Completed Reports

The following reports have been researched by University of Iowa students in order to inform and assist the Iowa State Legislature in debating current and upcoming legislation. If you are a legislator and would like to request a report on a specific topic please visit the Our Services page.

Reports are viewable as .pdf files using standard Adobe products. They are organized by topic heading and the notes should give a general idea of the report content. Note that all research is only as current as its publication.

Note that because of our organizations name change in 2008 all reports from 2006 and 2007 will reference our previous title: I-CAN (Iowa Civic Analysis Network).

Sort Reports: Alphabetical, By Year, By Topic

Alphabetical Listing of Reports:

Absentee and Early Voting: 2008, 3 pgs. Comparison of state policies regarding absentee and early voting, including differences between In-Person Early Voting and By-Mail Absentee Voting and whether individual excuses are required.

Administrative Merging of Public Universities: 2010, 7 pgs. Overview of administrative mergers and the types of administrative structures that preside over public state universities.

Adopted Persons' Access to Adoption Records: 2009, 3 pgs. Comparison of state laws addressing access to adoption records and the systems states commonly use to aid adopted persons and birth parents in locating and contacting each other.

Assissted Suicide: 2011, 7 pgs. Examines the parameters of existing assisted suicide programs in the United States.

Automated Enforcement of Red Light Running: 2007, 5 pgs. Federal, state, and local action regarding the use of red light cameras is examined. Also reports on the effectiveness of these systems.

Automated External Defibrillators in Health Clubs: 2009, 5pgs. Reviews state laws requiring health clubs to have defibrillators on site and examines issues raised with the implementation of these laws.

Banning High-Proof Alcohol: 2010, 6 pgs. Examines state policies concerning bans or limitations on high-proof alcoholic beverages.

Beer Regulations: 2010, 5 pgs. Overview of craft beer sales and production regulations.

Beyond 911: 2009, 2 pgs. Examines legislation that expands the capabilities of the 911 emergency number service for cell phones. Specifically addresses the Enhanced and Next Generation 911 initiatives.

Big Box Stores : 2007, 5 pgs. Reports on recent efforts in some states to regulate large, 'Big Box', stores. Details the type of impact studies some states require before construction of such stores.

Bike Sharing: 2010, 7 pgs. Presents an overview of community bicycle sharing programs in Iowa and across the US.

Bilingual Education: 2010, 8 pgs. Highlights and describes multiple English Language Learning programs for students whose native language is not English.

Block Scheduling: 2008, 2 pgs. Lists some of the common types of block scheduling in secondary schools and summarizes the reported advantages and disadvantages of block scheduling.

Brain Drain: 2006, 5 pgs. Comments on human migration by age group and education level, focusing on Iowa's high loss of young, education adults.

Brain Drain Incentives : 2007, 3 pgs. Brief, non-scientific survey of state initiatives to counteract brain drain of high school graduates.

Bullying Legislation: 2006, 3 pgs. Trends in Federal and Iowan legislation and law related to school bullying. Compares various states with anti-bullying legislation.

Caps on Incentive Programs: 2009, 6 pgs. Examines the caps placed on incentive programs in Iowa and surrounding states. Tax credits are the primary focus of the report, although other incentive programs are also discussed. Three areas of incentives are reviewed: biofuel production, historical preservation, and research activities.

Carbon Capture and Storage: 2009, 3 pgs. Examines states’ efforts to regulate and incentivize the capture and storage of carbon dioxide.

Cell Phone Use While Driving: 2006, 3 pgs. Examines the effects of cell phone use on drivers and various state laws regulating cell phone use.

Child Support Modification: 2009; 3 pgs. Presents and compares the modification procedures used to change child support orders in the Iowa and bordering states.

Cigarette Tax: 2006, 5 pgs. Compares country wide average cigarette tax rates to Iowa's. Comments on revenue considerations, tax fairness issues, and border purchasing. (Pre-2007 Tax Increase).

College Textbook Cost: 2008, 7 pgs. Examines general trends leading to a rise in textbook prices. Overviews recent state and federal regulation on the topic.

College Textbooks Pricing: 2011, 3 pgs. Examines the policies of college textbooks that can change prices or make prices more transparent.

Court Transparency: 2011, 8 pgs. Examines issues relating to court transparency on the state level.

Credit Cards on College Campuses : 2007, 7 pgs. Describes prevalence of credit cards on college campuses. Examines solicitation policies of the three public Iowa universities.

