Begad! Flurry of bills from Iowa Senate and House on St. Patrick's Day

Other coverage from the capitol Tuesday:

• Iowa Senator opposes DHS director's confirmation
• Iowa Senate raises penalty for texting while driving
• Legislative debate begins over funding employee compensation
• Iowa Republicans propose 'flat' income tax option
• Crowd advocates sales tax boost for Iowa natural resources

Senate passes 30 bills, including party line vote against 'conversion therapy'

DES MOINES — Health care professionals in Iowa would be barred from offering so-called 'conversion therapy' for minors under a bill that cleared the Iowa Senate Tuesday on a party-line vote that drew support from majority Democrats and opposition from minority GOP senators.

'This legislation essentially will protect our young people from a practice has shown to cause great harm,' said Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, who managed the measure that narrowly passed 26-24. 'This bill in no uncertain terms supports people for who they are as heterosexuals, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people of Iowa. It is supported by a whole host of professional organizations both here and nationally.'

Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, an openly gay legislator, said Senate File 334 was modeled after similar legislation signed by New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie that is designed to shield minors from negative effects associated with efforts to change a young person's sexual orientation — a practice that he said has 'a dark history' and has been discredited by most mainstream medical professionals.

'I urge my colleagues today to stand on the right side of history,' he said.

However, Sen. Julian Garrett, R-Indianola, said there was no evidence presented during a subcommittee hearing indicating that the extreme procedures described by proponents are taking place in Iowa. He questioned the premise for outlawing a practice that he said should be a matter of choice for parents and their minor children.

'There may be parents and minors who desire this kind of counseling,' Garrett said. 'I think we ought to leave this choice up to the parents and the minors involved. People who don't want this counseling, they don't have to have it. If they do want it, it should be their right.'

If the bill becomes law, state-licensed psychiatrists, therapists and social workers would be barred from offering counseling sessions designed to change a minor's sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. However, the bill faces an uncertain future in the GOP-led House.

'We as adults have a responsibility to protect our kids from fraudulent therapies that harm and damage their development and success,' said Bolkcom.

In other action Tuesday, senators voted unanimously to amend Iowa' second-degree kidnapping statute to make kidnapping a person under 18 years of age a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Senate File 179 also enhanced the penalty for third-degree kidnapping to a Class B felony for repeat convictions of the offense.

Backers say the proposal is in response to a high-profile 2013 case where authorities said a man freed from prison abducted two girls and killed one victim, Kathlynn Shepard of Dayton, before hanging himself.

On a day when the Senate passed 30 bills, senators voted 50-0 to expand the statute of limitations for when civil action could be brought in child sex abuse cases. Senate File 448 extends the time for filing a lawsuit relating to sexual abuse of a minor from the current one year after a person turns 18 to a period of 25 years after a person reaches age 18, said Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines. The bill would not be applied retroactively.

Also, senators voted 47-3 to approve a measure that floor manager Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said he believed would pass constitutional muster in sentencing juvenile offenders who have been convicted of Class A murder. High courts at the federal and state levels have called life prison terms without parole cruel and unusual punishment.

Senate File 448, which was opposed by three Democrats, would give judges in Iowa discretion to impose one of three sentences: life without parole, life with immediate parole, or life with parole after a defined term of years but without specifying that term of years.

On another 50-0 vote, senators approved Senate File 377, which broadens the definition of assault to include touching the breast of another, whether or not the touching was through the clothing or other covering and makes the offense serious misdemeanor assault.

Sen. Steve Sodders, D-State Center, said the bill also amends the Iowa Code to include assault with sexual intent — a crime committed by touching the breast of another, whether or not the touching was through the clothing or other covering, with sexual intent and creates penalties ranging from an aggravated misdemeanor to a Class C felony, depending on the extent of any injury.

Senators also voted 50-0 to allow not guilty verdicts and dismissed criminal charges to be expunged from court records that the public can access on Iowa Courts Online.

'This is the right thing to do,' said Sen. Rich Taylor, D-Mount Pleasant, in pushing for passage of Senate File 385 which would eliminate unfair treatment of people who were acquitted or wrongly charged.

Senators also voted 50-0 to allow authorized school officials to maintain and administer epinephrine when they reasonably think a student is having an anaphylactic or allergic reaction even if the student does not have a prescription.