Q&A: Furloughs, bumping, and IPERS Benefits 2010-2011, June 20, 2010

An 4 page report about what happens to your IPERS during furloughs.

Q&A: Furloughs, Bumping, and IPERS Benefits 2010-2012, June 20, 2010

The new law makes the following changes: (a) Reduces IPERS benefits not yet earned by regular members and raises contributions for them above the rate set in current law. (b) Raises the limit on how much contributions for regular members can change each year from 0.5 percentage point to 1.0 percentage point. (c) Extends a provision for restoring wage credits for mandatory unpaid time and extends it to union bumping. Other changes are limited in scope and will not affect most members; some changes are merely technical.

Study Regarding Implementation of a Uniform Statewide System to Allow for Electronic Transactions for the Registration and Titling of Motor Vehicles

LEGISLATIVE STUDY – The 83rd General Assembly of the Iowa Legislature, in Senate File 2273, directed the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct a study of how to implement a uniform statewide system to allow for electronic transactions for the registration and titling of motor vehicles. PARTICIPANTS IN STUDY – As directed by Senate File 2273, the DOT formed a working group to conduct the study that included representatives from the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Revenue, the Iowa State County Treasurer’s Association, the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association, and the Iowa Independent Automobile Dealers Association. CONDUCT OF THE STUDY – The working group met eight times between June 17, 2010, and October 1, 2010. The group discussed the costs and benefits of electronic titling from the perspectives of new and used motor vehicle dealers, county treasurers, the DOT, lending institutions, consumers and consumer protection, and law enforcement. Security concerns, legislative implications, and implementation timelines were also considered. In the course of the meetings the group: 1. Reviewed the specific goals of S.F. 2273, and viewed a demonstration of Iowa’s current vehicle registration and titling system so participants that were not users of the system could gain an understanding of its current functionality and capabilities. 2. Reviewed the results of a survey of county treasurers conducted by the DOT to determine the extent to which county treasurers had processing backlogs and the extent to which county treasurers limited the number of dealer registration and titling transactions that they would process in a single day and while the dealer waited. Only eight reported placing a limit on the number of dealer transactions that would be processed while the dealer waited (with the number ranging from one to four), and only 11 reported a backlog in processing registration and titling transactions as of June 11, 2010, with most backlogs being reported in the range of one to three days. 3. Conducted conference calls with representatives of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) and representatives of three states -- Kansas, which has an electronic lien and titling (ELT) program, and Wisconsin and Florida, each of which have both an ELT program and an electronic registration and titling (ERT) program – to assess current and best practices for electronic transactions. In addition, the DOT (through AAMVA) submitted a survey to all U.S. jurisdictions to determine how, if at all, other states implemented electronic transactions for the registration and titling of motor vehicles. Twenty-eight states responded to the survey; of the 28 states that responded, only 13 allowed liens to be added or released electronically, and only five indicated allowing applications for registration and titling to be submitted electronically. DOT staff also heard a presentation from South Dakota on its ERT system at an AAMVA regional meeting. ELT information that emerged suggests a multi-vendor approach, in which vendors that meet state specifications for participation are authorized to interface with the state’s system to serve as a portal between lenders and the state system, will facilitate electronic lien releases and additions by offering lenders more choices and the opportunity to use the same vendor in multiple states. The ERT information that emerged indicates a multi-interface approach that offers an interface with existing dealer management software (DMS) systems and through a separate internet site will facilitate ERT by offering access that meets a variety of business needs and models. In both instances, information that emerged indicates that, in the long-term, adoption rates are positively affected by making participation above a certain minimum threshold mandatory. 4. To assess and compare functions or services that might be offered by or through a vendor, the group heard presentations from vendors that offer products or services that facilitate some aspect of ELT or ERT. 5. To assess the concerns, needs and interest of Iowa motor vehicle dealers, the group surveyed dealers to assess registration and titling difficulties experienced by dealers, the types of DMS systems (if any) used by dealers, and the dealers’ interest and preference in using an electronic interface to submit applications for registration and titling. Overall, 40% of the dealers that responded indicated interest and 57% indicated no interest, but interest was pronounced among new car dealers (75% were interested) and dealers with a high number of monthly transactions (85% of dealers averaging more than 50 sales per month were interested). The majority of dealers responding to the dealer survey ranked delays in processing and problems with daily limits on transaction as ―minor difficulty or ―no difficulty. RECOMMENDATIONS -- At the conclusion of the meetings, the working group discussed possible approaches for implementation of electronic transactions in Iowa and reached a consensus that a phased implementation of electronic titling that addressed first electronic lien and title transactions (ELT) and electronic fund transfers (EFT), and then electronic applications for registration and titling (ERT) is recommended. The recommendation of a phased implementation is based upon recognition that aspects of ELT and EFT are foundational to ERT, and that ELT and EFT solutions are more readily and easily attained than the ERT solution, which will take longer and be somewhat more difficult to develop and will require federal approval of an electronic odometer statement to fully implement. ELT – A multi-vendor approach is proposed for ELT. No direct costs to the state, counties, consumers, or dealers are anticipated under this approach. The vendor charges participating lenders user or transaction fees for the service, and it appears the lenders typically absorb those costs due to the savings offered by ELT. Existing staff can complete the programming necessary to interface the state system with vendors’ systems. The