Capitol Notebook: House lawmakers advance E-Verify requirement

Iowa employers would be required to check a federal system to see if prospective employees are eligible to work in the U.S. under a bill advanced in the Iowa House on Wednesday, though lawmakers expressed reservations about the proposal and skepticism that it will advance further.

The bill, House Study Bill 105, would require Iowa employers to enroll in the E-Verify system, a federal platform that allows employers to check the eligibility of their employees to work in the country.

The proposal has passed in the state Senate in years past, but has not made it through the House. Nineteen states have requirements that either all businesses, or public employers and contractors, use the E-Verify system.

The bill would punish employers who employ undocumented immigrants with three years’ probation on the first offense. On a second offense, the employer would lose all licenses pertaining to the location where the unauthorized employee worked or the employer’s primary place of business.

Lobbyists speaking at the committee were against the bill, saying the federal E-Verify system is flawed and would be too punitive to employers who already take measures to ensure the eligibility of their employees to work.

The two Republicans present at the subcommittee voted to advance the bill, but they said they shared the concerns of the lobbyists. Rep. Phil Thompson, of Boone, said he has “serious reservations” about the bill, though he voted to move it forward.

“I think there would be a lot more reservations brought forward from other members, so whether or not that moves on from committee is really up to chairman (Steve) Holt,” a Republican from Denison, Thompson said.

Teacher licensing reform

Lawmakers this week advanced a bill to the Iowa House floor that would create two additional pathways to license teachers in an effort to address Iowa’s workforce shortages in the teaching profession.

To become an educator in Iowa, prospective teachers currently can use either of two alternative licensure programs, which are only available for teaching at the high school level. Rather than pass an exam, candidates with a degree in a teaching field can take a minimum number of courses in teaching methods before spending a year in a classroom as an intern.

After the full-year internship as a paid full-time teacher, individuals take a few more credits and become a fully licensed teacher.

Under House File 4, those with at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, who do not meet other licensure requirements and have three years of work experience, can apply for a teacher intern license to teach grades six through 12 while completing additional coursework.

The bill also creates a temporary, initial teacher license for those with a bachelor’s degree from accredited college or university who complete an online alternative teacher certification program. To become fully licensed, individuals would have to successfully complete a beginning teacher mentoring and induction program through the Iowa Department of Education.

Democrats on the committee objected to the measure, arguing completion of an online teacher certification program does not require student teaching.

“I feel that these programs are downgrading the level of expertise that our teachers need to perform in the classroom, especially when there is no student teaching function,” said Rep. Sue Cahill, D-Marshalltown, who retired last year after 23 years of teaching.

“I believe we should have our teachers have a more rigorous program. I also am concerned about having our Teacher Leadership teachers being pulled from the roles that they currently have to be their mentors.”

Rep. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, a retired educator and small- business owner, voiced similar concerns.

“There is a teacher shortage in Iowa. We all know that,” Staed said. “We want to get qualified teachers in the classroom, but the question is whether this approach is good for kids. … Why would you put kids in a classroom with a teacher who had no experience teaching kids?”

The committee advanced the bill on a party-line vote with Republicans in favor, making it eligible for floor debate.

Voting age amendment

Iowa’s constitutional voting age would be brought in line with federal law under a proposal Iowa lawmakers advanced Wednesday.

The proposal would amend the Iowa Constitution to say that residents 18 and older have the right to vote, and residents who will be 18 by the time of the next general election can vote in the preceding primary election.

The Iowa Constitution says citizens 21 and older have the right to vote under an amendment ratified in 1970. The 26th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, set the national voting age at 18, overruling states that had a higher voting age, but the wording in the Iowa Constitution has not changed.

A three-member subcommittee advanced the proposal, Senate Study Bill 1109. The proposed amendment was passed by a previous general assembly, and if it passes again this year it will need to get a majority of votes in an upcoming election to be ratified.