(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – An Iowa Senate committee gave its approval Wednesday to a bill that would eliminate a requirement for the state to inspect all hotels every two years. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports before approving the bill, members of the Senate State Government Committee stripped it of a measure that would have eliminated the annual inspections of businesses that are licensed to remove asbestos from construction sites. That element of the bill ran into opposition from labor organizations and others who said they were concerned that moving to complaint-only asbestos inspections could endanger the public as well as construction workers.

The provision of Senate Study Bill 3064 dealing with hotel and motel inspections is intended to legalize the longstanding practice of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing (DIAL). Although the law currently requires DIAL to inspect all hotels at least once every two years, the department has not complied with that law, opting instead to perform inspections on a prioritized basis and in response to complaints.

At Wednesday’s committee meeting, Sen. Tony Bisignano, a Des Moines Democrat, spoke out in opposition to the elimination of the two-year requirement for inspections. Sen. Carrie Koelker, R-Dyersville, voiced support for the bill, noting that it was backed by Iowa’s hotel industry. The Iowa Hotel and Lodging Association is not registered to lobby on the bill. Bisignano said the inspections department isn’t keeping up with mandated inspections and warned that’s something that may eventually become an issue for Iowans. The bill was approved by the committee along a party-line voice vote, with Democrats opposing the proposal and Republicans supporting it.

It’s not unusual for Iowa hotels to go four years or more without an inspection. Even when complaints are verified, that may not lead to action by regulators. Last September, for example, an Iowa City hotel that is part of a chain was inspected for the first time in four and half years. The visit was in response to a complaint related to some unspecified form of pests in the guest rooms. A Johnson County Health Department inspector reported the complaint was “verified,” but also indicated in his report that the hotel was “in compliance” with pest-control regulations and no action was taken.