Iowa elections’ recount procedures would be streamlined, funding from private groups to help elections operations would be prohibited, and an additional signature requirement for votes cast by mail would be added under a new proposal being considered by state lawmakers.
Senate Study Bill 3134 would limit the amount of money the state and counties may pay for land and, in some cases, removes tax benefits for land donors. Lawmakers who are farmers seem concerned about farmland converting to public land, but conservation groups said Iowa already has one of the lowest shares of public land in the nation.
The goal, the bill’s sponsor said, is to make sure that “Iowans have access to their memories.” However, critics said the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union and others have indicated they may end their relationships with Iowa PBS if the station cannot protect its content.
Majority Republicans in the Iowa Senate are proposing a state budget of just more than $8.2 billion. Also, a ban on the use of eminent domain — the practice of the government claiming private land for private business projects — passed the first step of the legislative process, but only with hesitant support.
Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday indicated she would likely sign into law a ban on transgender girls from competing in girls athletics in Iowa, should state lawmakers send such a bill to her.
The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to dismiss a petition seeking stricter rules for new animal feeding operations built in the karst terrain of northeast Iowa.
There’s a lot of money at stake, a lobbyist told lawmakers. An estimated 2 billion cans and bottles covered by the bottle bill are sold in Iowa each year. That represents $10 million in deposits or 200 million nickels.
If enacted, applicants would have to complete an authentication process to confirm their identity. In addition, HSB 698 would require the Department of Human Services to cross-check information about Iowans enrolled in a food assistance program or Medicaid using federal databases.
The three proposed bills by the Iowa County Attorneys Association will close “loopholes” in existing laws and provide more protection for adult and child sex abuse victims, Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said.
HF 2309 would require any Iowa schools that get public funding to designate sports programs as one of the following: open to biological females, open to biological males or coeducational.
Similar to previous hearings, speakers on Monday were divided between those who said a flatter tax rate would make Iowa a more attractive place for businesses and employees, and those who said the plan benefits the wealthy while doing little to help lower-income workers.
During a rally at the Iowa Capitol on Monday, a coalition of advocacy organizations called for a moratorium on new factory farms. Elsewhere at the Capitol: Senate Republicans advance changes to Iowa’s unemployment system, including a reduction in the time to receive benefits.
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