Cyberbullying: 2009, 5 pgs. Examines trends in cyberbullying laws and expands on a 2007 IPRO report that presented bullying legislation in general. These laws require school districts to adopt cyberbullying policies or grant authority to school districts to discipline cyberbullying.

Direct Shipping of Wine : 2007, 4 pgs. Examines restrictions on the direct shipping of wine. Federal and state regulations are examined. A summary table of all 50 states' laws is provided.

Distillers Dried Grains : 2007, 4 pgs. Provides an overview of Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) and discusses the use of DDGS in feeding livestock, including the nutritional value and economic benefit for different animals.

Divestment from Sudan: 2006, 5 pgs. Explains current interest in divesting from the Republic of Sudan. Funds researched: State Treasury, Public University Endowments, and IPERS. Provides list of multinational corporations doing business in Sudan.

DNR Appropriations: 2010, 7 pgs. Examines how the Iowa Department of Natural Resources divvies up funding compared to other other states, and explains other revenue-building measures for environmental departments.

Education Benefits for Veterans : 2007, 7 pgs. Federal and State level programs are examined. A comparitive table of 50 states' programs is provided.

Electronic-Waste Recycling Programs: 2011, 5 pgs. An overview of electronic-waste recycling programs across the United States.

Electric Vehicle Incentives: 2011, 7 pgs. Examines the state policy and consumer responses to the growing market of electric vehicles.

Eminent Domain: 2006, 5 pgs. Overviews Iowa and U.S. eminent domain legislation. Examines court rulings in Ohio and Oklahoma. Brief case studies for Missouri, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Colorado.

Energy Codes and Ensuring Efficient New Home Construction: 2009; 3 pgs. Presents and compares state efforts to improve energy efficiency standards for new home construction.

Energy Efficiency Programs and Provider Oversight: 2008, 4 pgs. Explains the energy effienciency program requirements for Iowa utilities. Short explanations of common programs are given.

Enterprise Zones: 2010, 9 pgs. An overview of enterprise zone programs, examines costs and benefits of zones, and highlights Iowa’s program.

Expanded Learning Time: 2009, 4 pgs. Presents arguments for and against expanding the amount of time students spend in school. Also summarizes recently proposed and passed state legislation that increases the length of the school day and school year.

Expanding the Number of Rural Physicians: 2008, 3 pgs. Lists ways states and medical programs have tried to expand health care service in rural areas. Focuses on programs that attract more physicians to rural areas.

Fair Share v. Prevailing Wage: 2010, 10 pgs. A comparative analysis of labor reform bills.

Farm-to-School: 2010, 7 pgs. Overview of state-initiated Farm-to-School programs and examines common policy options.

Federal Deductibility: 2010, 7 pgs. Examines teh costs and benefits of deducting federal income tax paid on state income taxes.

Film Production Tax Breaks: 2006, 3 pgs. Comments on incentives used to attract film production groups to work in a given state. Notes some important variations. Overviews Iowa's pending legislation on the issue.

Gas Tax: 2010, 6 pgs. Presents an overview of recent state action on gasoline rates and explores policy alternatives.

Golf Course Tax Breaks: 2006, 2 pgs. Brief overview of golf course zoning and assessment methods.

High School Course Offerings: 2008, 30 pgs. with appendix; 4 pgs without. Original research into high school curriculums in Iowa. A random sampling of public, private, rural, urban, small, and large schools in Iowa are examined. Upper-level courses are broken into subject areas; enrollment is given where available.

High School Graduation Requirements: 2010, 4 pgs. Examines high school graduation requirements at the state level and how these requirements affect performance and the drop-out rate.

High School Life-Skills Courses : 2007, 3 pgs. Compares life-skills curriculum requirements to graduate from high school in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Homeschooling : 2007, 5 pgs. Informs on the number of homeschoolers in the U.S. and current growth trends. Examines how states regulate homeschooling. Iowa and four other states are case studied.

Incentives and Laws for E85 Use : 2007, 5 pgs. Reports on prevalence of gas stations stocked with E85 fuel. Overviews state level incentive programs designed to promote E85 use.

Infrastructure in Iowa: 2010, 4 pgs. A brief summary of the state of transportation and waterway infrastructure in the state of Iowa.

In-State Tuition for Undocumented Immigrants: 2011, 7 pgs. Examines the cost and benefits of in-state college tuition rates for undocumented immigrants.

Internet in Public Libraries : 2007, 4 pgs. Looks at availibility and quality of the internet in public libraries. Iowa statistics are compared to other states and national data.

Iowa Container Deposit Laws: 2011, 4 pgs. An overview of container deposit laws in Iowa and across the United States.

