State lawmakers faced their first major deadline of the legislative session this week to narrow down the bills under consideration at the Iowa Capitol.
Most bills had to get through a committee in the chamber they started in to stay eligible for the next few weeks. Bills dealing with taxes and spending aren’t subject to the deadline, and the majority party has ways to bring “dead” bills back to life later in the session.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, said the biggest takeaway from this first "funnel" deadline was that “there’s a lot of bills.”
“After the first funnel, we’ll start to wade through and trim the branches and see what moves forward,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, criticized Republicans for advancing “culture war bills” and not meaningfully addressing affordability issues in the state.
"Iowans are best served when we work on the issues they have clearly told us they care about, on the issues that will improve their day-to-day lives,” she said. “Only one party is doing that this legislative session."
Here are some of the bills that advanced and failed ahead of the first funnel deadline:
Bills that advanced
Eminent domain: The House passed a bill (HF 2104) to ban the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines. Then, the Senate Commerce Committee amended and advanced the bill. Instead of banning eminent domain, it would give pipeline companies more flexibility to go around unwilling landowners to try to avoid the use of eminent domain.
Ending school vaccine requirements: The bill (HF 2171) would let kids go to elementary and secondary school without being vaccinated against diseases like polio, measles and meningitis.
Verifying immigration status: Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed a bill (HF2608) codifying her executive order requiring state agencies and boards to ensure new employees and license applicants are authorized to work in the U.S. The bill would require Iowans to swear they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. It would also restrict pretrial release for people accused of forcible felonies and for immigrants without legal status.
Abortion pill restrictions: Republican lawmakers in the House have advanced a bill (HF 2563) aimed at cracking down on mail-order abortion pills. Abortion pills would have to be dispensed in a health care setting, and violators could be subject to lawsuits. Abortion pill providers would have to tell patients it may be possible to reverse their abortion, which major medical organizations dispute.
Prison sentence and bail minimums: Under one of the House GOP’s “tough on crime” bills (HF 2542), a person convicted of multiple specific crimes would face a minimum 20-year prison sentence without parole. A separate bill (HF 2505) would make it harder to be released on bail.
Restrictions on local civil rights ordinances: Local governments would be blocked from adopting broader civil rights protections than those outlined in the Iowa Civil Rights Act under a bill proposed by Reynolds (HF 2541). This would invalidate local protections against gender identity discrimination after state-level protections were removed last year.
Governor’s health bill: Reynolds proposed a bill (HSB 694) that would ban some food dyes from school meals, allow pharmacies to sell ivermectin without a prescription and require nutrition education for doctors. It would also require the state to keep applying for federal permission to restrict SNAP and Summer EBT to “healthy” foods. The original bill would raise tobacco taxes, but lawmakers may consider that in separate legislation.
Restrictions on school and library partnerships: Under a bill (HF 2324) advanced by House lawmakers, public schools would be barred from partnerships with public libraries that let students use their school IDs to check out materials. Another bill (HF 2662) would transfer public library governance from boards of trustees to city councils. It would also require libraries to enforce “age-appropriate” content restrictions in order to receive state assistance.
Banning community ID programs: A bill (HF 2296) advanced by House Republicans would ban cities and counties from issuing local forms of IDs, also known as community IDs.
Tuition guarantee at public universities: Two proposals in the House (HF 2362) and Senate (SF 2227) would lock in freshman year tuition rates for undergraduate students throughout their degree program.
Banning instruction on gender theory : A House bill (HF2121) would ban schools from teaching topics related to gender theory or sexual orientation through high school. The bill would extend a 2023 law that currently bans instruction on the topics through sixth grade.
Conversion therapy: Raising a child consistent with their sex at birth wouldn’t count as form of child abuse, and couldn’t disqualify caretakers from fostering or adopting under a bill (HF 2557) advanced by House lawmakers. LGBTQ advocates say the proposal would exempt conversion therapy from being considered abuse.
Medicaid for employed people with disabilities: A Senate bill (SF 2315) would raise the Medicaid income limit for Iowans with disabilities who work.
Public assistance changes: A House bill (HSB 696) would bar mothers without legal status and some lawfully present immigrants from WIC, a food assistance program for pregnant women, infants and toddlers. It would also raise the Medicaid income limit for employed people with disabilities.
Limiting governor’s powers: Three bills (HF 2145, HSB 726, HF 2413) would put new limits on the governor’s authority. They restrict the governor’s ability to extend a state of emergency and to close churches and businesses under a disaster proclamation. One of the bills would make it harder for the executive branch to move forward with certain administrative rules.
Removing affirmative action: The bill (HSB 668) would remove references to affirmative action from state law and end a requirement for annual police de-escalation and bias prevention training.
Bills that failed to advance
Banning all elective abortions: The House bill (HF 2332) to ban all abortions except in medical emergencies was scheduled for a subcommittee meeting, but it was later canceled. The bill did not move forward.
Limiting lawsuits against the state: A bill (HSB 749) related to lawsuits against the state was killed after opponents said it would prevent Iowans who are harmed from holding the state accountable.
Removing library obscenity exemptions and others: A Senate bill (SF2119) would remove exemptions in Iowa’s obscenity laws that protect public libraries from lawsuits. Another House (HF 2309) bill would require kids to have parental consent to check out materials deemed “harmful to minors” at public libraries. A bill in the Senate (SF 2177) would require libraries offering digital services to adopt restrictions preventing kids from accessing obscene content online.
Not subject to deadline:
K-12 school funding: GOP leaders reached a deal to increase K-12 per-student funding by 2%. The House passed the bill Thursday, sending it back to the Senate for approval.
Property tax changes: Reynolds, House Republicans and Senate Republicans have each proposed a bill aimed at providing property tax relief.