estimated time to implement ELT is six to nine months. Mandatory participation is not recommended initially, but should be considered after ELT has been implemented and a suitable number of vendors have enrolled to provide a fair assessment of participation rates and opportunities. EFT – A previous attempt to implement ELT and EFT was terminated due to concern that it would negatively impact county revenues by reducing interest income earned on state funds collected by the county and held until the monthly transfer to the state. To avoid that problem in this implementation, the EFT solution should remain revenue neutral to the counties, by allowing fees submitted by EFT to be immediately directed to the proper county account. Because ARTS was designed and has the capacity to accommodate EFT, a vendor is not needed to implement EFT. The estimated time to implement EFT is six to nine months. It is expected that EFT development will overlap ELT development. ERT – ERT itself must be developed in phases. It will not be possible to quickly implement a fully functioning, paperless ERT system, because federal law requires that transfer of title be accompanied by a written odometer statement unless approval for an alternate electronic statement is granted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It is expected that it will take as much as a year or more to obtain NHTSA approval, and that NHTSA approval will require design of a system that requires the seller to electronically confirm the seller’s identity, make the required disclosure to the buyer, and then transfer the disclosure to the buyer, who must also electronically confirm the buyer’s identity and electronically review and accept the disclosure to complete and submit the transaction. Given the time that it will take to develop and gain approval for this solution, initial ERT implementation will focus on completing and submitting applications and issuing registration applied for cards electronically, with the understanding that this process will still require submission of paper documents until an electronic odometer solution is developed. Because continued submission of paper documents undermines the efficiencies sought, ―full‖ ERT – that is, all documents necessary for registration and titling should be capable of approval and/or acceptance by all parties, and should be capable of submission without transmittal or delivery of duplicate paper documents .– should remain the ultimate goal. ERT is not recommended as a means to eliminate review and approval of registration and titling transactions by the county treasurers, or to place registration and titling approval in the hands of the dealers, as county treasurers perform an important role in deterring fraud and promoting accuracy by determining the genuineness and regularity of each application. Authorizing dealers to act as registration agents that approve registration and title applications, issue registration receipts, and maintain and deliver permanent metal license plates is not recommended. Although distribution of permanent plates by dealers is not recommended, it is recommended that dealers participating in ERT generate and print registration applied for cards electronically. Unlike the manually-issued cards currently in use, cards issued in this fashion may be queried by law enforcement and are less susceptible to misuse by customers and dealers. The estimated time to implement the electronic application and registration applied for cards is 12 to 18 months, to begin after ELT and EFT have been implemented. It is recommended that focus during this time be on facilitating transfers through motor vehicle dealers, with initial deployment focused on higher-volume dealers that use DMS systems. In the long term an internet option for access to ERT must also be developed and maintained to allow participation for lower-volume dealers that do not use a DMS system. This option will also lay the ground work for an ERT option for sales between private individuals. Mandatory participation in Iowa is not recommended initially. As with ELT, it is recommended that mandatory participation be considered after at least an initial phase of ERT has been implemented and a suitable number of dealers have enrolled to provide a fair assessment of participation rates and opportunities. The use of vendors to facilitate ERT is not initially proposed because 1) DOT IT support staff is capable of developing a system that will interact with DMS systems and will still have to develop a dealer and public interface regardless of whether a vendor acts as intermediary between the DMS systems, and 2) there is concern that the cost of the vendor-based system, which is funded by transaction-based payments from the dealer to the vendor, will be passed to the consumer in the form of additional documentation or conveyance fees. However, the DOT recommends flexibility on this point, as development and pilot of the system may indicate that a multi-vendor approach similar to that recommended for ELT may increase the adoption rate by larger dealers and may ultimately decrease the user management to be exercised by DOT staff. If vendors are used in the process, additional legislation or administrative rules may be needed to control the fees that may be passed to the consumer. No direct cost to the DOT or county treasurers is expected, as the DOT expects that it may complete necessary programming with existing staff. Use of vendors to facilitate ERT transactions by dealers using DMS systems would result in transaction fees that may ultimately be passed to consumers. LEGISLATION – As a result of the changes implemented in 2004 under Senate File 2070, the only changes to Iowa statutes proposed are to section 321.69 of the Iowa Code, ―Damage disclosure statement,and section 321.71, ―Odometer requirements.‖ In each instance, authority to execute these statements by electronic means would be clarified by authorizing language similar to that used in section 321.20, subsections ―2‖ and ―3,‖ which allows for electronic applications and directs the department to ―adopt rules on the method for providing signatures for applications made by electronic means.‖ In these sections, the authorizing language might read as follows: Notwithstanding contrary provisions of this section, the department may develop and implement a program to allow for any statement required by this section to be made electronically. The department shall adopt rules on the method for providing signatures for statements made by electronic means. Some changes to DOT administrative rules will be useful but only to enable changes to work processes that would be desirable in the long term. Examples of long term work processes that would be enabled by rule changes include allowing for signatures created through electronic means and electronic odometer certifications. The DOT rules, as currently written, do not hinder the ability to proceed with ELT, EFT, and ERT.

