Rod Sullivan, Supervisor, Johnson County, Iowa

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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-

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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod






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