STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES 2010

Please read background information on these priorities by opening attached PDF file

Click here to view the current status of all the bills being tracked this year by the League of Women Voters of Iowa in the Iowa Legislature.

Primary Issues

Protection from Predatory Lending

The League of Women Voters of Iowa encourages the Iowa Legislature to pass legislation to reduce payday loan fees. Lawmakers should cap payday loan fees at 36% APR, as Congress did for loans to military families.

Ensure Equitable Access to Mental Health Services

The League of Women Voters of Iowa supports a coordinated state mental health system that ensures convenient and equitable access to care for all Iowans (children and adults) who need mental health services.

The League of Women Voters of Iowa supports adequate funding of an array of services, especially those that promote early detection and treatment of mental illnesses and co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Appropriate levels of care should be available that meet people’s needs in or near their home communities.

The League of Women Voters of Iowa supports a mental health system that individualizes care to meet a person’s specific mental health needs and focuses on the person’s strengths and ability to recover.

The League of Women Voters of Iowa supports a mental health system that is accountable to its consumers and communities by providing efficient, effective, and evidence-based programs and services.

The League of Women Voters of Iowa supports eradication of the stigma of mental illness and believes persons with mental health needs should be treated with the same respect, and their illnesses treated with the same urgency, as persons with other physical health needs.

Secondary Issues

The League of Women Voters of Iowa urges the Iowa Legislature to support legislation that provides penalties for employers who hire unauthorized workers; due process for all persons including the right to a fair hearing, right to counsel, right of appeal, and right to humane treatment; and increased funding for English language classes

Sentencing & Corrections Reform

The League of Women Voters of Iowa urges the Iowa Legislature to consider the recommendations in the Criminal Code Reorganization Committee report.

The League also urges lawmakers to fund more community based correction programs and programs that facilitate prisoner reentry into the community, and increase funding for programs that treat the special needs offender.