Capitol Notebook: Iowa House passes Gov. Reynolds’ paid parental leave bill

DES MOINES — New mothers working in state government would get four weeks of paid leave under legislation approved Thursday with strong bipartisan support in the Iowa House.

Currently, there is no paid family leave program for state government employees.

The proposal came from Gov. Kim Reynolds. It is not the first year she has pushed for paid family leave for state workers, but this marks the first time it has been passed by a full chamber in the Iowa Legislature.

“Nothing is more important to me than supporting Iowa families,” Reynolds said in a statement. “The weeks after bringing home your baby are vital time for bonding and recovery and a crucial development period for newborns. I want to thank Iowa House legislators for prioritizing families and recognizing the importance of present parenting.”

Under Reynolds’ proposal, a state employee who gives birth or adopts a child would be entitled to four weeks of paid leave. A state employee parent who does not give birth would be entitled to one week of paid leave.

The bill also would allow some state employees who have accumulated 10 days of sick leave to convert some of that leave into vacation time.

The bill, House File 889, passed the House on Thursday on an 87-2 vote.

“This is a good first step, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough,” Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids, said during floor debate, pointing to a more generous offering of paid family leave in the private sector. “If we want to recruit the best and brightest into state government, we have to give better benefits than the private sector” because the public sector does not generally pay as well.

On average, U.S. women received 10.4 days of paid sick and 11.6 days of paid personal leave per year, according to a 2015 study from the University of Washington’s Department of Health Services. Federal law requires businesses to allow for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for new parents.

A twin bill in the Iowa Senate, Senate Study Bill 1040, was approved by a three-member subcommittee but never was considered by the Senate Workforce Committee.

“Giving paid parental leave to state employees is critically important for retention. These are talented people who we want to keep here, instead of going to higher paid jobs in the private sector where they’re already getting a lot of paid leave,” House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, told reporters earlier Thursday. “And though I don’t believe this is enough, I do believe it’s a good start and it’s taking us in a positive direction for state employees.”

Porn age-verification advances

Porn websites would have to verify the age of users under legislation passed by 88-1 by the Iowa House. Platforms that share obscene materials would have to verify that a person is 18 years or older to allow access.

Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, said the bill would protect minors.

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“Interestingly enough, this law has been passed in one form or the other in about 20 other states and Pornhub has pulled out of some of those states,” Wheeler said. “Either they're unable to verify the age of the users or they refuse to, so this would require them to do that.”

House File 864 would make platforms liable if they do not provide an age verification process for minors when accessing obscene materials. It also would allow the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to bring civil actions against platforms not verifying user ages.

Platforms that violate the requirements could face penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. A violation of an injunction would result in a fine of up to $100,000.

The age verification process could be conducted through third parties using government-issued identification and financial documents to confirm an individual’s age. The legislation also creates data privacy and protection requirements for platforms to follow when collecting personal information.

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Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, the lone no vote on the legislation, said he is concerned about the data collection aspect of the bill and the implications it would have on data privacy.

“I respect the privacy of my constituents,” Zabner said.

The bill is eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate.

Those involuntarily committed would get follow-up

Iowa hospitals would be required to provide post-discharge services — including a 15-day supply of medications and referral for follow-up care — for individuals committed by court order for substance abuse or severe mental illness under legislation passed by the Iowa House.

House File 385 modifies a mental health treatment facility’s obligations with regard to the discharge of a person committed for a substance use disorder or hospitalized for inpatient care for a serious mental impairment. Under the bill, the facility treating the person would be required to refer the person to a behavioral health district for evaluation, case navigation and post-discharge services.

The facility would also be required to:

“This bill will help us to pause the revolving door of repeated hospitalizations, to lessen homelessness, incarceration and victimization of people with severe mental illnesses here in Iowa,” said Rep. Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, the bill’s floor manager in the House. “Requiring improved care, coordination and communication as someone is being discharged from the hospital puts the foot in that revolving door, and provides a path to recovery and health instead.”

The bill passed 89-0 Thursday and now moves to the Iowa Senate.

House passes bill criminalizing noncitizen smuggling

Transporting or harboring people who entered the country in violation of federal law for gain or to conceal them from authorities would become a state crime under a bill passed by the Iowa House.

Critics argued language in House File 572 was too broad and could inadvertently penalize service providers who are trying to provide aid to asylum-seeker sand victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, based out of their religious or humanitarian convictions.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, the bill’s floor manager, said the legislation aims to protect vulnerable individuals and prosecute those engaging in human smuggling and slave labor. Holt said religious groups and other providers would be shielded from criminal penalties as the bill requires intent to conceal, flee, encourage or induce a person to remain in the country illegally.

“What religious organizations are doing by feeding or providing shelter or taking individuals not in the country legally to the church or to a store does not meet the threshold of intent to conceal or flee,” he said. “… I believe this legislation is an important tool for law enforcement to be able to protect both citizens and noncitizens. There is nothing moral about human trafficking, sex trafficking or labor trafficking made possible by the smuggling and concealment of vulnerable people, who because of their status fear they have no way out. … This legislation seeks to hold accountable those who are creating human misery for those not in a position to help themselves.”

The bill creates the offense of smuggling of persons when the person knowingly, for payment or anything of value, transports, conceals, harbors or shields a person from detections in violation of federal law.

House Republicans pursued a similar bill last year. It passed the House but did not advance in the Senate.

The bill would make it a Class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison, if the offense creates the likelihood of serious injury or death, if the person smuggled is younger than 18 or if the smuggler intended to be paid or possessed a firearm. It would be a Class A felony, punishable by life in prison without parole, if the person smuggled is seriously injured, killed or sexually abused.

The bill, which passed 75-14 Thursday, moves to the Iowa Senate.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau