Articles Tagged: Iowa Legislature

Supporters say 1987 law is no longer needed

‘Glide path’ calls for IPERS investing state surplus, with profits used to reduce taxes

A proposal that stalled at the end of the 2023 legislative session is moving again, and this time appears headed for lawmakers’ approval

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources would be prohibited from purchasing any land through a competitive bid process under legislation proposed by Republicans in the Iowa Senate.

All three members of a House Judiciary subcommittee said they will not sign off on moving the bill forward, following roughly an hour of testimony from transgender Iowans, school safety advocates, attorneys and civil rights activists.

Republican Rep. David Young of Van Meter, an assistant Republican leader in the House, expressed skepticism about the bill’s future in the chamber,

An Iowa House subcommittee unanimously approved a bill to allow the Iowa Legislature to intervene in a permitting process of a pipeline or other energy project seeking to use eminent domain.

Also, lawmakers advance a bill allowing families to monitor nursing home residents.

Civil rights and some business groups oppose proposal, citing ‘legal chaos’ and economic consequences.

Sen. Brad Zaun has pushed to ban the traffic cameras ever since he received a citation in 2011 after a camera captured his son speeding while driving the senator’s vehicle in Cedar Rapids.

Iowa Senate Democrats, meanwhile, unveiled a package of ‘reproductive freedom’ bills, while Republicans advanced bills regarding teaching human development and child support requirements.

Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal received bipartisan support in its first legislative step; a Republican senator dismissed concerns over lack of transparency called for in the bill.

As written, the bill would make anyone convicted of first-degree murder eligible for the death penalty. But lawmakers said they would amend it to pertain only to someone who murders a law enforcement officer.

Iowa statehouse Republicans have proposed multiple changes to state law that would allow them greater access to the judicial process when a state law is challenged in court

There were 212 licensed psychiatrists practicing in the state in 2021, down from 236 in 2012, according to Iowa Health Professions Tracking Center.