Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Privatizing IPERS: An Analysis of SF 45 (Updated 10/26/18)

    SENATE FILE 45 was introduced by Senator Brad Zaun (R) on the first day of the 2017 legislative session.  (PDF of this document)

    Senator Zaun is the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Vice Chair of the Labor and Business Relations Committee, and a member of the State Government and Commerce Committees

    The bill mandates employees newly hired on or after July 1, 2019, who would otherwise be members of the public safety peace officers’ retirement (PORS), accident/disability system, the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS), the statewide fire and police retirement system (411), or the judicial retirement system, SHALL NOT become members of their respective retirement systems.  These are all state defined benefit pension plans.

    Instead, Senator Zaun’s bill directs each retirement system to develop an alternative defined contribution plan for employees newly hired on or after July 1, 2019. This would repeal the current pension systems in Iowa and replace them with a private market/401(k) type plan.

    The bill directs each retirement system to submit a plan to create an alternative defined contribution plan to the public retirement systems committee by October 1, 2018.

    This is a bad bill – built on a bad idea.

    While Senate File 45 would get rid of all public defined benefit pensions,  this year most discussion is on the IPERS pension system.

    IPERS is 82.4 percent funded, which rating agencies say is like being an “A” student.  While some public worker pension systems in other states are in bad shape, Iowa’s system was ranked as the 10th best-positioned pension system in the country.  Iowa also has the 4th lowest debt, including pension liability, in the country.

    • One in 10 Iowans is a member of IPERS.  Most of IPERS members are teachers and school staff, followed by law enforcement, social workers, prison staff, transportation workers, and other public employees.
    • The average IPERS retiree leaves public employment after 22 years of service.
    • The average IPERS retiree receives an annual benefit of $16,000. Benefits are calculated based on a formula of years of service and highest average salary, with a maximum benefit of 65 percent for 35 years or more of service.  No one makes more in IPERS retirement than they did while they were working.
    • This benefit is secure and paid for a lifetime, but does not include a cost-of-living adjustment.  Every year spent in retirement means the IPERS monthly benefit has less buying power. That’s why IPERS is only one part of retirement planning and is designed to be combined with Social Security and other personal savings and investments.

     

    October 2018 Update

    While SENATE FILE 45 did not advance in the 2017 – 2018 session, leading Iowa Republicans continue to back the ideas contained in the bill.

    On April 24 of 2017, shortly after the 2017 session adjourned, Governor Reynolds told reporters that her priorities for the next session included “Water quality, tax reform and a study of the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System,” according to reports in the Cedar Rapids Gazette and the Quad City Times.

    On August 28 of 2017, then Senator, now Senate President ,Charles Schneider (R) invited the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation to give a presentation to members of the IPERS Benefits Advisory Committee.  The Reason Foundation is an advocate for private market/401(k) type retirement plans.   The IPERS response to the Reason Foundation’s presentation can be found here: https://www.ipers.org/newsroom/2017/reason-foundation-presentation-bac

    On December 18 of 2017, the Legislature’s Public Retirement Systems Committee met for a contentious meeting, headlined by one newspaper as: “Iowa lawmakers grill IPERS officials about public pension funding.”  The committee adjourned without making recommendations for legislation in 2018.

    On June 22 of 2018, Governor Kim Reynolds was interviewed on Iowa Press (http://www.iptv.org/iowapress/story/30878/governor-kim-reynolds).  The Governor repeatedly talked of making changes to IPERS while “maintaining the commitments that have been made.”  IPERS managers have consistently warned that changing to a 401(k) plan for new members would threaten benefits to current members.

    On October 23 of 2018, individual editorials from Governor Reynolds and Iowa House Republican Speaker Linda Upmeyer appeared in major papers.  Both claimed there are no plans to change IPERS.