Iowa Tourism: 2010, 6 pgs. Presents an overview of public funding for state tourism promotion in Iowa and throughout the Midwest.

Jet Ski Legislation: 2006, 3 pgs. Brief overview of issues surrounding jet ski legislation including safety issues, inter-state standardization, and environmental concerns.

Junk Food and Soda "Sin Tax": 2011, 4 pgs. Examines the numerous issues relating to the implementation of a junk food and soda sin tax.

Lead Wheel Weights: 2009, 3 pgs. Examines recent efforts to regulate or ban the use of lead wheel weights on vehicle wheels.

Local Government Reform: 2010, 18 pgs. An examination of several case studies, actions, and empirical analysis on county consolidation and county service delivery collaboration.

Mandatory Drug Testing for Public Assistance: 2011, 6 pgs. Examines the state-level procedures used to monitor drug use among cash assistance recipients and procedures to prevent granting aid to drug-users.

Mandatory Vehicle Safety Inspections: 2009, 4 pgs. Examines state programs that mandate vehicle safety inspections. Presents the procedures states use to implement and maintain their inspection programs and also summarizes a recent study on the effectiveness of mandatory vehicle inspections.

Marketing SCHIP: 2008, 3 pgs. Examines the marketing strategies for state children's health insurance programs (SCHIP) in Iowa, Kentucky, and Colorado. Includes original interviews and suggestions with the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Medical Marijuana: 2009, 5 pgs. Examines scientific research concerning marijuana’s medicinal uses and summarizes state and federal action on the legalization of medical marijuana.

Mental Health: 2006, 7 pgs. Funding and quality analysis of Iowa's decentralized mental health care system. Graphically displays national spending comparison.

Motorcycle Helmets: 2006, 4 pgs. Current (2006) state of helmet laws in the country. Compliance over time and death rate reductions due to existing laws.

Municipal Broadband: 2009, 5 pgs. Presents state legislation that supports local governments in installing and maintaining broadband access.

Oil Filter Recycling : 2007, 4 pgs. Examines used oil filter recycling. Overviews environmental impact, EPA regulations, Iowa law, and various state recycling incentive programs.

Online Gambling: 2011, 6 pgs. Examines the costs and benefits of legalizing online gambling in states and on the Federal level.

Online State Budget Databases: 2010, 7 pgs. Examines online budget databases, in turn allowing the general public to access state spending records.

Open Burning Laws : 2007, 5 pgs. This report provides an overview of the impact of open burning on human health and the environment.  It also compares Iowa’s open-burning law to its neighboring states and discusses how these laws are enforced.

Open Government: Enforcement : 2007, 7 pgs. Presents an overview of Iowa's public meeting and record laws including consequences of violating the laws. Examines enforcement procedures in several other states and compares each states penalties for violating the laws.

PAC Funding: 2010, 6 pgs. Presents an overview of limits on individual, corporation, and union contributions to Political Action Committees (PACs).

Pandemic Influenza Response Plans: 2009, 3 pgs. Examines the roles of government, institutions, and individuals in responding to a pandemic influenza outbreak. Also summarizes the key components of state-level pandemic influenza response plans.

Phonebook Legislation: 2010, 6 pgs. Examines different types of state legislation aimed at reducing the printing and distribution of phonebooks, particularly the white pages.

Pet Restraints: 2010, 4 pgs. Examines the costs and benefits of enacting vehicle pet restraint legislation.

Predatory Lending: 2006, 5 pgs. Overview of three types of 'predatory' lending: Car Title, Payday, and Refund Anticipation. Characterizes the groups most affected, and summarizes pending legislation in the U.S.

Prison Recidivism and Education Programs: 2011, 6 pgs. Examines the cost, benefits, and effectiveness of educational programs aimed at reducing rates of prison recidivism within the United States.

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities: 2008, 5 pgs. Explains what PRTF's are and compares Iowa's facilities and programs with those in six other states. The states were chosen because they share broadly similar demographic, economic, and social characteristics with Iowa.

Public School District Consolidation: 2010, 12 pgs. The feasibility of consolidating Iowa public school districts.

Puppy Mills: 2011, 4 pgs. Examines legislation that affects large-scale for-profit dog breeding facilities.

Raw Milk: 2009, 3 pgs. Presents federal and state legislation regarding the sale of raw milk.

Recreational Marijuana: 2010, 6 pgs. Presents an overview of state legislative action concerning legalization of recreational marijuana.

Red Light Camera Programs: 2011, 5 pgs. Examines the various issues surrounding "red light" cameras within states.

