Legislation
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2012 Weekly Legislative Reports
Week 4 - January 30 - Feb. 4, 2012
Iowa State Police Association Resolutions
Resolution #1
Submitted by the Iowa State Police Association Board of Directors
WHEREAS: Many police officers will receive no Social Security; and those who do, will receive one that is severely reduced; and
WHEREAS: Most persons receive Social Security pensions tax-exempt; and
WHEREAS: Until recently, police pensions were tax exempt in Iowa; and
WHEREAS: Many states honor their dedicated public employees by making their pensions tax-exempt; and
WHEREAS: Some bordering states do not tax retirement income which attracts Iowa retirees to cross the border and live in those states; and
WHEREAS: The taxation of their pensions has added an additional burden on our retired members;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa State Police Association petition the Iowa General Assembly to eliminate the income tax on retiree pensions.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #2
Submitted by the Iowa State Police Association Board of Directors
WHEREAS: Law Enforcement Officers are routinely required to work in excess of their standard work week in order to complete their basic job function, for which they are paid overtime; and
WHEREAS: Law Enforcement Officers are routinely required to testify before state, local and federal courts during their off-duty hours, for which they are paid overtime; and
WHEREAS: Law Enforcement Officers are routinely called into duty to provide law enforcement needs at special events or to violent or serious crimes in their communities, for which they are paid overtime; and
WHEREAS: Law Enforcement Officers and their families adjust their lifestyles to the total amount of compensation they receive; and
WHEREAS: Chapters 411 and 97A of the Iowa State Code do not currently allow for overtime to be considered earnable compensation; and
WHEREAS: Other Law Enforcement Pensions within the State of Iowa and other states allow for overtime to be considered “earnable compensation;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa State Police Association petition the Iowa General Assembly to change the definition of earnable compensation to include overtime earned.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #3
Submitted by Iowa State Police Association Local 83, ISU Police
WHEREAS: Any Iowa city, county, or state sub-division can currently and without warning disarm all of their law enforcement officers without recourse for these officers; and
WHEREAS: Law enforcement has known and unknown, inherent dangers including unforeseen felonious assaults and high risk calls for service;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa State Police Association petition the Iowa General Assembly to offer protection to all Iowa Law Enforcement officers by mandating that all certified Iowa Law Enforcement Officers shall carry firearms during the performance of their duties, with allowances for discipline and administrative issues.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #4
Submitted by Iowa State Police Association Local 5, Cedar Rapids
WHEREAS: Chapters 34 and 34A of the Iowa Code deal with the E911 communications system and provide for surcharges to be imposed on each land and wireless line and for the division of these funds to provide the needed funding to maintain and operate 911 services on a local and statewide basis; and
WHEREAS: the Iowa Administrative Code, Section 605, Chapter 10.10 is a listing of agencies, individuals and organizations that are exempt from the imposition of the E911 surcharge and includes "Federal agencies and tax-exempt instrumentalities of the federal government"; and
WHEREAS: local and state governmental agencies are tax supported entities and are tax-exempt from having to pay taxes on purchases made for those entities; and
WHEREAS: the E911 surcharge paid on telephone lines, both wired and wireless, is a form of tax that is paid with taxpayer funds and that those surcharge funds are ultimately re-cycled back to many of the local and state entities, but do create a financial hardship to the local and state entities due to reduced agency budgets in recent years;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa State Police Association petition the appropriate state legislative and/or governmental bodies to add "tax-exempt state and local agencies" to the list of agencies, individuals and organizations that are exempt from the imposition of the E911 surcharge, as provided in Chapters 34 and 34A of the Iowa Code and the Iowa Administrative Code, Section 605, Chapter 10.10.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #5
Submitted by Iowa State Police Association Local 10, Des Moines
WHEREAS: Cost of insurance premiums continues to be a primary focus of public employees as they determine the affordability of retirement; and
WHEREAS: Many retired officers, or their dependants, have pre-existing health issues, which reasonably requires that they continue to carry the insurance provided to active public employees by the same public employer, many times, at a much higher premium; and
WHEREAS: Other states honor their dedicated retired public employees by providing health insurance to those public employees and their dependants at a reduced rate or at no cost to the retired employee; and
WHEREAS: The use of collective bargaining for the purpose of health insurance benefits will allow public employers and their employees to bargain for those benefits, eliminating hardships to the public employers while continuing health insurance benefits for public employees into their retirement;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa State Police Association petition the Iowa General Assembly to amend Iowa Code Chapter 20.9 to allow the inclusion of retirement systems solely for the purpose of health insurance benefits.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #6
Submitted by Iowa State Police Association Past President Tim Pillack
Whereas: Iowa Law Enforcement Officers routinely issue non-indictable traffic related citations; and
Whereas: The State of Iowa Constitution, Article 1, Section 11, states that all non-indictable traffic related offenses must be tried on information under oath; and
Whereas: New electronic technology allows for Iowa Law Enforcement Officers to issue non-indictable traffic related citations without physically handling the summons; and
Whereas: The requirement to have these non-indictable traffic related offenses tried on information “under oath” causes an undue burden on Iowa law enforcement officials, county clerk of court offices and the court system;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Iowa State Police Association petition the Iowa General assembly to amend the State of Iowa Constitution to allow all non-indictable traffic related offenses be tried on information only, rather than on information “under oath.”