    On October 25 of 2018, House Democratic Leader Mark Smith revealed that Speaker Upmeyer had previously voted for “a 401(k)-style plan that would divert money from IPERS.” (HSB 512, House State Government Committee Vote, March 2, 2006)

     – END –

     

     

     

    Produced by the Iowa Senate Democratic Research Staff: 515-281-5804

  • Statement on latest revenue estimates

    IA SEN NEWS
    Oct. 16, 2018

    Statement from Sen. Joe Bolkcom, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee

    “The fiscal mismanagement by Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans is like a slow train wreck for everyday Iowans.

    “Their smoke-and-mirrors shell game won’t erase the fact that the Governor and Republican-controlled Legislature have made job training and higher education unaffordable for thousands of Iowans, reduced protections for seniors and other vulnerable Iowans, and made health care less accessible for thousands of Iowans over the past two years.

    “It’s no wonder that Iowans are clamoring for new leadership that will put their needs ahead of the self-interest of Wall Street corporations, special interests and millionaires. It’s time to put Iowans first again.”

    — end  —

  • Still no answers on Medicaid mess

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release:  June 18, 2018   

     

    A Statement from Senator Pam Jochum

    “The presentation by Iowa Medicaid Director Mike Randol last week was an embarrassing disservice to Iowa taxpayers.

    “The Reynolds Administration has still not provided any solid evidence that Medicaid privatization is saving Iowa taxpayers one dime. They also failed to address ongoing problems with the quality of service provided to Medicaid members and the failure to provide Iowa health care providers with adequate and timely reimbursements.

    “The failure by the Reynolds Administration to come clean with Iowa taxpayers is even more reason for the State Auditor to comply with my request to conduct a comprehensive audit of Medicaid privatization that explains why it isn’t working.”

    -end –

  • Governor: Reveal the numbers behind Medicaid savings claims

    IOWA SENATE NEWS
    For Immediate Release: May 29, 2018

     

    DES MOINES – Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque has accepted Governor Reynolds’ offer to provide the numbers behind alleged Medicaid savings of hundreds of millions dollars.

    “This is not about the politics, it’s about the numbers and Iowa families,” said Jochum, a legislative leader on health care issues. “That’s why I have accepted Governor Reynolds’s offer to meet with Medicaid Director Mike Randol and go over the numbers.  This meeting should, of course, be open to the public and news media.  Iowans have a right to know where and how their tax money is being spent.  We are talking about hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, the financial survival of the state’s health care providers, and the lives of 600,000 Iowans and their families.”

    Republican claims about the financial impact of Medicaid privatization have varied dramatically.*  When the Des Moines Register filed an open records  request for the facts, the Reynolds Administration released a one-page letter that was also sent to Senator Jochum.  The Register was offered more information, but only on “background.”

    “If money has been saved, I want to know how that happened,” said Jochum.  “Did for-profit Medicaid suddenly improve the health of Iowans with serious health care challenges? My best guess is that  most of the ‘savings’ came from failing to pay Iowa health care providers and forcing Iowa families to accept lower quality care.”

    The Republican budget approved during the 2018 session did not include a firm estimate of the cost of Iowa Medicaid for the coming year.

    “We all know for-profit Medicaid has been a disaster for Iowa families and health care providers,” said Jochum.  “I believe it has also been a disaster for the state budget.  Governor Reynolds, I look forward to a public review of the hundreds of millions of dollars Iowa has spent on privatized Medicaid and the reforms that will start fixing Iowa’s Medicaid mess.”

     

    * Reynolds Administration Claims Regarding Privatized Medicaid Costs

    Claimed Savings Date Source
    $232  million by FY 18 January 2015 Branstad/Reynolds Administration
    $47.1 million for FY 18 December 2017 Reynolds Administration
    $140.9 million (either annually OR  cumulatively) May 2018 Reynolds Administration

     

    -end-

  • Jochum to Auditor Mosiman: Open “special investigation” into claims of Iowa Medicaid savings

    DES MOINES — Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque has formally asked Mary Mosiman, the Auditor of the State of Iowa, to “audit the Iowa Medicaid program and the private managed care companies to document and determine the amount of ‘savings’ generated by privatizing the Iowa Medicaid program.”