A review of relocation benefits of state agencies and regent institutions for the period July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2009

A review of relocation benefits of state agencies and regent institutions for the period July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2009

State of Iowa Employee Benefits Handbook, November 2010

Examples of the information available include: • Links to health and dental plans • Health plan comparisons • Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account information • Deferred Compensation information • Life and Long Term Disability insurance information • Link to Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Web site • Link to Employee Discount Program • Link to Wellness Web site which includes information about - Smoking Cessation Program - Prescription Drug information - Wellness activities

State of Iowa Employee Benefits Handbook, December 2002

Examples of the information available include: • Links to health and dental plans • Health plan comparisons • Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account information • Deferred Compensation information • Life and Long Term Disability insurance information • Link to Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Web site • Link to Employee Discount Program • Link to Wellness Web site which includes information about - Smoking Cessation Program - Prescription Drug information - Wellness activities

State of Iowa Employee Benefits Handbook, December 2002

Examples of the information available include: • Links to health and dental plans • Health plan comparisons • Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account information • Deferred Compensation information • Life and Long Term Disability insurance information • Link to Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Web site • Link to Employee Discount Program • Link to Wellness Web site which includes information about - Smoking Cessation Program - Prescription Drug information - Wellness activities

Chicago to Iowa City Passenger Rail Service, January 12, 2011

Iowa’s investment in the Chicago to Iowa City passenger rail service will produce more ongoing benefits than costs for Iowa residents and taxpayers over the next 30 years. An Iowa investment of $20.6 million will match a federal investment of $86.8 million for the capital costs of the Iowa segment of the Chicago to Iowa City service. Iowa’s share of the expected gap between revenues and operating and maintenance expense is estimated at $3 million annually. The economic analysis included in this document demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of the Iowa investments in the Chicago to Iowa City service and details the benefits that Iowa can expect from Iowa’s expenditures.

