Week two is complete, and rest assured, the education committees in the House and Senate are busy going through the AEA bill with a fine-tooth comb. I met with many of my district’s superintendents on Friday, and they expressed their dismay with the bill. I also held a legis coffee in Greenfield to hear concerns for those who made it out in the cold temps. Long story short, I am not in support of the bill, but am open to a version that could appropriately add sunlight to overall AEA operations and to trim any fat.
This week, the House Commerce Committee heard a presentation from London Economics International on Iowa utilities ratemaking procedures. This report was required by HF617 from last session. It was the first review of Iowa investor-owned utility ratemaking in over 20 years in Iowa. We will be reviewing this report and considering legislation this session based on the recommendations. The report can be found here: https://wcc.efs.iowa.gov/cs/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&allowInterrupt=1&RevisionSelectionMethod=latest&dDocName=2136134&noSaveAs=1.
Fed fun-haters are now coming for humorous road safety signs. “MORE COWBELL. LESS PHONE” was the message this summer running across variable message signs high above Iowa’s interstates. The message to Iowans was to focus on driving by putting the cellphone down. This phrase and many others posted by the Iowa Department of Transportation use pop culture references and humor to remind and reinforce safe driving habits throughout the year. Much like a certain meme-ing legislator. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Highway Administration issued the newest edition of its “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices”. Within the 1,100 page compilation of rules for the road, the FHA issued new guidance to states on the use of humorous signs. The message was simple – stop it. The agency has now decreed those humorous signs must end by 2025. The FHA determined that the inventive slogans “might be misunderstood or understood only by a limited segment of road users”. The agency also believes that the signs may take more time for drivers to understand. So, what do the wise and mighty bureaucrats in Washington offer up as an alternative? The Federal Highway Administration proposed in its new manual the following as a fitting substitute to the inventive signs states have come up with: UNBUCKLED SEAT BELTS FINE + POINTS…What does that mean? No explanation was given by the FHA. Again, this comes from a federal agency that is concerned that signs created by states may take more time to understand, smh.
I’ve put a bill in drafting relating to data privacy, specifically, establishing neurodata rights. Right now there’s the ability to record and alter brain activity by using implantable and nonimplantable neural devices, while it’s poised to have significant scientific and clinical benefits, it also raises complex ethical concerns. Neurotechnology ranges from non-invasive electroencephalogram headbands used to improve your golf game to invasive brain implants paired with artificial intelligence to enable ALS patients to speak again. While neurotechnology has already led to major medical advancements, it also raises privacy concerns. My hope is that neurotechnology companies establish industry standards and best practices as we move into this new frontier.
Is the Federal Highway Administration just another federal bureaucracy that is unneeded?