 In this Edition:
- HHS Budget is Finalized
- Update on Enrolled Bills
- Sine Die
- Public Health News
- Resources and Civic Education
HHS Budget
The Iowa Legislature adjourned on Saturday, April 27, 2019. The Health and Human Services (HHS) budget appropriates a total of $1.937 billion. This is a decrease of $34.9 million when compared to the revised budget for FY 2019.
The bill appropriates $55.4 million to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), an increase of $542,267 from the FY 2019 Budget. Much of the increase is due to new psychiatric residency and training programming noted below. Overall, the IDPH budget is status quo with some reductions due to rounding.
The final enrolled budget bill - HF766 - can be found here. The Legislative Services Agency (LSA) will post a final bill review in the coming week. You can find an overall state budget recap here.
In addition to funding the department's administration and operation, HF766 makes several notable changes to public health funding and policy including:
- $338,000 ($306,000 and $32,000) to grow the Your Life Iowa resources to include children's mental health resources - Page 5 & Page 50
- Continued support of the 5-2-1-0 program's childhood obesity efforts, and additional resources for the 1st Five program - Page 6
- An increase of $400,000 to be used for rural psychiatric residencies to support the annual creation and training of four psychiatric residents in under-served areas of the state, Page 12
- An increase of $150,000 to be used for psychiatric training of physician assistants and nurse practitioners, Page 12
- $191,000 for public health and workforce initiatives, Page 11
- Requiring a 5-year study for enhanced delivery of co-occurring conditions instead of an initial proposal to move the Bureau of Substance Abuse to the Department of Human Services, Page 64
- New procedures for executive directors of the Boards of Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry and Medicine, Page 73
- Combines, eliminates or changes reimbursement for a number of IDPH boards and councils, Beginning Page 75
- Restricts the distribution of federal funds for family planning, personal responsibility and sexual risk avoidance programs. Exempts UnityPoint providers that do not provide abortions, Page 88
- Directs the department to use a request for proposal process for hospital inpatient and outpatient data, Page 88
Gov. Kim Reynolds has 30 days to take action on the bill.
Update on Bills
The bills that were passed by the 2019 Session of the 88th Iowa General Assembly are found here. This list of "enrolled bills" may continue to be updated. Bills of public health interest that are enrolled are found at the list here.
When both chambers pass a piece of legislation, the Governor has three options: sign the bill, veto the bill (or item veto an appropriations bill), or take no action.
See more on what happens when a bill is passed by both chambers and the governor's options at the LSA webpage.
What's sine die?
Public Health News
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Resources and Civic Education
If you want to learn more about the legislative process over the interim, you can find resources at this page.
This includes information about how a bill becomes a law, the differences between the Iowa Legislature and the U.S. Congress, how the appropriations and budget process work, and you can get details on how citizens can participate in the legislative process.
You'll also find facts about the Capitol building and the Official Register of historical and current biographical information on the state's institutions and leaders.
Please also stay tuned for several interim legislative update newsletters from IDPH.
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