On Wednesday, Iowa Senate Republicans advanced a bill with a provision that would cut off funding for medical treatments for people with gender dysphoria, despite testimony pointing to a medical consensus that stopping access to such treatments can increase the risk of suicide among transgender people. This is the first piece of anti-trans legislation Iowa […]
Iowa Senate
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Proposed constitutional amendment would require supermajority to raise income tax
A Senate subcommittee moved forward with the second step in amending the state constitution Wednesday to require a two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature for income tax increases. SSB 1221 is a follow-up from HJR 2006, passed in 2024 with the same language. To amend the Iowa Constitution, lawmakers must pass the amendment language in […]
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No vote on bill protecting pesticide manufacturers from cancer lawsuits as Iowa House Republicans balk
The Iowa House will not vote on a bill passed by the Senate that would have provided new protections against lawsuits for corporations that produce pesticides, Speaker Pat Grassley said on Thursday. Even though Republicans control 67 of the 100 seats in the House, there was not enough support for the bill to guarantee passage. […]
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Iowa becomes the first state to erase parts of its Civil Rights Act
Iowa has now made history as the first state to erase parts of its civil rights code to strip protections from some of its citizens. Despite the enormity of cutting gender identity out of the Iowa Civil Rights Act — thereby eliminating rights of transgender and nonbinary Iowans that have been in place for 18 […]
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Iowans protest bill to give pesticide manufacturers greater protection from cancer lawsuits
Iowans gathered in the State Capitol rotunda on Monday to remember family members who have died from cancer and protest a bill in the Iowa Senate that would create new protections against lawsuits for companies that produce pesticides. “What our legislators should be doing is working on bills that lower the risk for Iowans rather than […]
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Iowa lawmakers debate until 2 a.m. in race to finish 2024 legislative session
Iowa lawmakers debated budget bills into the early morning Friday as they aim for the end of session in the coming days. Though legislators spent much of their days in party caucus meetings Thursday, members of both the House and Senate moved through dozens of bills during debate, in addition to meetings of the chambers’ […]
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Senate sends bill on traffic camera regulation, DOT oversight to governor
A bill regulating — but not banning — traffic camera use by local law enforcement was sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds by the Senate with bipartisan support Monday. House File 2681 passed 46-1 Monday, with Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, voting against he measure. The bill gives the Iowa Department of Transportation oversight of how Iowa cities […]
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Bill restricting consumable hemp products heads to governor’s desk
The Iowa Senate sent Gov. Kim Reynolds a bill Tuesday that tightens Iowa’s laws and regulations on consumable hemp products as the products become more widely available. HF 2605, passed on a 31-18 vote, would put a limit of 4 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per serving in consumable hemp products, as well as a 10 […]
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Senate committee advances ‘sin tax’ for consumable hemp products
As lawmakers consider restrictions on hemp-derived THC and CBD products, the Senate Ways and Means Committee passed a measure Wednesday that would add a sin tax to consumable hemp products. SSB 3186 would set a 25 percent excise tax on the sales price of consumable hemp products, with the tax revenue going to the state’s […]
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Bill eliminating regular health and safety inspections of hotels and motels in Iowa passes
The Iowa Senate gave final approval on Tuesday to a bill that addresses the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing’s (DIAL) decade-long failure to follow state law and inspect hotels and motels once every two years by eliminating the law requiring those inspections. HF 2426 repeals the biennial hotel inspection requirement, and instead requires […]
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Lawmakers advance bill to ban civilian police review boards and increase protections for police officers considered ‘unsuitable or unfit’
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are advancing a bill that would eliminate civilian police review boards, and change civil service rules to make it harder for police chiefs to fire, suspend or demote officers they have determined to be “unsuitable or unfit” for their positions.
“Today we send a clear message to the brave men and women who put on their uniform every day, who stand on that thin, blue line,” Sen. Scott Webster, a Republican from Bettendorf, said during Monday’s floor debate on the bill in the Iowa Senate. “We have their back. We stand with them. We respect them.”
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Sen. Pam Jochum replaces Sen. Zach Wahls as Iowa Senate minority leader
Iowa Senate Democrats voted Wednesday evening to elect Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, to replace Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, as Senate minority leader. Iowa Democrats left the meeting at the Iowa State Capitol at 9 p.m., referring questions to Jochum’s office. The move came after Wahls’ office announced via email Friday the office was ending the […]
