Local governments would be barred from adopting broader or different civil rights protections than those outlined in state code, under a bill advanced by the Iowa House Thursday.
The bill would affect local civil rights protections for gender identity, which was repealed as a protected class from state code last year.
That law ended discrimination protections in housing, employment, education and other areas for transgender and nonbinary Iowans. Since then, communities including Coralville, Ames and Iowa City have affirmed local protections based on gender identity.
At least 14 cities currently have gender-identity based protections in municipal code.
Originally a standalone bill (HF2541), the proposal was added as an amendment to another Senate bill (SF 579) that passed out of the Senate nearly unanimously last year.
Republicans said the adopted amendment would create more uniform protections across the state, preventing confusion over different civil rights requirements.
“There could literally be hundreds of situations where we have conflicts with local ordinances, and considering the climate that we're in today, a patchwork of different civil rights ordinances would be extremely difficult for businesses and schools to navigate,” said Rep. Steven Holt, R- Denison.
Democrats voted against the bill, which passed 60 to 26 along party lines. They said the proposal would interfere with the ability of local governments to respond to the needs of their constituents. And, they said the state should be setting the floor, not the ceiling, on civil rights protections.
Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, D-Hiawatha, said the amendment makes it clear transgender people are not welcome in the state. She said the proposal violates the Home Rule amendment and the equal protection clause of the state constitution.
“Keep in mind, this Legislature created that patchwork,” she said. “It created that patchwork last year when it passed Senate file 418, the Civil Rights Removal Act of 2025.”
Wichtendahl called the proposal the “enhanced” Civil Rights Removal Act and urged local governments to stand up for the rights of their constituents if the legislation passes. She said the proposal could continue driving people away from Iowa – something she said the state can’t afford to do with workforce shortages and an aging population.
“Iowa does not have the luxury of a pointless culture war, because the tragic end result is that when the flames of it finally burn out, all we will be left with is the ashes,” she said. “We need people in Iowa. We need to welcome all people to Iowa.”
Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R- Hull, rejected the claim the change was a “pointless culture war.”
“We're not going to have everybody and their mom decide they're going to have this civil rights code, we're going to throw everything in it, or we're going to take everything out of it,” he said. “That's absolutely insane. It's unworkable for businesses, and it's just a crazy idea.”
Another part of the adopted amendment would remove the requirement that cities of 29,000 people or more have a civil rights commission. The amendment also includes notification requirements for local commissions transferring cases to the state civil rights office.
The original Senate bill would have required civil rights complaints involving cities, counties, townships or school districts as a party to be referred to the state civil rights office.
The bill would also let cases be transferred to the state Civil Rights Office if they allege a violation of the state civil rights code and have not been resolved within a year. A fiscal note on the bill estimated the change will cost the state $194,000 per year.
Republicans said the provisions will give communities more flexibility for deciding whether to have their own civil rights commission. GOP lawmakers also said the bill will help hold local civil rights commissions accountable for unresolved cases.
The bill also sets the terms for people serving on local civil rights commissions to two years.
The amended proposal next heads back to the Senate.