    “Auditor Mosiman has said her unofficial office motto is, ‘In God We Trust…Everyone Else We Audit,’ said Jochum.  “That’s exactly the attitude we should all take to the suspect claims being made about Iowa’s disastrous Medicaid privatization.”

    Senator Jochum said Auditor Mosiman’s office should subpoena documents from the Reynolds Administration and from private companies to determine if “Iowans are really saving money by paying out of state, for-profit insurance companies to care for our most vulnerable.”

    In her letter to Mosiman, Senator Jochum noted that she had earlier asked the Reynolds Administration to provide the calculations related to Medicaid savings.  She described the response–single sheet of paper claiming almost a half billion dollars in savings—as “inadequate.”

    Senator Pam Jochum has represented Dubuque in the Iowa House and then the Iowa Senate by 1993. From 2013 to 2016, she served as the President of the Iowa Senate.

    – End –

     

    Text of Senator Jochum’s letter to Auditor Mosiman:

     

    May 22, 2018

     

    Mary Mosiman
    Auditor of State
    State of Iowa
    Capitol Building
    Des Moines, IA  50319

     

    Auditor Mosiman,

    I am writing today to officially request that you and your office audit the Iowa Medicaid program and the private managed care companies to document and determine the amount of “savings” generated by privatizing the Iowa Medicaid program.

    You serve as the “Taxpayers’ Watchdog.”  The amount of savings predicted and reported by the Iowa Department of Human Services has continually changed.  Iowans deserve a better answer.  Iowans deserve to know if their taxpayer funds are being used in the most efficient way.

    Your office should subpoena the necessary documentation from the Department of Human Services and the private companies to determine if Iowans are really saving money by paying out of state, for-profit insurance companies to care for our most vulnerable.

    I recently asked the Department of Human Services to show me the calculations related to Medicaid savings and I received the attached inadequate response.  It is time for you and your office to open a special investigation so Iowans can be assured their taxpayer funds are being used effectively and efficiently.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    Sincerely,

    State Senator Pam Jochum

  • Senate Dem Leader on passage of GOP tax scheme

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release:  May 5, 2018 

    Read the Senate Democrats Analysis of Sf 2417, the final 2018 GOP tax plan

    “Republicans passed a tax giveaway bill today that gives most of the benefits to out-of-state companies and millionaires.  It’s a bad deal for most Iowans. It will raise property taxes on families, seniors and small businesses, and it will result in cuts to health care, job creation, education and other critical services.

    “Senate Democrats came into the 2018 session promising to support tax reform that would:

    1. Make the tax system fairer for working families and small businesses
    2. Make Iowa businesses more competitive
    3. Take into account our current budget crisis
    4. Tackle corporate tax giveaways, the fastest growing part of the state budget

    “By every measure, the tax plan unveiled in the 11th hour of the 2018 session and passed by the Senate today fails every one of those tests. That’s because the bill is filled with giveaways to millionaires, wealthy corporations and people who don’t even live in Iowa.”

    -end –

  • 2018 End-of-Session Report

    The Democratic plan for 2018 calls for Putting Iowans First

    • Investing in public schools & preventing more school closures
    • Keeping job training & college affordable for all Iowans
    • Making child care more affordable for working parents & those training for better jobs
    • Raising wages for Iowans
    • Increasing use of renewable energy & fuels
    • Revitalizing rural Iowa with good jobs & a great quality of life
    • Examining tax breaks for big, out-of-state corporations that put the state budget in the red & don’t create Iowa jobs
    • Requiring the Senate GOP to pay for their $1.75 million sexual harassment suit instead of taxpayers
    • Ending privatized Medicaid, especially for our most vulnerable Iowans
    • Keeping health care affordable & accessible for all Iowans
    • Fixing & investing in Iowa’s mental health system
    • Cleaning up the corruption & cronyism in state government


