SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 5, 2018
Sullivan’s
Salvos 4/10/18
In this edition:
*Sanctuary Cities/Counties
*Mental Health Bills
*Minimum Wage
*Kaufmann Update
*Did You Know?
*Sanctuary Cities/Counties
The Iowa Legislature
just passed SF481, otherwise known as the “Sanctuary Cities/Counties” Bill.
This is one of the most racist, least productive bills I have ever seen come
out of the Iowa Legislature. And that is saying something!
SF481 requires local
officials to enforce Federal immigration law, and threatens to withhold ALL
state dollars from any entity that screws it up.
Not only is this law
racist, but it also runs contrary to the needs of County Attorneys, County
Sheriffs, and Chiefs of Police. They know this will only serve to decrease
cooperation with law enforcement. The GOP just voted to make life harder for
our law enforcement community, and to make our communities less safe!
Iowans did not want
this bill. Only one group registered in favor – the Iowa Minute Men. So 55
State Reps chose to support a militia group over our law enforcement officers!
What’s
more, SF481 may be unenforceable. I am not convinced the state has the power to
withhold each of those various pots of money. I guess we will see!
Meanwhile, the Bill
passed the House 55-45, and the Senate 28-18-1. Every person representing
Johnson County voted “no” except Representative Bobby Kaufmann, who voted
“yes”. I hope the voters of Iowa hold the 55 Reps that voted “yes” accountable
in November!
*Mental Health Bills
The Iowa Legislature
recently took some big steps to improve Iowa’s system of mental health care.
While there is a lot to like here, I remain skeptical. Unfortunately, I fear
these improvements are shaping up to be a big unfunded mandate for County
governments – with a lack of oversight to boot!
A quick background:
Governor Reynolds signed House File 2456 dealing with comprehensive
mental-health upgrades and Senate File 2113 to set up required training for educators
to recognize and address young people facing a mental-health crisis. The Governor
also announced an executive order to begin developing a children's mental
health system.
The
really remarkable thing about this? Legislators unanimously approved both
bipartisan measures! That demonstrates the unbelievably good work done by
advocates over the past couple of years – many of which live right here in
Johnson County!
House
File 2456 has a broad scope: changes to commitments, the addition of subacute
mental health facilities, disclosure of mental health issues to law
enforcement, video conferencing for hospitalization hearings, transportation
improvements, and quarterly reports on services. It also establishes six new
access centers offering short-term services in crisis situations.
Do
not get me wrong – these are all critical improvements! But before Legislators
begin taking credit for fixing mental health in Iowa, we need to address the
elephant in the room – funding.
HF2456
contains no provisions for state funding. None. Legislators are assuming that
counties will pick up these expenses through increased regional core services
and reduction of fund balances in mental health regions. I served on our local
Mental Health Region Board from prior to its’ inception until this past
January. I can assure you that counties do not have the resources to do
everything this bill proposes. The state is going to have to step up.
For
one thing, the privatization of Medicaid has been a disaster, and this disaster
will translate to all new services. If providers cannot get paid, they are
going to get out of the business. If clients are denied eligibility, nothing
improves. Services they cannot access will not help them.
It
is also important to note that when the Branstad-Reynolds Administration closed
state institutions, they took Iowa to #50 in mental health beds. That is
correct – dead last! She CREATED the problem she is now claiming to solve. And
while HF2456 will create a lot of beds, Iowans with mental health needs will
require more than this bill provides. Conveniently for the Governor, the new
beds will not receive state funding. So the cost was simply shifted from the
state to local governments.
That
is not the only problem! As I write this, Legislators are still insisting on a
huge tax cut for corporations and wealthy Iowans. This is their plan despite
the fact that schools, universities, and core functions of state government are
being bled to death. This means the state is truly leaving the counties out on
a limb when it comes to funding mental health services.
Plus,
the state has starved the Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of
Inspections and Appeals (DIA), and other regulatory agencies. So who will be
there to monitor these services?
Again, there are a
lot of good things in this legislation. But before we begin to celebrate, we
need to hold the Governor and Legislators accountable for funding their
promises!
*Minimum Wage
The
Johnson County Board of Supervisors has voted to increase the County’s
recommended minimum wage by 17 cents to $10.27 per hour, effective Sunday, July
1, 2018. The Board of Supervisors used Consumer Price Index data to set the
increase, which is based on inflation.
Though
the wage increase is symbolic in nature and unenforceable under State law, the
Supervisors approved the increase to remain in line with their vote in
September 2015 to begin phased increases.
The
State of Iowa’s minimum wage was increased to $7.25 per hour in 2008, ahead of
the Federal increase to $7.25 in 2009, but has remained at $7.25 and is not
indexed for inflation. On Sept. 10, 2015, the Johnson County Board of
Supervisors passed an ordinance (#09-10-15-01) establishing a Johnson County
minimum wage. According to that ordinance, the minimum wage in Johnson County
was raised in three steps – to $8.20 per hour on Nov. 1, 2015, to $9.15 per
hour on May 1, 2016, and to $10.10 per hour on Jan. 1, 2017.
On
March 30, 2017, Governor Terry Branstad signed legislation eliminating the
ability of jurisdictions within the State of Iowa to set a minimum wage above
the State minimum wage. Johnson County had a higher minimum wage than the State
for 17 months, including three months when it was $10.10 per hour.
In
December 2017, the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, which was composed of
members of the public and residents of Johnson County, presented the findings
of the report, “Jobs and wages in Johnson County before and after the minimum
wage increase,” at a Board of Supervisors’ Informal Meeting. The Committee
found that the minimum wage increase did not appear to hurt businesses, which
was a suggested possible negative consequence. Additionally, the wage increase
benefited low-wage workers, who saw a larger increase in their average weekly
earnings.
*Kauffman Update
As
you may recall, on March 21 I challenged State Representative Bobby Kaufmann to
a debate on HF2372. (I texted him the challenge before it appeared in Salvos.)
I still have not received a response from Representative Kaufmann. I will keep
you posted.
*DID YOU KNOW?
Most mental health services in
this country are paid for through Medicaid. Medicaid is a federal program with
a small state match, and can vary dramatically from state to state.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"Sullivan’s
Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a
brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
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serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:38 PM
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