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Legislative forum sparks discussions on library obscenity bill, unemployment, and renewable energy
Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce hosts first of two legislative forums
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MT. PLEASANT — A legislative forum hosted by the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce’s Government Relations Committee drew local lawmakers, business leaders and community members to discuss a host of topics ranging from library policies and unemployment insurance to renewable energy and housing development Saturday morning, Feb. 22 at the Union Block.
Led by Mt. Pleasant Chamber Executive Director Rachel Lindeen, Senators Mark Lofgren and Adrian Dickey and Representatives Jeff Shipley and Taylor Collins answered questions assembled by the Government Relations Committee and additional questions from attendees during a short Q&A.
During the public questions session of the forum, many with associations to Henry County libraries raised concerns about the proposal of the library obscenity bill which has stirred controversy among educators, librarians and parents alike.
HJ Nugen Library Board Member Brandon Harrison started off the conversation about the bill followed by others like Mt. Pleasant Library Board Chair Teresa Rose and Mt. Pleasant Public Library Director Kayleigh Septer.
“My two biggest concerns is this really doesn't define what obscenity is, so you leave it kind of vague and open,” local resident Brian Swink said. “[And] now they've written it in a way that you are now authorized to go litigate against your librarians.”
The Iowa bill — officially known as House File 521 (formerly HF 274) — would remove a long-standing exemption in Iowa’s obscenity law which currently states that public libraries and schools are not prohibited from the use of “appropriate material for educational purposes.”
Under existing law, materials in libraries and educational institutions that are considered appropriate for learning are exempt from obscenity challenges. The bill would repeal that exemption, making it possible for libraries and schools to face legal challenges if materials in their collections are deemed obscene under Iowa’s standard.
Shipley fielded this question and other similar questions. He delivered his response to each individual specifically associated with a library as a question.
“Have you got any complaints from any community members on anything you’ve done?” he asked.
Thus far, none of those asking about the legislation had, but each continued to express concerns about vague language of the legislation, difficulties implementing required changes, and possible legal repercussions for libraries.
“The thing about obscenity law, and this goes back to the 1970 Miller case and the Miller test, obscenity is very still narrowly defined,” Shipley said. “So, anything that has scientific, political, literary, artistic value, or serious is one of the operative words, is not obscene.”
Shipley further stated that he did not have concerns about removing the additional layer of law because he believes it is duplicative and won’t “really affect much.”
“Whether it's in a library or town square or movie theater or classroom or Wells Fargo Arena, it should all be the same operating principle on what you consider obscene and allowable for public consumption,” Shipley said.
The bill has advanced through subcommittee and House Education Committee votes, but its future is uncertain.
Additional topics discussed in the forum included more economical ones such as the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund.
“The delegation also had the privilege of hearing from Deputy Director Georgia Van Gundy with Iowa Workforce Development,” Lindeen began a question to the legislators. “One of her many comments was regarding the reevaluation of unemployment insurance as there is currently a large surplus. Any updates on this topic to lessen the burden on our businesses?”
Collins responded by explaining that Iowa’s trust fund is “very solvent” and stated that it is “quite large” compared to the Iowa population.
Dickey then detailed proposals to adjust the taxable wage base — from the current $39,500 to lower amounts — to ease the financial burden on small businesses while ensuring the fund’s long-term stability.
“What we're talking about is our unemployment trust fund right now is about $2 billion,” Dickey said. “If you do all the forecasting and the modeling to see, you know, how much money do we need in the event of another COVID type scenario, right? You know, the worst case scenario that number ends up being around $800 million. So, we easily have more than a billion dollars in that fund that really doesn’t need to be in there.”
According to Dickey, 92% of businesses pay into this fund, but don’t take anything out. He also explained that a current plan being discussed by Gov. Kim Reynolds concerning unemployment would drop the amount of wages businesses pay unemployment on and the rate at which they pay that employment from 7% to 5.4%.
“By 2032 that will drop the fund by $5 billion, and that’s great,” Dickey said. “My problem with that is essentially what we’d call payers and takers.”
Comparing this structure of unemployment to insurance rates, Dickey said he could not get behind a plan that causes businesses using unemployment to see a decrease in rates.
“I can’t get behind if we continue to do what’s been going on for decades, and that is 92% of businesses subsidizing 7%,” Dickey said. “So, we have a different plan, or we will amend the governor’s plan to try to adjust and try to put a little more balance in here.”
The plan Dickey backs, he explained, has two tiers for the amount of income that businesses will be taxed for unemployment. The businesses that pay more than they take would be taxed on fewer wages than those that take more.
Renewable energy legislation also came up at the forum as Jeff Roth asked about the topic and raised concerns about maintaining home rule.
Collins told the public that he sees bills pertaining to renewable energy nearly every year, but he doesn’t support them.
“I don’t think it will go very far,” he said of the current bill. “But I also encourage folks to not be afraid to come to the subcommittee on some of these bills. It’d be nice to hear from people other than the energy lobbyists.”
Lofgren jumped into the conversation pertaining to housing development and TIF structures at the forum, since housing development emerged as another key topic amid ongoing discussions about economic growth.
“My niche is kind of housing,” Lofgren stated.
As far as TIF districts, Lofgren said he doesn’t expect to see them expanding.
Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce’s Government Relations Committee will welcome Lofgren, Dickey, Shipley, and Collins back to Mt. Pleasant March 14 at 8:30 a.m. in the city hall for another forum.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
