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It’s standard practice for the presiding official in each chamber of the Iowa Legislature to use their first speeches on the opening day of the new session to lay out the majority party’s agenda, but Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman’s speech on Monday was far from standard. The Adel Republican spent the bulk of his […]
Rep. Mary Mascher of Iowa City announced on Monday she will not run for reelection next year. Mascher, a leader among progressive Democrats in the Iowa House of Representatives, was first elected to her seat in 1994. “I want to thank the people of Johnson County for their love and support over the last 28 […]
The Iowa House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of a bill intended to prohibit so-called “vaccine passports” on Monday. The bill was introduced on Friday, two weeks after Gov. Kim Reynolds called for such legislation. “I strongly oppose vaccine passports and I believe that we must take a stand as a state against them, which […]
Republicans in the Iowa Senate approved an amendment to the Iowa Constitution that would undermine a woman’s right to an abortion on Tuesday. Senate Joint Resolution 2 passed on a party-line vote, with all Senate Republicans voting in favor and all the chamber’s Democrats voting against it. “Everyone deserves the freedom to make medical decisions […]
The Iowa Senate passed a bill allowing landlords to discriminate against anyone receiving federal housing assistance on Wednesday. The Senate had previously passed the bill on a party-line vote, but Republicans in the Iowa House amended SF 252 (formerly SSB 1079) when it passed the bill on Monday, so the Senate had to approve the […]
After more than four and a half hours of floor discussion on Tuesday night, the Iowa House of Representatives voted along party lines to approve a bill that imposes restrictions on diversity training offered by any state or local government agency and prohibits any instruction in public schools or universities on certain “divisive concepts” related […]
On Monday, the Iowa House of Representatives passed a bill already approved by the Senate, which would overturn ordinances in Iowa City, Marion and Des Moines that prevent landlords from discriminating against people who receive federal housing assistance. In addition to invalidating existing ordinances, SF 252 (formerly SSB 1079) would also prohibit any local government […]
A bill that would restrict discussion of “divisive concepts” related to racism and sexism in Iowa schools and universities was passed by an Iowa House subcommittee on Monday. Both of the Republicans on the subcommittee voted for it, and the lone Democrat opposed it. HSB 258 would require that the instructor of any mandatory diversity […]
The University of Iowa has reversed its decision to hold only virtual commencement ceremonies for its spring 2021 graduates in an attempt to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and will hold in-person ceremonies. UI announced on Feb. 3 it would be holding a virtual ceremony. In its statement, the university acknowledged “how much [in-person] […]
Just eight days after it was introduced in the Iowa Legislature, a bill that would make it harder to vote but easier to remove people from voting rolls, and creates new criminal liability for local election officials, received its final approval. On Wednesday night, the Republican-controlled Iowa House of Representatives sent the bill to Gov. […]
A bill that would halt state funding to any city or county that reduces the budget of its local law enforcement agency is making its way through the Iowa Senate and House of Representatives. SSB 1203, known in the House as HSB 230, was introduced last Thursday and approved by subcommittees in the both the […]
The Iowa House of Representatives has scheduled an online public hearing at 5 p.m. on Monday for the election bill that was fast-tracked through both the House and Senate last week. HF 590, formerly HSB 213, along with its companion bill in the Senate, which was SSB 1199 before being renumbered SF 413, was introduced […]
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