Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a wide-ranging health bill into law Wednesday that bans some food dyes from school meals and allows pharmacies to sell over-the-counter ivermectin.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Reynolds in her office at the Iowa Capitol for the bill signing. She said he inspired the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, which aligns with what she called the “Iowa MAHA bill.”
Reynolds said there is a chronic disease epidemic in Iowa and across the country, and now is the time for action.
“Altogether, this bill advances the health and wellness for every Iowan today and for generations to come,” Reynolds said. “As governor, I couldn’t be prouder to sign it into law.”
Reynolds said Iowa was the first state to ask the current Trump administration for permission to ban the use of food assistance to purchase candy and soda. As of Jan. 1, Iowans cannot use SNAP or Summer EBT to buy taxable foods.
“Our MAHA bill directs Iowa HHS [Health and Human Services] to request federal waivers each year to maintain these changes, stopping government from enabling unhealthy behaviors that lead to chronic illness, and marks the beginning of a new day of accountability and health,” she said.
The new law makes the state’s participation in Summer EBT, which sends $120 per child in food assistance to low-income families over the summer, dependent on the federal government’s approval of food restrictions.
Kennedy said the country is facing an existential crisis with its high rates of chronic disease. He said he's grateful to Reynolds for making Iowa a “laboratory of innovation” to find solutions to that problem.
“Iowa is showing the country what bold public health leadership looks like by focusing on prevention, nutrition, physical fitness and healthier lifestyles for the next generation,” Kennedy said.
He said the law signed Wednesday directly addresses the root causes of chronic disease.
“I want to thank the members of the Iowa state Legislature for leading the effort to make Iowa healthy again,” Kennedy said.
The law bans six food dyes and two additives from most food and drinks served at K-12 public and charter schools, along with private schools that receive state school lunch funding.
Pharmacies will be allowed to sell ivermectin over-the-counter, and the law protects them from legal penalties for distributing the drug.
The law limits digital instruction for K-5 students to no more than 60 minutes per day, with some exceptions. A new working group will study the impact of school-provided technology on older students.
Schools will be required to use the Presidential Fitness Test to evaluate students’ physical condition. And schools will have to provide for 40 minutes of physical activity in kindergarten through fourth grade, up from the current 30-minute minimum.
The law requires physicians and medical students to complete nutrition education, and it creates a psychology interjurisdictional compact allowing psychologists from other states to provide telehealth services to Iowans.
Kennedy visits Iowa school, announces new screen time advisory
Following the bill signing at the Capitol, Kennedy and Reynolds held a press conference at Gilbert Elementary School in Gilbert, where Kennedy announced the release of a new surgeon general’s advisory on screen time for kids.
Kennedy called excessive screen use “among the most urgent public health challenges facing American children.”
“Children are spending more time on screens than sleeping, exercising, reading, interacting face to face with family and friends,” he said. “The average teenager now spends more than 8.5 hours a day on the screen. Toddlers spend 2.5 hours, starting at about 6 years old — 2.5 hours — and then it goes up.”
The advisory is meant to guide parents, schools and communities on how to protect kids from the effects of excessive screen use, such as anxiety, depression, social isolation and cyberbullying, he said.
Kennedy said he chose to make the announcement in Iowa because he had been invited to the state for the MAHA bill signing, and the report was ready.
“Iowa is leading the way on this, and on so many other things,” he said.
In April, Reynolds signed a bill into a law that prohibits the use of cellphones in schools during instruction time with some exceptions. She called the advisory a “call to action.”
“It is evidence-based, and it gives schools and principals and teachers and parents some guidelines to help provide reasonable and responsible use of cellphones,” she said.
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This story was updated at 6 p.m. on May 20 to include information about Kennedy's visit to Gilbert Elementary School.
