Enacted Bills, Staying Connected with IDPH

2019 Legislative Session - Enacted Bills

Quick Overview:

• 166 bills sent to the Governor. 
• Of the 166 bills, 164 were signed with no changes.
• The following bill was line-item vetoed: SF615, Judicial Appropriations.
• The following bill was vetoed in its entirety: HF732, Medical Cannabidiol Act changes. Veto letter.
• Two joint resolutions became law and were related to public safety and human services.
• More information: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/findLegislation  

A quick budget reminder for HF766, the Health and Human Services Appropriations bill, which appropriated $1.937 billion. Overall, this was a reduction of $34.9 million from FY19. IDPH maintained a mostly status quo budget, with some reductions due to rounding, at a total of $55.4 million. The bill included a number of funding and policy changes. You can find more details in an earlier update here. 

What's Next

Now that the governor has taken action on bills, IDPH will continue its analysis of the enacted legislation.

That includes analyzing budget impacts, and evaluating whether policy or program changes, administrative rules and legislative reports are needed.

We'll also be scheduling meetings with partners and stakeholders on topics important to them and to legislators. 

Finally, work is already beginning on next year's priorities including developing policy proposals and evaluating updates to current code for next session. 

Get to Know Your Legislators 

Do you want to know more about your local legislators?

Or, maybe you're interested in what leadership at the Capitol have to say? Learn more at the Legislature's website. You can: 

• Look up who your legislator is, find out more about them and sign up for their newsletter (just click on your legislator's name, look for a newsletter link at the bottom of their page allowing you to subscribe) 
• Find their contact information if you have thoughts or feedback you want to share
• Find out who leadership are at the Capitol and sign up for their newsletters

The interim period after session is a good time to connect with local legislators for updates on what happened during the previous session, and what's expected for next year. 

Advocacy vs. Lobbying

When you reach out to legislators, it's important to know the difference between advocacy and lobbying.

The Legislative Services Agency has a guide called "Lobbying: A Citizen's Guide."  

Lobbying tries to directly influence a legislator or legislative body, and is encouraging the passage, defeat or modification of legislation. 

Advocacy informs, educates and communicates without urging specific action on a  piece of legislation. Advocacy is important to public health and urges change on behalf of a particular health goal, program, interest or population.

Most companies and organizations have specific individuals who do lobbying or advocacy work. They coordinate with leadership teams to determine what specific legislation their organization may support or oppose - or lobby on. This helps organizations have a clear, cohesive message coming from one point-of-contact in the organization to policymakers. 

The National Association of City and County Health Officials provides more tips with their guide to "Building Your Advocacy Toolbox."

Staying Connected with IDPH

Communication regarding important health messages is critical to the work of the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). 

If you'd like to receive IDPH news releases, meeting notices and more, you can enroll or update your subscription preferences here. For other IDPH topics, scroll down to "Public Health, Iowa Department of," and expand the section for "News & Announcements." 

We also welcome you to follow IDPH social media networks on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest.