This week in the Iowa Senate I was very pleased to floor manage the Governor’s Workforce Bill which was approved with unanimous, bipartisan support during debate on Tuesday.
Senate File 2383 is a bill proposed by the Governor addressing workforce needs by eliminating regulations, reducing barriers to licensure, expanding qualifiers for proven workforce incentives, and builds on Iowa’s quality of life for those who served in the military and national guard.
It targets needs in our medical communities by amending the current Rural Iowa Primary Care Loan Forgiveness Program to cover more professionals and mirror current practicing agreements with rural hospitals. It amends the Health Professional Recruitment Program to include RNs or ARNPs for loan repayment, if they graduated from an Iowa institution. Additionally, it changes the loan repayments for certain health care professionals into a Health Care Award Program. This will allow RNs, ARNPs, PAs, and nurse educators to receive a financial award up to $30,000 over five consecutive years.
It also highlights the need for immersive education experiences for our students. This bill requires schools to report their work-based learning programs to the state, while requiring certification for individuals supervising the program not employed by the district. This certification is limited to fundamentals in career education, curriculum, assessment, and the evaluation of student participation. Work Based Learning exposes students to different, successful career opportunities outside post-secondary education. These programs will strengthen Iowa’s workforce pipeline and prepare our students for success following graduation.
Lastly, this bill builds upon Iowa’s quality of life programs, particularly for our active duty military members, their spouses, and those who served. This bill fast-tracks professional and occupational licenses for military spouses and veterans, while eliminating an entry hurdle by waiving application and the first renewal fee within five-years of discharge. It eases access to our public hunting and fishing areas and limits financial costs for disabled veterans and veterans with certain distinctions from penalties and fees on driver licenses and parking.
Iowa and Iowans benefit from the multiple policy areas within this legislation. This bill eliminates costly hurdles and regulation for workers and housing projects, it creates financial incentives to address our need for medical professionals, it ensures work-based learning is properly structured within our school districts to provide that needed exposure to high paying careers, and it creates new opportunities to highlight the quality of life experiences for those serving our country or have served and are seeking to move into our great state.
