004 and Iowa ranks second behind only Missouri in per-capita meth lab making.

The bill aims to crack down on Iowaís meth labs by making it harder for meth makers to get their hands on pseudoephedrine, a popular cold decongestant and key ingredient in meth manufacturing.

Under the legislation, consumers would be required to buy most products containing pseudoephedrine from pharmacists. However, products containing less than 360 mg of pseudoephedrine ñ an amount equal to 12 tablets or that found in a small bottle of childrenís cold medicine ñ could still be sold at stores as long as the product is kept in a locked cabinet or behind the sales counter. Consumers who purchase the product from stores would be limited to two packages per customer in a 24-hour period.

In addition, buyers would be required to show photo identification and sign a log book with consumer information that could be made available to law enforcement officials. Retailers would have to keep records of the amounts of pseudoephedrine purchased from a wholesaler, the amount of products sold by the store and the number of products stolen or damaged.

Members of the Iowa House are also working on legislation to restrict pseudoephedrine sales in Iowa. Under the House proposal, a pharmacist must sell products containing more than 240 mg of pseudoephedrine, and consumers would be limited to one package per 24-hour period.

I think that the real issue faced by lawmakers is how to balance restrictions on pseudoephedrine sales with consumer access to this common cold remedy. I agree that the Senate bill strikes an important compromise. It aims to limit the sales of pseudoephedrine while still allowing parents, especially those in rural areas, to buy the product from local stores when their child suddenly comes down with a cold.

While the legislation will not completely eliminate Iowaís meth scourge, I believe that it will dramatically decrease the amount of meth manufactured within our state borders. Cracking down on the number of meth labs in Iowa will help free up important law enforcement resources to go after those who import meth into the state.

Iowa Earns ìBî on State Management Report Card

Iowa recently earned a ìBî grade from Governing magazine for effective state management.

In its February issue, ìGrading the States,î the publication teamed up with academics from a number of universities to evaluate all 50 states in four areas of management: Money, People, Infrastructure and Information.

Money Iowa received a ìB+î in fiscal management. According to the publication, Iowaís particular strengths in this area include a budget process that is transparent and easy to follow, effective management of procurement activities and an evaluation process that assesses the effectiveness of financial operations and management practices. I donít know if I totally agree that this stateís budget process is easy to follow! I think that it should be changed to be a performance based budget with allocation decisions based on results.

People The state earned a ìBî in personnel-related issues including strategic workforce planning, hiring, retaining employees, training and development and employee performance.

Infrastructure The publication gave Iowa a ìBî for care of state assets. The publication noted Iowaís effective process for monitoring infrastructure projects throughout their design and construction.

Information Iowa earned a ìBî for making good use of data. The state was given high marks for actively focusing on the strategic direction of its policy and on collecting information to support that policy direction. Another area of strength cited by the magazine is the stateís budgeting for performance measures. This includes gathering appropriate data on the relationship between costs and performance, and using this data when making resource allocation decisions.

For additional information, visit: http://results.gpponline.org/iowa.

President Bushís Budget to Impact Iowa

President Bush has released his budget and the proposal would provide some additional resources to Iowa if approved by Congress. In total, Iowa would receive an increase of 2 percent in federal dollars, or $55.6 million, for a total of $2.82 billion.

Under the proposal, Iowa would receive an additional $2.6 million for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, bringing the total to $43.5 million. Grants to local education agencies would see an increase of $1.2 million, bringing the total to $65.2 million. Special education would also see an increase of $4.9 million, bringing the total amount to Iowa for special education to more than $117 million. Iowa would lose $1.5 million for state and local bioterrorism efforts.

The administration of Iowaís Medicaid program would receive a decrease of $7.8 million, bringing the total down to $52 million. However, Medicaid vendor payments would see an increase of $110 million. Finally, the State Homeland Security Grant Program was eliminated from the Presidentís budget proposal, costing the state $14.3 million.

As a chair of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee, I am most concerned about Medicaid payments. I am a strong advocate for changes, such as a sliding fee scale, which would allow much more flexibility in funding Medicaid. I feel that most people in Iowa would prefer to contribute something to their own care.

The Presidentís budget now goes to Congress for additions, subtractions and corrections.

As always, I enjoy hearing from you. Please feel free to give me a call or drop me an email. Thanks again for allowing me the privilege of serving you in the Iowa Senate.

Have a great week!

Maggie

563.359.3624/515.281.3371

maggie.tinsman@legis.state.ia.us