State of Iowa Employee Benefits Handbook, July 2012

This handbook contains information about your State of Iowa employee benefits. Please keep this handbook to refer to throughout the year.

Report on a review of selected general and application controls over the Iowa Department of Workforce Development’s MyIowaUI and Unemployment Insurance Benefits systems for the period April 29, 2013 through May 10, 2013

Report on a review of selected general and application controls over the Iowa Department of Workforce Development’s MyIowaUI and Unemployment Insurance Benefits systems for the period April 29, 2013 through May 10, 2013

Pharmacy Pilot Project Showing Benefits, Data Download, January 2014

In 2013, released offenders with a mental illness were made eligible to obtain a free 60-day supply of behavioral health medications in addition to the 30-day supply already provided by the Department of Corrections. The Iowa Medication Voucher Program provided the funding, which allowed the DOC Central Pharmacy to dispense the approved medications to participating pharmacies in 95 counties.

Production of Acetic Acid by Fermentation with Propionibacteria, HR-321, 1993

This project was undertaken jointly with a project supported by the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. Together the projects aimed at producing the organic acids, propionic acid and acetic acid, by fermentation. The impacts were to provide agriculturally-based alternatives to production of these acids, currently produced mainly as petrochemicals. The potentially high-demand use for acetic acid is as the "acetate" in Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA), the non-corrosive road deicer. Fermentation was, however, far from being an economically acceptable alternative. Gains were made in this work toward making this a feasible route. These advances included (1) development of a variant strain of propionibacteria capable of producing higher concentrations of acids; (2) comparison of conditions for several ways of cultivating free cells and establishment of the relative benefits of each; (3) achievement of the highest productivity in fermentations using immobilized cells; (4) identification of corn steep liquor as a lower cost substrate for the fermentation; (5) application of a membrane extraction system for acid recovery and reduction of product inhibition; and (6) initial use of more detailed economic analysis of process alternatives to guide in the identification of where the greatest payback potential is for future research. At this point, the fermentation route to these acids using the propionibacteria is technically feasible, but economically unfeasible. Future work with integration of the above process improvements can be expected to lead to further gains in economics. However, such work can not be expected to make CMA a less expensive deicer than common road salt.

Impacts on Safety of Left-Turn Treatment at High Speed Signalized Intersections, HR-347, 1994

Left-turning traffic is a major source of conflicts at intersections. Though an average of only 10% to 15% of all approach traffic turns left, these vehicles are involved in approximately 45% of all accidents. This report presents the results of research conducted to develop models which estimate approach accident rates at high speed signalized intersections. The objective of the research was to quantify the relationship between traffic and intersection characteristics, and accident potential of different left turn treatments. Geometric, turning movement counts, and traffic signal phasing data were collected at 100 intersections in Iowa using a questionnaire sent to municipalities. Not all questionnaires resulted in complete data and ultimately complete data were derived for 63 intersections providing a database of 248 approaches. Accident data for the same approaches were obtained from the Iowa Department of Transportation Accident Location and Analysis System (ALAS). Regression models were developed for two different dependent variables: 1) the ratio of the number of left turn accidents per approach to million left turning vehicles per approach, and 2) the ratio of accidents per approach to million traffic movements per approach. A number of regression models were developed for both dependent variables. One model using each dependent variable was developed for intersections with low, medium, and high left turning traffic volumes. As expected, the research indicates that protected left turn phasing has a lower accident potential than protected/permitted or permitted phasing. Left turn lanes and multiple lane approaches are beneficial for reducing accident rates, while raised medians increase the likelihood of accidents. Signals that are part of a signal system tend to have lower accident rates than isolated signals. The resulting regression models may be used to determine the likely impact of various left turn treatments on intersection accident rates. When designing an intersection approach, a traffic engineer may use the models to estimate the accident rate reduction as a result of improved lane configurations and left turn treatments. The safety benefits may then be compared to any costs associated with operational effects to the intersection (i.e., increased delay) to determine the benefits and costs of making intersection safety improvements.

