Political Action Update
February 24, 2006
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Political Action Update
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| Vol. 06-06 |
February 24, 2006 |
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Fair
Share Health Care Plan Introduced Legislation Would End Taxpayer Subsidies of
Health Care for Giant Corporations |
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Iowa
citizens, whose
tax dollars currently subsidize large profitable
corporations by paying for their employees’ health care, won round
one on February 22nd when ten Democratic State Senators introduced
Senate File 2246, the Fair Share Health Care Act.
Twenty-nine House members are co-sponsors of a companion House
bill, HF-2430. The
Iowa Fair Share Health Care legislation requires large, profitable
corporations, like Wal-Mart, to spend nine percent of their payroll to
provide health care benefits for their employees or pay into a state
health care fund. Fair Share will reduce the price taxpayers pay to
cover profitable employers’ employee expenses, ease the financial
strain Iowa faces due to growing Medicaid costs and help level the
playing field between companies that provide good jobs and benefits
and those that don’t.
The measure would affect Iowa employers of 8,000 employees or
more. Iowa
now joins 24 other states where Fair Share legislation has been
introduced.
In January, Maryland become the first state in the nation to
enact Fair Share legislation when the Maryland Legislature overrode
the Republican Governor’s veto of the bill.
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Members
of U.S. Congress Get Another Pay Raise Americans Earning the Minimum Wage Still Get Only $5.15 |
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Members of Congress think they’re doing such a great job they’ve given themselves eight pay raises over the past nine years, with the latest increase of another $3,400 added to their checks this January. In that same period, minimum wage workers have seen zero increase. At $5.15 an hour, the minimum wage doesn’t even keep workers out of poverty—in fact, it should be at least $8.88 an hour just to keep up with inflation. While Republican leaders in Congress have refused to increase the minimum wage—which hasn’t budged since 1997—their salaries have risen by $31,600 over the same period. Not that members of Congress, who on average will earn $162,000 this year, don’t work hard for their money. But so do the people who take care of our children and provide assistance for our elderly parents and sew our garments. Today, a family with one full-time worker living on the minimum wage makes $10,712 a year, $5,378 less than the $16,090 needed to be above the poverty level for a family of three. A family’s average annual health care premiums exceed annual pay at the minimum wage. A couple with two children would have to work a combined 3.3 full-time minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. That’s 132 hours a week. Unless
the Republican-dominated Congress changes its mind and gives minimum
wage workers a long overdue raise, 2006 will usher in the greatest gap
between minimum wage and average-wage workers since the end of World
War II. Courtesy:
James Parks, AFL-CIO NOW |
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HF
2374 TRUCK BODY SALES TAX EXEMPTION*
Exempts the sales price of a truck body and its mounting onto an
empty truck chassis from the sales tax.
IFL opposes. HF
2380 WHISTLEBLOWERS Prohibits
a person from taking adverse legal action against a state employee who
discloses any information to a member or employee of the Legislature if
the information can be used by them in the performance of their duties,
regardless of whether the information was requested.
IFL supports. HF
2388 INSURANCE NOTICE Adds
a requirement that the phone number for an insured to obtain more
information about the external review process be printed on the
insured’s insurance card and be posted in a prominent place in health
care facilities. IFL supports. HF
2392 INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT* Establishes a tax credit of 20% of the
investment in a certified targeted small business.
IFL opposes. HF
2401 TEACHER SALARY APPROPRIATION
Increases the appropriation from the General Fund for the student
achievement and teacher quality program for FY2007 by $60.4 million over
the $69.9 million appropriated for FY2006.
IFL supports. HF
2405 FARMLAND EXEMPTION* Exempts
any gain from the sale of farmland to the state DOT if the proceeds are
deposited in a qualified pension plan.
IFL opposes. HF
2407 CULTURAL FACILITY SALES TAX REFUND*
Allows a contractor to claim a refund for the sales tax paid.
IFL opposed. HF
2420 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT ACCOUNTS*
Allows the creation of capital improvement investment accounts for
certain small businesses and provides tax credits and exemptions.
IFL opposes. HF
2426 BUDGET LIMITATION Extends
the General Fund budget limitation through the end of the fiscal year for
which the appropriation applies. IFL
opposes. HSB
680 COAL GAS TAX CREDIT* Creates
an income tax credit for 25% of the cost of the acquisition and
installation of coal gas conversion property.
IFL opposes. HSB
699 SOY FLUID TAX CREDIT* Provides
a soy-based transformer fluid tax credit under the individual and
corporate income, sales and use, and replacement taxes.
IFL opposes. HSB
701 MEDIA SALES TAX EXEMPTION* Exempts
from state sales and use taxes the provision of services for the
production of master audio, video, film, or digital recordings or similar
media. IFL opposes. SF
2211 TAXPAYER REBATE FUND* Establishes
a resident taxpayer rebate fund for money in excess of the limit for the
Economic Emergency Fund, and after repayments to the Senior Living Trust
Fund, requires that rebates be paid to Iowa residents taxpayers after the
fund balance reaches $50 million in a minimum amount of $20 per taxpayer;
allows appropriations from the fund for cash flow purposes only and
requires 2/3 approval by the legislature.
IFL opposes. SF
2218 MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAPS
Caps non-economic damages at $500,000. IFL opposes. SF
2222 MINIMUM WAGE Increases
the state minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and indexes increases each January
to inflation. IFL supports. SF
2223 DOMESTIC ABUSE UNEMPLOYMENT Allows
a person who quits a job due to domestic abuse to receive unemployment
benefits. IFL supports. SSB
3173 HEALTH CARE COVERAGE Directs
the DHS to seek a waiver to cover parents with income less than 50% of the
federal poverty level under the Medicaid portion of Hawk-I.
IFL Supports. SSB
3181 WORKERS COMP NOTICE Requires
certain notices be given to workers who may have a claim for workers comp
benefits. IFL supports. SSB
3190 CONSTITUTIONAL BUDGET AMENDMENT
Proposes an amendment adding a new Article XIII to the Constitution
of the State of Iowa, giving the people of Iowa the right to vote on
certain adopted increases of taxes and fees, so that the increases will
not take effect unless approved by majority vote at a state general
election. IFL opposes. *Iowa
Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO tax policy is based on three principles:
fairness, equity, and adequacy.
Due to funding shortages bills offering tax cuts, credits and/or
exemptions fail the adequacy test.
Some may be unfair or inequitable as well. |
