On Friday, February 22, the Legislature hit the first self-imposed deadline to narrow the number of bills still eligible for debate, called the “funnel”. While there are a few exceptions for tax and budget bills, any bill that has not cleared a House or Senate Committee is dead for the year. Click here to see the full list.

Democrats: Rewarding Hard Work 

Strong Public Schools 

  • $300 million new investment in public schools, not corporations
  • Reducing class size
  • Using public money for public schools
  • Raising pay and trusting educators to do their job
  • Keeping rural schools open
  • Involving more parents in their children’s education
  • No teachers in jail or book bans
  • Increasing funding for mental health service providers and programs in schools

 

Fair Taxes & More $$$ in the Pockets of Iowans

  • Expanding tax credits for child care expenses
  • Lowering income tax rates for the middle class
  • Cutting income taxes for Iowans already in the workforce, sometimes working two or more jobs to make ends meet
  • No more tax giveaways to corporations or millionaires
  • Increased tax credits for essential workers like firefighters and EMTs

 

Fixing the Reynolds Workforce Crisis 

  • Affordable, accessible child care
  • Raising wages
  • Lowering costs for families
  • Affordable housing
  • Stopping divisive bills that make Iowa unwelcoming
  • Expanding access to preschool
  • Boosting funding for skilled worker training

 

Reynolds & GOP: Reward Corporations & Create Workforce Crisis

  • Tax giveaways to corporations, millionaires, and special interests (HF 2317/SF 2206)
  • Vouchers to shift money from public schools to private schools (SF 159/SSB 3080)
  • Putting teachers and librarians in jail (SF 2198)
  • Restricting solar power in Iowa (SF 2321)
  • Cutting earned unemployment benefits (HF 2279/SF 2275; SF 2249)
  • Putting monetary value on people’s lives when medical malpractice has occurred (HF 592/SF 557; HF 2279/SF 2275)
  • Setting up new barriers to vote by mail (HSB 719/SSB 3143)
  • Prohibiting transgender students in girls sports (HF 2416/SSB 3146)
  • Prohibiting law enforcement from enforcing federal gun laws like background checks (HF 2303)
  • Prohibiting employers from asking about vaccinations (HSB 647)
  • Reducing safety at child care facilities by increasing child care ratios (HF 2131)
  • Forcing doctors to provide false medical information to their patients (HF 2389)
  • Allowing 16-year-olds to work with children without any supervision (HF 2198)
  • Taking away food benefits from children during a pandemic (HF 2438)
  • Raising class size and pushing teachers out of the classroom (HF 2316)

 

Bi-Partisan Bills Moving Ahead

  • Improving newborn screening (SF 2290)
  • Expanding dairy production in Iowa (SSB 3135/HF 2433)
  • Expanding industrial hemp production in Iowa (SF 2110/HF 2380)
  • Expanding  meat and poultry production in Iowa  (SF 2245)
  • Creating “Choose Iowa” labeling and promotion program for Iowa food products (SF 2230/HF 2439)
  • Creating a cold case unit (SF 2234)
  • Increasing funding for Military Home Ownership Program to allow more veterans to buy their first home  (SF 2264)
  • Enhancing communication with Iowa’s returning veterans to ensure  they access earned benefits  (SF 255)
  • Requiring employers to provide employees with reasonable pregnancy accommodations (HF 2257)
  • Mental health loan repayment program (SF 2195)
  • Teacher recruitment and retention (SF 2202)
  • Health insurance coverage for hearing aids (HF 2188)
  • Creating Cybersecurity Training Center Unit (HF 2361)
  • More teachers qualify for Teach Iowa Scholars (HF 2083)
  • More students eligible for scholarships (HF 2165)
  • Suicide hotline number added to student ID’s (HF 2294)
  • Scholarships for students with intellectual disabilities (HF 2306)
  • Expand radon testing and mitigation in schools (HF 2412)
  • Create teacher intern license (HF 2421)
  • Give schools more flexibility for teacher substitutes (HSB 720)
  • More transparency from drug companies (HF 2384)
  • Expanding access to financial wellness resources (HF 2377)
  • Cutting bureaucratic red tape for restaurant/bar owners (HF 2301)
  • Strengthening consumer data privacy (HSB 674)
  • New penalties for ransomware attacks (HSB 645)
  • Expanding first responders access to live-saving naloxone for drug overdoses (HF 2323)
  • Allowing DOT to share personal identification with law enforcement to help with missing persons’ cases (HF 2123)
  • Encouraging Iowans to invest in their savings (HF 2329)
  • Retirement benefits for State Fair police (HF 2374)
  • Licensure of midwives, expanding birthing options for mothers (HF 2291)
  • Expanding business and economic opportunity for native wineries (HF 2247)
  • Sports betting revenues to community foundations, making quality of life improvements in our communities (HF 2286)
  • Addressing the worker shortage, especially for teachers, by raising the income cap for retirees who go back to work (HF 2266)
  • Additional dollars to public schools for paraeducators, substitute teachers, and bus drivers (HF 2315)
  • Extending sunset for the Iowa Energy Center to 2027 (HF 2292)
  • Increasing the penalties for drivers who cause accidents with bicycles (HF 2368)
  • Increasing amount that can be spent helping veterans across the state (HF 2293)
  • Creating additional legal protections for victims of human trafficking  (HSB 721)
  • Streamlining the process of submitting Groundwater Hazard Statements for property transfers.  (HF 2343)
  • Providing better access to hearing aids for children (HF 2188)

 

Good News: These GOP Bills Are Dead

  • Letting politicians dictate discussion in social studies classrooms (HF 2053)
  • Cameras in every classroom (HF 2177)
  • Prohibiting abortions in Iowa (HF 2289)
  • Adding “immunization status” to protected classes under Iowa Civil Rights protections (HF 2141)
  • Prohibiting employers from requiring an applicant or employee to receive a vaccine for which a biologics license application has not been approved (HF 2067)
  • Requiring filters on mobile devices to prevent accessing or displaying nudity or sexual conduct (HF 2066)
  • Requiring intrusive and private information to be posted online about women who have had abortions (HF 2210)