Road Funding: 2006, 8 pgs. Breaks down by percentage where states get money for road funds: Fuel Taxes, Vehicle Registration Fees, Bonds, Other Taxes/Tolls.

Rural Food Deserts: 2011, 6 pgs. Examines state policies for combating the prevalence of food deserts in rural areas.

Sale Barns Survey: 2008, 2 pgs. The results of informal phone surveys of Iowa livestock auction houses/sale barns focused on the economic impact of the 2008 summer flooding.

Sales Tax for Clothing: 2006, 3 pgs. Relates prevalence of temporary and permanent tax free periods for clothing items in the U.S.

Same Sex Relationships: 2008, 2 pgs. A summary of current same sex relationship legislation by state.

Seat Belts in School Buses : 2007, 5 pgs. Examines effectiveness of installing seat belts in school buses. Safety statistics, federal law, state law, and cost estimates are presented.

Sex Offender Residency Restrictions : 2007, 5 pgs. Summarizes the current residency restrictions for sexual offenders in the U.S. with an emphasis on Iowa. The effectiveness of and alternative proposals to these laws are examined.

Small Motor Pollution : 2007, 3 pgs. Short overview of pollution caused by small engines such as weed and lawn equipment followed by an explanation of federal prohibits on state regulation of such engines.

Sports Betting Laws: 2010, 7 pgs. Examines the legality surrounding amateur and professional sports betting by state.

State Corporate Income Tax: 2008, 4 pgs. Presents state corporate income tax rates over time, the self-reported effect corporate income taxes have on businesses, and alternatives to the current corporate income tax system.

State Gas Tax: 2008, 4 pgs. Shows state gasoline tax rates for 2008, and compares these with the rates from 2000. The report concludes with a summary of the current arguments for and against raising state gasoline tax rates.

State Implementation of the Obama Health Care Act: 2010, 11 pgs. Summarizes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and examines state implementation under the new legislation.

Subsidized Guardianship: 2009, 5 pgs. Presents a summary of state subsidized guardianship programs and the differences between their requirements.

Tax Increment Financing: 2011, 3 pgs. An overview of tax increment financing in Iowa and across the United States.

Township Governments in Iowa: 2006, 3 pgs. Explains townships, their functions, and the controversy surrounding them. Compiles data from nearby states for comparison.

Tribal Courts and Jurisdiction: 2006, 5 pgs. Reviews Federal Code, Iowa Law, and Supreme Court cases involving Tribal Law and Jurisdiction.

Tuition for University Employees and Dependents : 2007, 3 pgs. Examines tuition breaks and maximum credit hours per semester for full-time university employees, their spouses, and their children.

Ultrasound Requirements Before Abortions: 2011, 6 pgs. Examines various states policies regarding ultrasound requirements before abortions and their effectiveness.

Universal and At-Risk Preschool: 2011, 6 pgs. Examines the costs and benefits of universal preschool versus at-risk preschool, especially relating to state-provided preschool in Iowa.

University Tuition Reciprocity : 2007, 3 pgs. Reports on higher education tuition reciprocity agreements between states, counties, and schools. Summary of the three most expansive programs is provided.

Urban Chickens: 2009, 3 pgs. Summarizes state and municipal laws about raising chickens in an urban environment.

Vaccine Enforcement and Exemptions: 2009, 4 pgs. Examines the procedures states use to enforce their immunization laws and other laws allowing exemptions from these requirements. Research focuses on Iowa and its six contiguous states (Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wisconsin).

Voter Identification: 2011, 5 pgs. Compares voter identification (ID) requirements across states. The report examines the effects of voter ID laws on voter turnout.

Voting Rights for Minors: 2006, 2 pgs. Brief comments on voting rights for those under 18 and how other states approach the subject.

Wind Power: 2006, 4 pgs. Reports on explosive growth in wind power production. Compares several states that employ incentives (including Iowa) to encourage construction of wind power plants.

Year-Round Education: 2011, 5 pgs. Examines the costs and benefits of operating schools on year-round calendars as opposed to traditional calendars.

Year-Round Schooling: 2008, 4 pgs. Explains common schedules for year-round schooling. Lists arguments from proponents and opponents to year-round schooling. Presents statistics on the prevalence of year round schooling.

Youth Tabacco Prevention Programs: 2011, 6 pgs. An overview of youth tobacco prevention programs in Iowa and their effect on youth smoking rates.

Youth Voter Registration: 2009, 3 pgs. Examines state laws that allow citizens to register to vote before reaching the age of 18.

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