(Radio Iowa) – Governor Reynolds has submitted a bill that would give Iowa governors authority to transfer up to 10 percent of funds out of the state’s Economic Emergency Fund to respond to disasters. Under current law, the legislature has to approve those withdrawals, but the legislature’s generally in session from January through part of May — and last summer’s massive flooding hit northwest Iowa in June. The governor’s bill would also require insurance umpires, appraisers and independent adjusters to be licensed to work in the State of Iowa.

Craig Sepich is a lobbyist with the National Insurance Crime Bureau. “While we recognize most public adjusters assess and evaluate damage in a professional manner, there’s often you know dishonest and predatory adjusters that may fraudulently inflate these claims and estimates to line their own pockets,” he said, “so these protections will offer kind of enhanced tools for the department to investigate and go after these bad actors.”

The bill would also set aside two MILLION dollars for demolishing buildings damaged in the 2024 disasters, along with nearly 12 million dollars for repairing storm-affected homes.