Hot-button social issues being pressed in GOP-controlled Legislature

CEDAR RAPIDS — With Republicans in control of the Iowa House, Senate and governor's office, Senate Minority Leader Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids doesn't even want to mention which social conservative topics worry him the most.

'I don't really want to tell you all of the things we are concerned about because I don't want to put an idea in (Republicans') minds. I don't want to plant the seeds,' the Democrat said.

Social conservatives hope this is the year the seeds they've been planting blossom into laws to strengthen traditional families and marriage, protect life, expand educational choice and defend the poor.

'But only if pro-family Iowans are engaged in speaking our values to our government,' according to a recent Family Leader newsletter.

House Minority Leader Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, is calling on the public to help fend off such measures.

'We will exercise every option available to us to show our opposition,' Smith said. 'We'll have to rely on the people to voice their opinions.'

Some 'hot button' issues likely to be taken up during the 2017 session that begins Monday are:

Abortion

'We are a pro-life caucus,' House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, said. 'That's who we are. So we will continue to do bills that advance the protection of life.'

That likely will include restrictions on abortion, perhaps banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy or if the fetus weighs at least 350 grams, and amending the state constitution to say there is no fundamental right to abortion.

Upmeyer wasn't aware of any plans for an attempt to ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks after conception. Ohio lawmakers approved that legislation, but it was vetoed.

Planned Parenthood

Another Republicans goal in recent years has been to withhold funding from Planned Parenthood. Upmeyer said the caucus prefers state dollars go to women's health care providers that do not also provide abortions.

There are plenty of clinics other than Planned Parenthood that offer breast cancer screening and reproductive health exams that are covered by tax dollars for Medicaid patients, according to Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock.

'Better options for more women and their health care,' he said.

Efforts during the 2016 session, when Democrats controlled the Senate, to defund Planned Parenthood led to a compromise. Lawmakers agreed to double the adoption tax credit while continuing to fund Planned Parenthood as long as state dollars still do not pay for abortions.

Voter Photo ID

This could be one of the first bills to land on Gov. Terry Branstad's desk this year.

Despite Democratic arguments that requiring voters to show a photo identification is a barrier to voting, Dix cites a 2013 Iowa Poll that found 71 percent of Iowans favored requiring it.

Voter photo ID is among the recommendations Secretary of State Paul Pate made to the Legislature. He estimated the cost to provide cards to Iowans without state-issued IDs would be about $500,000.

The argument he and GOP lawmakers make is that voters want confidence that only eligible voters are participating in elections. Voting should be easy but cheating should be hard, they say.

But it's inconsistent for Republicans to relax restrictions on gun ownership under the guise of expanding constitutional rights but make it harder to vote — another constitutional right, Democrat Smith said.

Pate also proposed signature verification in addition to a photo ID, recommended using electronic poll books at every precinct and requiring an ID number for absentee ballot voting.

Read more: Iowa Voter ID change part of broader balloting proposal

Traffic cameras

Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, has tried but failed to ban traffic enforcement devices — speed cameras and red-light cameras.

'But I'm in the majority and that changes everything,' said Zaun, who will be the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman. He said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Chip Baltimore, R-Boone, has agreed to run the bill there 'and I have assurances from Gov. Branstad he will sign it.'

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported that in 2014 red-light running caused 171,000 traffic crashes nationwide, which led to approximately 126,000 injuries and 709 deaths.

Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, calls Zaun's plan for the state to pre-empt local governments that want to use automated traffic devices for public safety a role reversal because it's usually Republicans complaining about the Legislature imposing a 'one-size-fits-all' regulations on local governments.

Zaun counters that he's trying to 'stop to the abuse that's taking place throughout Iowa.' He believes local governments' interest in the cameras is more about raising revenue than safety.

The specter of a ban has prompted Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz to not count on the $3 to $3.5 million in annual revenue from speed and red light cameras in fashioning the city's fiscal 2018 general fund budget, which starts July 1.

Read more: Side effects loom if Iowa adopts traffic camera ban

Gun rights

Attempts to expand Iowans' gun rights are a sure thing in the GOP-controlled Senate. Sioux City Republican Sen. Rich Bertrand has been emailing Iowans to tell them that with their help, there is an 'absolutely incredible opportunity to make both 'constitutional carry' and 'stand-your-ground' a reality in Iowa.'

In an email distributed by Iowa Gun Owners, Bertrand described 'stand-your-ground' as stating in law that Iowa gun owners can defend themselves against attackers without fear of legal backlash. 'Constitutional carry' would allow Iowa citizens to carry a firearm for protection 'without going through a bunch of bureaucratic rigmarole' or paying expensive fees, Bertrand said.

Dix, the Senate majority leader, said a state version of the Second Amendment is a priority for the GOP majority.

In the past, opponents of these measures could rely on liberal Democrats to block their passage in the Senate. This year, Jeremy Brigham, executive director of Iowans for Gun Safety, said they will need to talk to Republicans.

'They're in charge, so we need to let them know what the facts are. Better laws lead to less gun violence,' Brigham said. 'Weakening laws will likely lead to more gun violence.'

Although expanded gun rights is seen as a GOP issue, Brigham isn't sure all Republicans share Bertrand's zeal. He points out some Republicans who defeated Democratic incumbents won by small margins.

'They need to watch their backs,' he said. Some GOP lawmakers who supported expanding gun rights out of party loyalty in the past may be less willing this year if they think there's a real possibility of those bills becoming law.

Brigham emphasized that his group is pushing a gun safety agenda rather than an anti-gun agenda. Iowans for Gun Safety want to require Iowans to have hands-on training before getting a gun permit, rather than taking online gun training. It also wants to require the safe storage of guns in homes, including the use of gun safes so weapons are not readily available to children or burglars.

l Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com