State Senate
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Iowa Republicans advance bill to strip trans civil rights
Iowa House Republicans advanced a bill to remove gender identity from the list of protected classes under the Iowa Civil Rights Act. This has wide-ranging impacts on protections from discrimination in housing, education and more. The bill became the subject of the largest Iowa Capitol protest all session. Since passing in 2007, transgender Iowans have…
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Iowa House Republicans renew effort to strip transgender protections from Iowa civil rights law
House Republicans want to remove Iowa’s discrimination protections for transgender Iowans. The bill is a long list touching on bathrooms, birth certificates and introduces a new phrase “gender theory” into Iowa law. Just like all other Iowans, transgender residents of the state are protected under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, meaning they cannot be discriminated…
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Iowa senators advance crypto ATM fraud prevention bill
Iowans are losing their life’s savings to scammers using crypto ATMs to separate people from their money. A bill aims to regulate these kiosks in hopes of preventing future losses. A story keeps repeating. Iowans—particularly the elderly—get a call. The person on the phone says it’s their grandson. They’ve just been arrested and need someone…
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State agencies block Auditor Sand during review of private school voucher program
The State Auditor is raising the alarm, saying state government is stonewalling his office over details on the state’s private school voucher program. Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand said he has concerns about the $104 million school voucher program. According to an annual audit released this week, multiple state agencies refused to provide documentation about…
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Iowa House Republicans reject amendment to condemn antisemitic groups in the US
Iowa House Republicans found themselves in an awkward position last week. While pushing forward a resolution opposing international antisemitism, they rejected an amendment that would have condemned antisemitism from extremist domestic groups right here at home. Iowa House Republicans last week passed a bill to unconditionally support Israel’s war in Gaza and unconditionally denounce antisemitism…
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Iowa Republicans advance public school Bible study bill
Iowa Republicans want public schools to offer elective coursework teaching the Christian Bible. Supporters say teaching the Bible as literature is essential to an education. Schools can already offer these classes, but Republicans say that’s not enough. In the beginning, Democratic State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott of West Des Moines asked a question: does Iowa…
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House Republican proposal would increase public education funding above Reynolds’ proposal
The governor only wants a 2% increase to public school funding. Iowa Democrats have called for a 5% increase. House Republicans have released a school funding increase that would fall somewhere in the middle. Iowa House Republicans have agreed to a school funding proposal that is higher than the 2% increase agreed to by Gov.…
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Iowa Senate Democrats’ plan would lower childcare costs, raise childcare worker wages
Iowa Senate Democrats release a slate of bills aimed at solving Iowa’s childcare crisis. It aims to tackle the rising cost of child care across Iowa while addressing the accessibility issues facing families. Gov. Kim Reynolds lauded the state for adding 27,000 child care slots in the past four years during her January Condition of…
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Iowa Republicans advance law that could expose drag performances to obscenity lawsuits
Republicans are pushing to open obscenity laws in hopes of making it easier to sue drag performers.
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Heartland AEA begins dramatic restructuring following Republican’s AEA changes and cuts
A state agency that supports students from kindergarten to age 21 with special needs is anticipating major restructuring and reductions in the coming year. This after Iowa Republicans’ law redirecting their funding and scope of service. Heartland Area Education Agency (AEA) is bracing staff for even larger reductions in staff and services in response to…
