Week in Iowa, Feb. 5, 2024: Recap of news from across the state

Bill defines 'man' and 'woman': Iowa Republican lawmakers advanced a bill this past week that would define “man” and “woman” in state law and require transgender Iowans to note both their pre- and post-transition genders on some legal documents. Activists stomped, shouted and chanted outside a committee room Tuesday in vehement opposition to the proposal by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds that they say would “erase” transgender Iowans from state code.

The bill would allow state agencies and centers to use a person's biological sex to determine services and accommodations. Reynolds said last week it was necessary to protect women's spaces. There will be a public hearing on the bill Monday.

Cannabis regulations floated: Iowa GOP lawmakers moved a bill to give the state more oversight over "consumable hemp" products, or cannabis products derived from hemp. The products, which are legal under federal legislation, can have psychoactive effects similar to traditional marijuana. The bill would allow state regulators to set a potency cap on products sold in the state.

Iowa Teamsters threaten strikes: A Teamsters union in Iowa is calling for "rolling strikes" across the state in response to a bill that would put more regulations on public employee unions in Iowa and require a public employer to submit a list of employees to state regulators. Teamsters 238 Principal Officer Jesse Case said the bill would "effectively end all public sector unions in the state of Iowa."

Cities could have more control over libraries: A proposal to give city councils more authority over public libraries would bring partisan political decision-making into library operations, including book selection, dozens of public library officials and supporters warned state lawmakers Thursday at the Iowa Capitol.

The legislator who managed the bill during Thursday’s hearing said his goal is not to address the selection of books, but instead to provide elected local officials with more authority over the spending of taxpayer dollars. The bill would eliminate the requirement that a city’s voters approve any “proposal to alter the composition, manner of selection or charge of a library board,” or its replacement. Instead, a city council would be able hire a library director, and use library funds for library projects and initiatives by passing an ordinance without voter approval.

Lawmakers propose tuition limits: Iowa House Republicans and Democrats proposed dueling legislation to try to limit tuition costs in the state last week. Republicans want to cap the annual increase in tuition at 3 percent, while the Democrats' bill proposes a statewide freeze on tuition costs.

Bill would allow state-level immigration enforcement: State courts would be permitted to order the deportation of undocumented immigrants arrested in Iowa, and local officials would be given legal immunity when assisting in immigration enforcement measures under a bill advanced in the Iowa Senate. The bill would create a state crime for migrants who enter or re-enter the state illegally from another country and would give Iowa law enforcement authority to arrest undocumented immigrants in the state.

They said ...

“Specifically in the last election, I think we saw a lot of party affiliated people get involved in a space that we’ve not seen them get involved in ... And so when you begin down this pathway, we need to have a conversation. Is this the direction we’re going?” -- Rep. Brooke Boden, R-Indianola, on a bill to make local elections partisan

“Our town has fewer than 500 people, so I come from a very rural area. This bill is a train wreck. It opens up all sorts of possibilities for very disastrous consequences if you get an activist city council that starts seesawing on what they believe for a library to be or not be." -- Wade Dooley, chair of Albion Library Board of Trustees

Odds and ends

Obscene performances: Individuals who expose minors to an “obscene performance” could be prosecuted and charged with a misdemeanor under a bill advanced by lawmakers. While the bill is not explicitly targeted at drag shows, some people told lawmakers it could lead to lawsuits targeting those performances.

Looting offense: Lawmakers advanced a bill this past week that established the crime of "looting" and made it punishable as up to a Class C felony. The bill was inspired by incidents of “smash and grab” robberies seen in other states, said the Republican who led the subcommittee.

Water cooler

Border deployment: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will send another group of Iowa law enforcement officials to the Texas border to assist with border security efforts, she said last week. Reynolds visited the border last weekend alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and several other GOP governors.

UI lawsuit: A former orchestra conductor at the University of Iowa is suing the school, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination. Mélisse Brunet's lawsuit claims one of Brunet's supervisors made frequent sexual comments to Brunet and invited her to spend the weekend at his home.