State Government Reorganization Bill Flies Through Subcommittee

SSB 3030 was discussed in subcommittee on Wednesday, January 13, with all of the interest groups voicing their support or concern. The bill makes many changes based on the Governor’s recommendations as well as recommendations from the State Government Reorganization Commission that met during the interim. 

One positive change of interest to counties is the electronic publication of public notices in Division IV. This would allow counties to post notices online and would be a great cost-savings measure during these tough economic times. Since more and more people are using the internet to find information, access to government will not be compromised. 

On the negative side, the bill would eliminate the Juvenile Detention Home Fund, which funds the state’s portion of juvenile detention. Three types of civil fines collected by the DOT are used to fund about 21% of the cost of juvenile detention at 11 centers across the state. The counties are required to fund the balance of court-ordered juvenile detention. Please click here to be directed to an article ran today in the Des Moines Register with more information.

The Senate is planning on working on the bill in committee next week and bringing it to the floor for debate by the end of January. Please contact members of the Senate State Government Committee (click here for member contact information) expressing your support of Division IV and your concerns about the cost shifting of juvenile detention costs to the county property tax payer.