Articles Tagged: Iowa Senate

Bill is eligible for consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but its long-term prospects are unclear.

The state education board would be required adopt standards for a public high school course on the Bible, which schools would then have the option to offer as a social studies elective, under legislation advanced Wednesday by two Iowa House Republicans.

The proposal passed through a streamlined legislative process Tuesday in the Iowa Senate, leaving it just a few legislative steps away from the governor’s pen.

K-12 education policy was front and center via myriad proposals that were considered Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol.

Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday that “everything is on the table” when it comes to three competing tax plans that will ultimately have to become one.

The Iowa-based gasoline and convenience store company has proposed legislation that would make it legal for 16- and 17-year-old workers to operate dough rollers.

Sen. Jack Whitver said he thinks the topic of books some consider vulgar should be addressed through transparency and having review process.

Republican leaders in both the Senate and House have said they expect to move quickly on the legislative process for their respective plans, likely starting each next week.

Cedar Rapids native Austin Frerick says he will fight for a fair and progressive tax structure and to level the playing field for locally owned farms, restaurants and businesses so they can compete against foreign corporations.

Jack Whitver, the Republican Senate majority leader from Ankeny, said he believes the proposal aligns with the tax plan that Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposed earlier this month.

Among the proposals this year are bills that would require cities to prove there is a public safety need for where they place traffic cameras, and limit enforcement to speeding violations of 20 miles per hour or more over the speed limit and cap the amount of revenue an agency can generate from tickets.

Four Iowans opposed to an 11,600-head feedlot in northeast Iowa filed an Iowa Senate ethics complaint against state Sen. Dan Zumbach, saying Zumbach used his position to pressure state employees to approve the feedlot owned by his son-in-law.

The line of succession plan for when an Iowa governor is no longer in office would be clarified under a proposed amendment to the state constitution.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ campaign reported raising nearly $4.8 million in donations in 2021. Her highest profile Democratic challenger, Deidre DeJear, reported raising nearly $287,000.

Local governments or law enforcement officers who enforce federal gun regulations would be subject to $50,000 fines under a legislative proposal advanced Wednesday by Iowa Senate Republicans. The proposal, which Senate Republicans have titled the Second Amendment Preservation Act, would nullify any federal gun regulations that exceed Iowa state law.