The House voted to add K2, salvia and bath salts to the list of schedule 1 controlled substances. Possession would be a serious misdemeanor. Possession with intent to distribute would be a Class “D” felony. The effort received broad bipartisan support except for six House Democrats who voted against the bill. You can click here (page 1004) to see how your representative voted.

This version of the bill unfortunately died without being debated in the Senate, however K2 was finally passed in the conference committee report (SF 510) (page 1274-1275) out of the Justice Systems budget bill. Possession is a serious misdemeanor and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver is an aggravated misdemeanor.

Click on link below to see CBS video:
CBS Uncovers “So-called designer drugs are turning up across the country with deadly results”

A new January 2011 newsletter is available for viewing. Click the link below to see a PDF version.

Caucus Newsletter January 13, 2011

Included in this edition:

• Talking Points on the Taxpayers First Act and House Files
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• Castle Doctrine
• What you need to know on preschool
• Step by step on selecting new supreme court judges

House Republican committee assignments are now assembled for 2011. Click the links below to view lists in PDF.

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(DES MOINES) – Speaker-Elect Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) today announced the final committee chairs for the 84th General Assembly.

Continue reading for the list of appointments…

The 2010 legislative session marked another year of an ongoing struggle for gun advocates looking for changes in Iowa’s gun permitting law. Unlike previous years, the 2010 session bore fruit. In the final days of session a “shall issue” carry bill passed. That bill, SF 2379, takes effect January 1st but continues to face attacks from a familiar foe.

A number of Iowa sheriffs have continued to raise questions about changes they opposed in SF 2379 with an apparent intention of having changes made next year. For many, sheriffs were the reason changes to our gun permitting laws were needed. Under current law, sheriffs have complete discretion as to whether they will issue a permit and how they will issue it.

Continue reading…

Recently the United States Marshals teamed up with local law enforcement to verify the listed addresses of registered sex offenders. The audit was performed in the 52 counties that comprise the federal Northern District of the state.

The audit is known as the Sex offender Tracking and Registration effort (STAR), and represents a joint project between federal Marshals and local law enforcement to perform a 100% compliance check to ensure that sex offenders are providing accurate information to the State’s registry. The audit in Iowa was the first STAR operation in the nation.

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For years, many have hoped and worked diligently to improve Iowa’s law granting permits to citizens wishing to carry firearms. The 2010 legislative session began with the issue appearing ready to receive attention. However, as the weeks wore on, and despite fervent efforts of some in the Legislature, the issue appeared destined to be neglected once again.

However, in the final days of the session a bill to make Iowa a “shall issue” state was resurrected. Even then, the issue’s fate was not settled. But as the clock wound down, and the last “trains” were leaving the station, Senate File 2379 became the last policy bill to be passed in 2010.

Continue reading for information on the bill…

As the House adjourned the 2nd session of the 83rd General Assembly, the House Republican Research Staff put together an end of session wrap-up of notable bills in all committees.

2010 End of Session Wrap-up

A number of Republican Representatives remain concerned with the State’s system for issuing permits to citizens who wish to arm themselves. Current law provides deference to local sheriffs who may issue permits to carry to those who qualify. In some jurisdictions in the state, certain sheriffs under no circumstance issue permits.

It is that refusal to issue permits to qualified individuals that has Republicans looking for ways to improve the law. As it stands now, there are entire counties where residents have no ability to acquire a permit to carry because their sheriff denies all applications. This includes members of the armed forces and even retired police officers. The first step considered necessary by many is to change current language that says a sheriff “may” issue a permit to qualified individuals, to “shall” issue permits to them.

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Over recent years, the Legislature and law enforcement have been remarkably successful in tackling the Methamphetamine problem in the state. Much of this has been attributed to limiting the purchases of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient.

In fact, this year the legislature ratcheted up restrictions on the purchase of pseudoephedrine by approving an electronic system to track purchases of the cold medicine. This will help prevent so called “smurfing” or driving from store to store to purchase small amounts of pseudoephedrine.

The results of recent efforts are clear. In 2004, law enforcement officials reported a high of 1,500 clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. By 2007, that number dropped to 178 laboratories, an 88% decrease in labs. But this progress is threatened by a new and easy manufacturing process.

Continue reading…