William Petroski

bpetrosk@dmreg.com

The Iowa Supreme Court moved from the Iowa Capitol to its own five-story Iowa Judicial Branch Building in 2003, and now state lawmakers are making the break official.

A $3.73 billion catch-all appropriations bill approved Thursday by the Iowa Senate will force the Supreme Court to give up space it has controlled in the past under an agreement with the Iowa Legislature. This includes the Supreme Court's old chambers on the first floor of the Capitol and an adjacent consultation room that are now regularly used by legislative committees, as well as a first-floor office that is still used by the judicial branch.

The legislation, which was sent to the Iowa House, also repeals a requirement in state law that public art be included in the construction costs for new state buildings, which provoked a heated debate on the Senate floor. The bill passed on a 30-20 vote.

Senate File 516, known as the standing appropriations bill, removes the assignment of space to the Judicial Branch in the Capitol building. However, it requires the Legislative Council to provide the Judicial Branch with the use of space in the State Capitol for ceremonial purposes.

Lawmakers say the Judicial Branch has plenty of suitable space across the street from the Capitol, and there was no debate over the provision during Thursday's Senate floor debate. The Judicial Branch building has 123,800 square feet and was built at a cost of $27.2 million.

State Court Administrator David Boyd issued a statement in response to the Senate's passage of the bill: "We are disappointed and hope they reconsider," Boyd said.

Overall, the budget bill reduces state spending by $12.5 million for the fiscal year starting July 1 compared to the current fiscal year. It includes a 1.1 percent increase in state aid to K-12 grade schools that was authorized earlier this session at an increased cost of about $40 million.

The bill also includes the following provisions:

PUBLIC ART: The legislation repeals an Iowa law that requires that at least one-half of 1 percent of the total estimated cost of the construction of a state building include fine arts in the plans and specifications of the building. Sen. David Johnson, an independent from Ocheyedan, strongly opposed the change with an amendment that he later withdrew because of concerns the issue would be heavily politicized in future legislative campaigns.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, spoke passionately in support of the current law, saying lawmakers are working in a Capitol that is not only a legislative facility but an art museum.

"Public art inspires. It inspires people to do their best," Quirmbach said. Art in public buildings is a matter of public pride, he added, noting that thousands of Iowa school children regularly visit the Iowa Capitol. Sen. Charles Schneider, R-West Des Moines, the bill's floor manager, said he agrees with having public art in public buildings such as the Capitol, but he doesn't think it is needed in places such as highway rest stops, especially during difficult budget times.

But Sen. William Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said rest stops are great places to demonstrate to visitors that "Iowa is a cool place" and that public art is a great way to reach tourists passing through the state. In response, Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, said he supported the repeal, adding that lawmakers need to get rid of "frivolous spending" when they are being forced to tighten their budget belts.

ALCOHOL STUDY: State alcoholic beverage regulators are instructed to work with other stakeholders to study enforcement issues related to alcoholic beverage control. This includes consideration of the manner of properly balancing appropriate regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of liquor, wine, and beer in this state with emerging trends in the industry. A final report is due July 1, 2018, including findings and recommendations. This provision was amended to say it is the the Legislature's intent that Iowa's three-tiered system of regulating alcoholic beverages is critical to maintaining a fair and competitive marketplace. It also says the study does not preclude the Alcoholic Beverages Division from applying regulatory discretion.

Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, unsuccessfully opposed allowing the regulatory discretion and granting temporary licenses or permits under certain circumstances. He expressed concern that changes could hurt small town Iowa bar owners and that small liquor stores will have more trouble competing with large retailers, such as Wal-Mart.

Schneider said the legislation is not an attempt to break up the three-tier regulatory system, which he said he respects. But he added that he does not want state regulation to become so strict that it discourages investment.

VAPOR PRODUCTS: It creates a state regulatory framework for the online sale of alternative nicotine and vapor products. It establishes a permit system and requirements for mailing and shipping of products. Retailers would be required to verify that purchasers are at least 18 years old, and payments must be made for sales and use taxes.

TRANSITION: It provides $150,000 to the offices of the lieutenant governor and governor for an anticipated transition that assumes Gov. Terry Branstad will resign to become U.S. ambassador to China and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds succeeds him as governor. Similar funding has been provided in the past during transitions in the governor's office, Republican lawmakers said. Democrats tried to eliminate the funding without success.

HUNTING: State natural resources officials are prevented from restricting or prohibiting hunting on specific private property generally or for the hunting of a particular wild animal, so long as the person hunting on that property is otherwise qualified to hunt in this state, purchases a valid hunting license that includes the wildlife habitat fee and a valid hunting license for the type of wild animal being hunted, if applicable.

SEX ABUSE EVIDENCE KITS: Any sexual abuse evidence collection kit identified by a law enforcement agency through a mandatory inventory must be maintained by the law enforcement agency indefinitely. A law enforcement agency in possession of any sexual abuse evidence kit identified through the inventory must submit for analysis any kit at the request of the Department of Justice.