Friday, March 23, 2007
Governor Culver Signed Eight Bills Today
(Des Moines) – Today, Governor Chet Culver signed the following bills into law:
House File 199:House File 199 deals with the payment of costs of reasonable attorney fees related to certain paternity proceedings, proposed by the Iowa State Bar Association (House 96-0, Senate 49-0). The bill provides that a court may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in a proceeding to determine custody or visitation and in proceedings to modify a paternity, custody or visitation order. State law currently does not address the awarding of reasonable attorney fees in proceedings to determine custody or visitation after a judgment of paternity is entered, or in proceedings to modify a paternity, custody or visitation order. The bill provides clarity to the courts as to when reasonable attorney fees can be awarded and will discourage parents from filing unnecessary legal actions over custody and visitation.
House File 588: House File 588 is a bill eliminating the need for a candidate for township office to file a nomination petition.
Senate File 58: Senate File 58 is a bill which sets the number of signatures needed on a nomination petition for mayor when a city establishes the position of mayor and there are no pre-existing nominating procedures. The number of signatures needed is set at the number of votes in the last city council election divided by the number of city council seats and multiplied by .02 or ten signatures, whichever is higher.
Senate File 67: Senate File 67 is a bill which provides for technical changes in the code the organization that accredits colleges of pharmacy. The bill also allows prescription drugs to be refilled 12 times rather than 11 in the interest of consumer convenience. In addition, the bill establishes a limited drug and device distributor license. This does not authorize the distribution of prescription drugs by these new licensees unless the Board of Pharmacy Examiners specifically approves their distribution; the bill also limits the quantities of such drugs that may be supplied or maintained by entities with this type of license. This allows the Board to react to industry or practice changes in the interest of public health.
Senate File 75: Senate File 75 establishes certification requirements for pharmacy technicians. This enhances consumer safety by requiring those involved in dispensing prescriptions to be appropriately educated and to adhere to patient safety standards. The bill will take effect on July 1, 2010.
Senate File 130: Currently a city or county may, with voter approval, erect a monument to recognize the service of US soldiers, sailors, and marines. The city council or board of supervisors must then appoint a commission of five or seven members to maintain the monument. Senate File 130 (49-0 in the Senate and 95-0 in the House) allows up to eleven members, rather than specifically five or seven, to be appointed to such a commission and defines a quorum as a majority of the commission’s members.
Senate File 272: Senate File 272 is a code editor’s bill. It cleans up various sections of the Iowa code by renumbering sections, correcting spelling and punctuation errors, and updating references to other sections of the code. It has no substantive policy impact.
Senate File 319: This bill is a bill that deals with cooperative associations by providing for documentation, including certificates and statements. The bill allows for cooperative associations to issue certificate of membership or stock. The bill also requires that articles of incorporation, amendments to articles, or renewal articles to only be filed with the Secretary of State. Filing documents with the county recorder has been removed from the code. There is also a new section regarding cooperative associations changing principal office and filing the necessary statement with the Secretary of State.