We have now completed week eight of the Legislative Session. Here are some of the highlights!
On Monday, Feb. 28, I ran SF 2176 on the House floor. The House passed SF 2176 by an unanimous 93-aye vote. The legislation amends current Code Chapter subsections dealing with solid waste disposal (455B.301-315) to change Code verbiage to current state of the art terms. This includes adding ‘sanitary’ before landfill, and replacing in multiple locations the term ‘variance’ with ‘waivers’. The measure also repeals the Code chapter (28L) establishing the state interagency Missouri River Authority that has been defunct since 2011, and repeals Code provisions (455B.800-809) dealing with mercury free recycling. Existing Code section 455B.803 2.e constrains the EPC from enforcement of mercury free recycling after July 1, 2020.
On Thursday, Feb. 24, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a press release noting that the Iowa Legislature appropriated state infrastructure funds to DNR to be used for a community-based tree planting program for derecho recovery tree planting. More than $21,000 in matching funds will be made available to local governments, schools and service organizations in the 27 Iowa counties included in the Governor’s Derecho Disaster Proclamation, as well as $50,000 in matching funds available to local governments, schools, and service organizations in the 84 counties with confirmed Emerald Ash Borer. The application and rules are available online at www.iowadnr.gov/urbanforestry. Applications are due by March 30, 2022.
On Wednesday, March 2, 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued a press release announcing that the federal agency has confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial backyard flocks (non-poultry) in Iowa. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States.
It is an honor to be in Des Moines representing District 95 and the people of Iowa. I encourage my constituents to contact me using my legislative email ([email protected]) with any comments, questions, or concerns. I look forward to another great week of representing the people of District 95!