This story originally appeared in LV Daily, Little Village’s Monday-Friday email newsletter. Sign up to have it delivered for free to your inbox. No state has less public land, such as parks or nature preserves, than Iowa, and state Senate Republicans are working to make sure it stays that way. And despite the heavy nitrate […]
Iowa Senate
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‘A middle finger to hardworking Iowans’: Iowa House and Senate approve bill to cut unemployment benefits
On Wednesday, the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate both passed versions of a bill that will cut unemployment benefits and is designed to force unemployed Iowans to take jobs that pay less than their former jobs more quickly than current law does. The bills passed both chambers with only Republicans voting for them. Cutting […]
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State senator calls COVID-19 vaccines ineffective before committee approves bill to ban vaccine requirements in schools and daycares
A Republican state senator falsely claimed COVID-19 vaccines are ineffective and called the idea of requiring them the “political belief of authoritarians who want to force their belief in… the hive-mindset,” just before the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that bans COVID-19 vaccine requirements at schools, universities and child care facilities. Sen. Jason […]
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Surrounded by children, Gov. Reynolds signs bill banning transgender girls from playing girls sports in all Iowa schools
“Our state has an impressive legacy of advancing women’s equality,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said on Thursday, just before she signed into law a bill banning transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports in Iowa schools, colleges and universities. HF 2416 restricts participation on all school or college girls sports teams and in all […]
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As COVID surges on, Iowa Republicans advance bills to make it easier to use ivermectin and harder to vaccinate kids
The number of new cases of COVID-19 reported by the Iowa Department of Public Health declined from the record-setting 38,574 new cases in last week’s IDPH weekly update, but was still the second-highest weekly total IDPH has reported during the pandemic. According to the department, another 34,949 Iowans tested positive for the virus since its […]
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A ‘sinister agenda’ and tax cuts: Iowa Republican leaders announce their legislative priorities
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 […]
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Janice Weiner is running for Iowa State Senate
Janice Weiner will run for the Iowa State Senate instead of seeking reelection to the Iowa City Council in 2022. The first-term councilmember will campaign for the Democratic nomination in the newly drawn Senate District 45, whose area largely matches that of the current District 43, currently represented by Sen. Joe Bolkcom. Bolkcom announced earlier […]
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Secretary of Iowa Senate denies making threat over report on inadequate COVID measures at State Capitol Building
Charlie Smithson, the secretary of the Iowa Senate, complained to the administrator in charge of the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Agency (IOSHA) about a “hazard alert letter” by agency inspectors criticizing how the Republican leaders who appointed Smithson failed to address COVID-19 concerns in the Iowa State Capitol Building, and suggested the letter might […]
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Ban on local governments, schools and businesses asking for proof of COVID vaccination advances in the Iowa Legislature
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 […]
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Iowa Senate Republicans pass an anti-abortion amendment to the Iowa Constitution
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 […]
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Iowa Senate Republicans push through bills eliminating gun permits and giving gunmakers new legal protections
The Iowa Senate passed two bills concerning gun sales on Monday. The first removes the requirement for a person to be licensed to buy or carry a gun, and the second provides broad immunity against lawsuits to gun manufacturers and dealers. Both bills passed the Republican-controlled chamber on party-line votes. HF 756 and HF 621 […]
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HUD may sue Iowa if bill allowing landlords to discriminate against federal housing aid recipients is signed into law
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 […]