     Gov. Reynolds & Republican lawmakers: Misplaced priorities & mismanagement

    • Instituting the most restrictive abortion ban in the country (SF 359)
    • Slashing investment in skilled worker initiatives (SF 2117, HF 2493)
    • Making record-low investments in public schools (HF 2230)
    • Sending more money to out‐of‐state, for‐profit online schools (SF 475)
    • Raising tuition & reducing opportunities with millions in mid‐year cuts to community colleges & state universities (SF 2117)
    • Allowing unregulated health care plans that can deny people based on pre‐existing conditions (SF 2349)
    • Reducing services at county courthouses with mid‐year cuts (SF 2117)
    • Cutting $4.3 million from an already strapped Department of Human Services (SF 2117)
    • Eliminating protections in current gun ownership laws (HJR 2009)
    • Banning sanctuary cities even though Iowa doesn’t have any (SF 481)
    • Putting Iowans’ safety at risk with lower inspection standards (HF 2297)
    • Cutting energy efficiency programs & discriminating against renewable energy options (SF 2311)
    • Passing a huge tax giveaway that overwhelmingly benefits corporations & the wealthy (SF 2417)
    • Failing to extend funding for school infrastructure & providing more than $100 million in property tax relief with SAVE (HF 2481)
    • Failing to take advantage of industrial help as a promising agricultural commodity (SF 2398)
    • Allowing doctors to give incomplete information to pregnant women (SF 2418)

     

    Several bipartisan bills were approved

    • Requiring ignition interlocks & no temporary license restrictions for OWIs (HF 2338)
    • Ensuring health care coverage for telemedicine services (HF 2305)
    • Expanding mental health services for complex needs (HF 2456)
    • Expanding Move Over law to make the roads safer (HF 2304)
    • Expanding consumer security freezes to protect credit (SF 2177)
    • Expanding Safe Haven laws (SF 360)
    • Helping more veterans by expanding the Veterans Trust Fund (SF 2366)
    • Creating security plans for all Iowa schools (SF 2364)
    • Prohibiting shaming of students who can’t pay for their lunch (HF 2467)
    • Protecting student athletes with new concussion protocols (HF 2442)
    • Requiring suicide prevention training for school employees (SF 2113)
    • Cracking down on electronic forms of identity theft (HF 2199)
    • Licensing for genetic counselors (SF 2228) & autism counselors (SF 192)
    • Enhancing funding for EMS transportation (HF 2285) & 911 HF 2254)
    • Establishing Future Ready plan to train more skilled workers (HF 2458)
    • Expanding work background checks for those with access to personal info (HF 2321, HF 637)
    • Cracking down on electronic eavesdropping (HF 2392)
    • Expanding help through Crime Victims Compensation Fund (SF 2165)
    • Giving schools (HF 2441) & communities (SF 2258) flexibility with certain funding to meet local needs
    • Improving teaching for those with dyslexia (SF 2360)
    • Approving a plan to start combatting Iowa’s opioid crisis (HF 2377)
    • Providing sharing incentives for schools to improve efficiency & save money (HF 633)
    • Protecting the privacy of student data (HF 2354)
    • Taking a first step toward fairer funding for rural schools with high transportation costs (SF 455)

     

    Good news: These GOP bills failed

    • Raising property taxes & reducing local services by ending the state’s property tax backfill for local governments & school districts (SF 2420)
    • Shifting $200 million from public schools to private & home schools through vouchers (SF 2091)
    • Eliminating the Iowa Department of Public Health (HF 2017)
    • Reinstating the death penalty (SF 335)
    • Instituting political discrimination for university faculty (SF 288)
    • Intimidating abortion providers to limit health care choices for women (SF 26)
    • Ending retirement security for public employees, including teachers, fire fighter, & police officers (IPERS, PORS & 411) (SF 45)
    • Defining abortion as murder, even in cases of rape or incest (SF 54)
    • Putting Bible literacy classes in public schools (HF 2031)
    • Removing gender identity protections from Iowa Civil Rights Code (HF 2164)
    • Making Iowa Supreme Court Justices part‐time & paying them like lawmakers (HF 2036)
    • Giving Iowans a “license to discriminate” against fellow citizens who are different from them (SF 2338)
    • Creating new requirements & drug testing for recipients of Medicaid, FIP & SNAP, while limiting food items (SF 2370)
    • Requiring a super‐majority vote for Iowa Supreme Court decisions (SF 2282)
    • Ending state accreditation for community colleges (SF 2272)
    • Extending school bus riding times for K-12 students (SF 2137)

  • Consumer Advocate defends successful energy efficiency programs

    Iowa Senate News Release
    April 30, 2018

    A Statement Sen. Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids
    on Senate File 2311 and the Consumer Advocate

    The Consumer Advocate’s complete statement is attached

    “Thanks to the Iowa Consumer Advocate for speaking up today to defend Iowa’s successful utility energy efficiency programs that have helped create jobs and save consumers money.

