Cautious relief might be the best way to describe how some of Iowa’s most prominent LGBTQ organizations feel after a majority of the anti-LGBTQ bills in the Iowa Legislature stalled out after the second legislative funnel last week. “Out of the ones that directly...
During an Iowa Senate subcommittee last Tuesday, immigrants and allies heavily and passionately opposed HF 2608, a new bill from the corporate lobbying group the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The bill would make transporting undocumented immigrants a...
Sen. Molly Donahue (D-Cedar Rapids) questioned her colleagues on why they were moving forward with enacting major legislative changes to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs), a plan most Iowans don’t see the need for. “Nobody wanted this bill. Nobody asked for this...
UpLift—The Central Iowa Basic Income program has reported making strides in studying the impacts of no-strings-attached monthly income for Iowans needing it most, but Iowa Republicans aren't hearing it. HF 2319 is a bill to ban local governments from participating in...
Sen. Jason Schultz (R-Schleswig) declined to advance a bill that would provide Iowa firefighters with more comprehensive disability coverage for cancer treatment. “In highly emotional situations like that, somebody has got to be the taxpayer’s watchdog and remove...
According to two Republican state senators, participants in the UpLift—The Central Iowa Basic Income Program, just need to work harder and pull up their bootstraps to escape poverty. “It’s not the first job that gives you a raise to maybe $15 an hour that leads to the...
Immigration advocates noted there are a few issues with a new Republican-backed bill aimed at undocumented migrants that is working its way through the Iowa Legislature. HF 2608 would require the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to verify the...
The Biden-Harris campaign said in vitro fertilization (IVF) services could be jeopardized in Iowa under a new bill that was supported by nearly every Republican member of the Iowa House. “IVF is at risk across the country and there’s one man to blame: Donald Trump....
All Sami Scheetz wanted to do was feed kids. The Democratic representative from Cedar Rapids introduced HF 575 last session, which would allow 23,000 Iowa students enrolled in the federal reduced breakfast and lunch program to receive free meals at school. The state...
The Iowa House passed a measure increasing teacher and school staff pay Thursday as the fate of top education policies lawmakers are pursuing this session remain uncertain. House File 2611 passed 92-1 Thursday, with only Rep. Mark Cisneros, R-Muscatine, voting against...