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #7
Submitted by Iowa State Police Association Past Presidents
WHEREAS: Many police officers receive no social security and those who do will receive one that is severely reduced; and
WHEREAS: The cost of living has increased at a rate that has exceeded the rate of the escalator for retirees; and
WHEREAS: The escalator was established in 1996 and has not changed since then;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa State Police Association petition the Iowa General Assembly to increase the escalator for police retirees by increasing the annual escalator percentage.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #8
Submitted by the Iowa State Police Association Board of Directors
WHEREAS: Law enforcement officers are subject to a Grand Jury hearing subsequent to a deadly or lethal force encounter while acting within their official capacity, and
WHEREAS: A Grand Jury upon examining the evidence can determine whether the evidence pertaining to the law enforcement officer’s use of deadly or lethal force warrants an indictment and trial, and
WHEREAS: If the law enforcement officer is indicted, per Iowa Code 331.756(6) public officials are not entitled to mandatory reimbursement of attorney and court fees resulting from the criminal prosecutions absent express statutory authorizations even if the public official is vindicated, and
WHEREAS: A number of other states have expressly overridden this common law approach through clear and unambiguous language, usually under limited circumstances and often on a discretionary rather than mandatory basis;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Iowa governments adopt clear and direct language to indemnify law enforcement officers in criminal proceedings when the officer is found to be justified in their use of force and vindicated of the indictment.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #9
Submitted by Iowa State Police Association Local 12, Waterloo
WHEREAS: Officers carry many pieces of equipment that can incapacitate them, such as oc spray, batons, electronic control devices, etc; and
WHEREAS: If an officer is disarmed of any piece of his/her equipment, it could be used to incapacitate said officer; and
WHEREAS: If an officer’s ability to communicate with other law enforcement personnel is impeded; and
WHEREAS: If an officer is incapacitated, it increases the likeliness that the officer could be seriously injured or killed;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Iowa State Police Association supports the change in legislation that makes it a felony for anyone to knowingly or intentionally remove or attempt to remove a dangerous weapon or any piece of equipment used for control or communication purposes from an officer.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #10
Submitted by Iowa State Police Association Local #5, Cedar Rapids
WHEREAS: The natural disasters in recent years were finally felt first hand in the State of Iowa in 2008; and
WHEREAS: The men and women of Iowa’s public safety community in those affected communities responded to their duties as would be expected, not giving a thought to a decision between their response to their departments and communities or their personal losses; and
WHEREAS: In the case of the Parkersburg tornado, about half of the town’s volunteer fire department lost their homes but responded to assist others in their community and in the case of the Cedar Rapids flood, 13 police department employees’ homes were damaged and 8 fire department employees suffered personal losses, however all reported to work throughout the flood emergency; and
WHEREAS: The hours worked by those public safety professionals were often times long and strenuous with little time off to tend to their own losses and families; and
WHEREAS: Those same public safety employees still had to find time to deal with their own losses and the documentation needed to secure insurance, FEMA and/or other government assistance to begin rebuilding their lives and property all the while answering the call for duty in their communities;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Iowa State Police Association petition the Iowa General Assembly to establish a fund for the express purpose of providing immediate (defined as within one week) assistance in the form of a forgivable grant or loan of up to $10,000.00 to public safety employees in the wake of a natural or manmade disaster that affects those employees’ personal property and families, with the provisions included in the process that those employees did in fact report to their work assignments in response to the disaster.
Past President Tim Pillack moved to approve. Past President Joel Kessler seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secretary/Treasurer.
Resolution #11
Submitted by Iowa State Police Association Local #2, Davenport
WHEREAS: Law enforcement officers are routinely sent to work in excessive speed complaint areas, while utilizing the current technology of LIDAR and Radar to detect speed violations; and
WHEREAS: Law enforcement officers routinely respond to serious injury/fatal vehicle crashes that are the result of offenders driving in excess of posted speed limits; and
WHEREAS: Iowa State Code §321.232, Radar Jamming Devices is already in existence; and
WHEREAS: Any jamming devices that would interfere with the lawful duties of law enforcement officers in the apprehension of speed violators should fall within the existing code;
NOW, THEREFORE, BY IT RESOLVED that the Iowa State Police Association petition the Iowa General Assembly to change the technologically outdated law of Radar Jamming Devices to include updated technology now and hence forward to be known as “Speed Detection Jamming Devices.”
Kurt Rosenthal, Local 9, moved to approve. Past President Brad Novak seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Attested to by Rick L. Host, Secre