    “Earlier today, Iowa Consumer Advocate Mark Schuling stated:

    “’Energy efficiency has saved millions of dollars in energy savings and benefits all customers with lower rates. It has added thousands of jobs in energy efficiency across Iowa. … As passed by the House, SF2311 is a utility bill good for utilities that will result ultimately in higher rates for customers.’

    “Last week, House Democrats fought all night against SF2311, and were joined by five House Republicans in opposing that bill. Senate Republicans should stop and listen to Iowa’s Consumer Advocate.”

    -end-

  • Governor Reynolds must expand IFA investigation

    IOWA LEGISLATURE NEWS
    April 30, 2018

     

    Letter from Democratic Leaders to Governor Reynolds on IFA investigation

    Des Moines, IA — The leaders of the Iowa House and Senate Democrats today called on Governor Kim Reynolds to expand the independent investigation of David Jamison and the Iowa Finance Authority.

    “The fallout from the firing of David Jamison should be a wakeup call to you.  David Jamison’s disgusting behavior and the failure of key staffers in your Administration to address the problem over a period of years highlight the alarming fact that executive branch employees are afraid to report illegal and highly inappropriate behavior,” said Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen of Des Moines.

    The letter signed by the two lawmakers outlined 12 key points that must be included in the scope of the investigation.  Some of the key points include: the victim’s concerns about retaliation; misinformation provided by the Reynolds Administration; the long delay in calling for the independent investigation; an examination of the lease agreement with Hubbell Realty; and a full audit and analysis of expenses and reimbursement to David Jamison including the slush fund used by key executives without oversight.

    “The graphic letter sent to you by a victim of Jamison’s alleged misconduct highlights systemic issues that need to be addressed.  While the investigation is a step in the right direction, the scope of the review is far too narrow,” said House Democratic Leader Mark Smith of Marshalltown.  “Given more information revealed this weekend by a whistleblower who was fired, the investigation must include an audit of IFA’s finances as well.  The harassment, retaliation, and financial mismanagement in your Administration have created a culture of corruption that must end.”

    Last fall, Iowa taxpayers were forced to foot the bill for a $1.75 million settlement in Kirsten Anderson’s lawsuit against Iowa Senate Republicans and an internal review later found that employees were afraid to report harassment.

    “Even after the harassment scandal last fall, the Jamison case proves the culture in your Administration has not changed to protect victims or Iowa taxpayers.  It’s not enough to keep saying you have a zero tolerance policy. Your entire Administration needs to take anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies seriously and to stop protecting friends who you hired to work for Iowa taxpayers,” Petersen added.

    #######

  • Statement on complaint against David Jamison

    Iowa Senate News
    For Immediate Release: April 26, 2018

    Statement from Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen
    on release of harassment complaint against David Jamison

    Redacted complaint by IFA employee

    “For all her talk about zero tolerance and protecting the victims of workplace harassment, it’s clear that Governor Reynolds has been more interested in protecting her friend David Jamison.

    “Taxpayers deserve full disclosure of all complaints against David Jamison during his tenure in state government.

    “Governor Reynolds should also immediately order an external investigation into concerns expressed by the victim that there was a culture at the Iowa Finance Authority where she and other staff feared being retaliated against if they filed complaints. This allegation is eerily similar to those raised by Senate employees during an internal investigation last year.

    “In addition, Governor Reynolds should release the number of harassment complaints brought by state employees since she took office in 2011. Any public information about those cases should also be released immediately.”

    -end –