Roadway Lighting on Secondary Roads in Iowa, HR-251, 1984

There are approximately 800 installations of destination lighting at secondary road intersections in Iowa. Approximately 90% of these have only a single luminaire. The other installations have two luminaires. No warrants currently exist for justifying the use of this type of lighting. Previous research has examined the safety benefits from full lighting of rural intersections that generally serve substantially higher traffic volumes than secondary road intersections in Iowa. However, the safety benefit of destination lighting at intersections carrying relatively low volumes has not been the subject of previous research. The research reported here, sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation, was undertaken to identify locations where destination lighting could be expected to improve highway safety. If destination lighting were shown to reduce accident frequency, warrants for its use on secondary roads could be developed. An inventory of secondary road lighting installations in Iowa was assembled. From this inventory, two samples were constituted that would permit two separate comparisons of the accident experience with and without destination lighting. Before and after comparisons were made for the same locations if accident records were available for at least one full year both preceding and following the installation of destination lighting. Accident records for this purpose were available from a statewide computerized record system covering the period from 1977 through 1982. The accident experience at locations having destination lighting installed before 1978 was compared with a sample of comparable locations not having destination lighting. The sample of secondary road intersections used for the before and after comparison included 91 locations. The sample of continuously lighted locations included 102 intersections. Accident experience at these locations was compared with the experience at 102 intersections that were not lighted. The intersections included in these samples averaged only 0.31 accidents per year. The accident rate at secondary road intersections that had destination lighting did not differ significantly from the accident rate at intersections that were not lighted. This conclusion was derived from both comparisons, the before and after experience and the comparison of experience at intersections that were continuously lighted with that at unlighted locations. Furthermore, no significant differences were noted between lighted and unlighted locations in the proportion of accidents that occurred at night. The distribution of accidents by type also did not differ between unlighted intersections and those having destination lighting. It was not possible to formulate warrants for destination lighting since analyses directed toward identifying specific characteristics of an intersection that could be correlated with highway safety did not yield any useful relationships. However, it was noted that the average damages for night accidents that occurred at lighted intersections were lower than for accidents at unlighted intersections. Even in the absence of a more definitive demonstration of beneficial effects, destination lighting is perceived by officials in most of the counties having such installations as yielding desirable effects and is recognized as helpful to motorists in performing the guidance function in driving. Given this benefit and a relatively low cost (an average of $74 per year for one luminaire), and given that the subjective criteria that have been used in the past to justify the installation of destination lighting have led to a high degree of public acceptance and satisfaction, it is recommended that the same subjective criteria continue to be used in lieu of definitive warrants.

Use of Longitudinal Subdrains in the 3R Program, Final Report, HR-509, 1981

Construction of the interstate highway system began in 1956. This U.S. network of highway consists of more than 41,000 miles with 790 miles in Iowa. There have been many benefits of the controlled access roadway, but probably the most significant is the improved safety for the motorist. In Iowa, we have always endeavored to utilize quality locally available materials in our construction using the most economical or cost effective methods. Obviously when the effort is to build a cost effective system, there will be some portions of the network that will not perform as well as expected. In the design of our interstate, the main consideration for base construction under the pavement was structural capacity. The material was dense graded with the aim of supporting the pavement and distributing the load as it is transferred to the underlying grade. The drainage characteristic of the base was apparently not given adequate consideration. On jointed portland cement concrete (pcc) pavement, the water that is trapped immediately beneath the pavement causes severe problems. The traffic causes rapid movement of the water resulting in the hydraulic pressures or "pumping" (movement and redeposit of base fine material) resulting in faulting between individual slabs. Recognizing the need for maintaining this large national highway network, the Federal Highway Administration has initiated a funding program for resurfacing, restoration and rehabilitation (3R). Many miles of the system are more than 20 years old and in need of major maintenance. This new 3R Program necessitated a complete inventory of the Iowa interstate system to establish priorities and to identify those sections in need of immediate remedial treatments.