Iowa senators voted 27-22 late Monday to pass a bill to limit the ability of carbon sequestration pipelines to use eminent domain, sending it to the governor’s desk after a drawn-out debate. The decision follows four years of urging from Iowans and House lawmakers for eminent domain reform in response to the proposed Summit Carbon […]
Zach Wahls
Posted inCommunity/News
Bill requiring Iowa schools show material from anti-abortion groups depicting ‘humanity of the unborn child’ at fertilization heads to governor’s desk
Iowa schools would have to show ultrasound videos and computer-generated graphics on fetal development in Iowa classrooms under legislation sent to the governor’s desk Monday. SF 175, approved 33-16, would require human growth and development classes for Iowa students in grades 5-12 to include ultrasound video and computer-generated renderings or animations depicting “the humanity of the […]
Posted inLetters
Letter from Sen. Zach Wahls: The conservation bond is a cost-effective way to secure a better, healthier future
By Iowa Sen. Zach Wahls, Coralville As a state senator, Eagle Scout, and lifelong outdoorsman, I strongly endorse this year’s Johnson County Conservation Bond campaign. Please join me in flipping your ballot over and voting YES to approve the $30 million Johnson County Conservation Bond. The Johnson County Conservation Bond is a textbook example of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds’ bill undermining transgender rights with new definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in state law will not pass this year
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill that would change how state laws and regulations are made in ways that would undermine the rights of transgender people will not pass during this legislative session. HF 2389 would have needed to be passed by a committee in the Iowa Senate this week, in order to remain viable. But the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Vaccine bill advances in Senate, despite medical community’s opposition
A bill that eliminates a minor’s legal right to consent to vaccinations against sexually transmitted infections has advanced in the Iowa Senate despite united opposition from Iowa’s medical community. SF 2064 would revise an existing state law that gives minors the legal capacity to provide the necessary consent for them to receive medical care related […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds boasts about returning $95 million in federal COVID-19 aid, rejecting migrant children during Fox News forum
Gov. Kim Reynolds boasted to an audience of Fox News fans in Orlando, Florida on Thursday night that she had rejected $95 million in pandemic relief funds from the CDC. The Iowa Department of Public Health informed the CDC of that decision on April 23, but the governor had not previously disclosed that she approved […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Republican-backed bill allowing charter schools to avoid local oversight goes to the governor’s desk
A bill preempting the authority of local school boards over publicly funded charter schools is going to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for her signature. Reynolds named this sort of expansion of charter schools in Iowa as one of her top priorities in her Condition of the State speech at the beginning of this year’s legislative […]
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Gov. Reynolds signs bills eliminating gun permits, giving new legal protection to gun manufacturers and sellers
On Friday afternoon, as the Easter holiday weekend was beginning, Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office sent out a news release stating that the governor had signed into a law a bill eliminating the requirement for a person to be licensed to buy or carry a gun. The bill, HF 756, was passed by the Iowa House, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The Iowa Legislature reconvenes, will consider protecting businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits
On Wednesday, the Iowa Legislature reconvened for the first time since March 16, when it went into emergency recess in response to the spread of COVID-19 in the state. And issues related to the virus will loom large in the coming weeks.
Posted inCOVID-19
Sen. Zach Wahls has signed up as a poll worker in Johnson County, and encourages other young people to do the same
Election officials in eastern Iowa and beyond have one resounding message for primary voters: fill out your ballot from home. With social distancing in effect — and the Wisconsin primary on April 7, in which thousands of voters found themselves in long, slow lines in and outside polling places, serving as a cautionary tale — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has expanded the mail-in voting period
