Our Liberties We Prize

Last week Iowa made history, but not the kind you’d put on a postcard.

On Friday, February 28, Governor Reynolds signed Senate File 418 into law, making Iowa the first state in the nation to remove a protected class from its civil rights code. The bill eliminated gender identity as a protected class, rewrote the definition of sex in state law, and replaced mentions of gender identity with “gender theory.”

If you tuned into the House debate, you probably noticed a recurring theme. Every single House Democrat found a way to quote Iowa’s state motto, “Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain”, in their floor speeches. The phrase was repeated so often that if someone had turned it into a drinking game, they likely wouldn’t have survived the afternoon. But the repetition wasn’t just rhetoric. It was a deliberate response to what many saw as a fundamental betrayal of Iowa’s long-standing commitment to civil rights.

There was an attempt to soften the bill. Ten House Republicans introduced an amendment that would have preserved transgender protections while keeping the bill’s definitions section. However, after being attacked by conservative media outlets, the amendment was withdrawn before it could even be debated. Of the ten who sponsored it, only two ultimately opposed the bill.

Debate on the chamber floors was heated. Senator Jason Schultz, who managed the bill, argued that Iowa’s transgender protections conflicted with recent Republican-backed laws on bathroom access and women’s sports. He framed SF 418 as a necessary correction. Senator Bennett, however, called it a “shameful rebuke” of Iowa’s history, while Senator Blake warned it set a “dangerous precedent” by stripping rights from an already marginalized community.

In the House, Representative Steve Holt framed the bill as a victory for women’s rights, while House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst countered that it ignored the rights of some women while privileging others. Representative Wichtendahl, spoke from personal experience, highlighting the devastating impact the bill will have on transgender Iowans, including herself. Her remarks brought the entire gallery to tears. In a rare moment of defiance, House Democrats broke floor rules to give her a standing ovation. LGBTQ advocates at the Capitol argued that the Democrats showed more courage just by clapping than those 10 amendment sponsors had hours before.

Outside the chamber, thousands of Iowans gathered at the Capitol all week for a four day long protest, begging legislators to reject the bill. Faith leaders, including pastors and clergy from across the state, held signs reminding lawmakers that “Trans Lives R Sacred.” 

Despite the public outcry, SF 418 passed along party lines in the Senate on Thursday, 33-15. A few hours later in the House, the vote was 60-36, with five Republicans, Bergan, Harris, Lohse, Mommsen, and Sieck, breaking party loyalty to vote against it.

Governor Reynolds signed it into law the next day. In her statement, she claimed the law “safeguards the rights of women and girls” and insisted it merely aligns Iowa with federal civil rights law. However, most civil rights laws expand protections, not remove them.

If there’s one good thing about this bill, it proves that government can work “efficiently” when it wants to. It only took eight days for Republican lawmakers to codify that an entire group of Iowans is not wanted in this state.

With SF 418 now on the books, Iowa joins 28 other states that lack legal protections for transgender individuals. The consequences will be felt in employment, housing, education, and public spaces. Legal challenges are inevitable, and advocacy groups have already signaled their intent to fight back. 

But for now, Iowa holds a unique distinction. We are now the first state to roll back civil rights protections in modern history and the only state where Republicans were too busy playing bingo during debate to listen to their colleagues and constituents.

Not exactly a tourism slogan, but here we are.

This article was written by Chloe Gayer, part of the LWVIA lobby team.

Death Penalty Sub Today!

The Iowa Senate will have a subcommittee today (Wednesday, February 26) on their newest attempt to reinstate the death penalty (SF 320). You can take action by emailing your legislators, emailing the members of the subcommittee and committee, attending the subcommittee meeting virtually and commenting, or adding written comments.

The bill allows the death penalty for people who intentionally kill a correctional officer or peace officer, and includes exemptions for individuals who are mentally ill or have an intellectual disability. LWVIA adamantly opposes all attempts to reinstate the death penalty.

Join the subcommittee today (2/26) at 4:30 p.m.

Add your written comments here (remember these are public):

Contact the subcommittee members directly:

Contact your legislator and legislators on the full Senate Judiciary Committee.

Iowa Legislature Talks Green in February

One of the biggest highlights of the state of Iowa is its incredible biodiversity. Native Iowa prairies are just as biodiverse as rainforests. With the intense importance of Iowa’s natural resources, the legislature is in charge of effectively funding measures that will both protect existing ecosystems and support the state’s farmers. So let’s check in on what our legislators have been doing.

SJR 6: The big bill of the week was this joint resolution amending the Iowa Constitution to repeal the natural resources and outdoor recreation trust fund. This trust fund was created by voters in 2010 with 63% support but the Iowa Legislature has not funded it. In the overflowing subcommittee room, opposition urged legislators to reject this change because Iowa voters did not vote for this to be repealed, Iowans do not want to live in a state with limited outdoor opportunities, and that without the fund, conservationists and farmers would be working against each other instead of together. Despite the many groups presenting against the resolution, it moved forward. 

SF 161: This bill would require the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship (IDALS) to conduct a study on nitrogen fertilizers that are at least 25% nitrogen. This study would be funded by the general fund and designed to help produce farming practices and technological innovations that would limit nitrogen-based fertilizer usage on farmland. The subcommittee recommended passage. 

HSB 165: This bill is being called the Freedom to Garden Act, giving landowners the freedom to plant whatever they would like on their land without regulation. The goal of the bill is to allow landowners to garden any fruit or vegetable they desire for personal use. This act would only apply to plants and local governments would still have the ability to regulate livestock production. This bill also does not apply to controlled substances or to producing plants for sale. The Freedom to Garden Act moved out of subcommittee. 

Environmental Day at the Capitol: The Capitol was crowded on Wednesday (February 19) with many environmental organizations attending Environmental Day at the Capitol to discuss their key issues with policy makers. Organizations such as the Iowa Environmental Council, Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, and the Blank Park Zoo were in attendance, along with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, county conservation boards, and more. They focused their efforts on the subcommittee for SJR 6 and packed the room with advocates fighting to keep the natural resources and outdoor recreation trust fund open. Throughout the day the organizations tabled at the rotunda and provided research to support Iowa natural resources and programs. 

Between farmlands and conservation efforts, Iowa is a force for environmental regulation conversation. These bills are moving toward the next step in the legislative process, it’s time to get involved with SJR 6, SF 161, or HSB 165, contact your Senator & Representative now before these bills move out of committee and become safe from the approaching “funnel” deadline (March 7).

This blog post was written by Jessica Seelinger, who is interning with LWVIA lobbyists at The Advocacy Cooperative. Jessica is a graduate student at Drake University and has worked previously in county conservation. 

House Higher Education Committee Steps Up to the Plate

The new House Higher Education Committee has been pitching fastballs this legislative session, but not in a good way. After decades of dormancy, the committee was revived without a clear agenda, aside from addressing what Republicans called a “crisis of confidence” in Iowa’s higher education system. But it didn’t take long for the committee to find direction, largely through the influence of the National Association of Scholars (NAS) and its partner organization, the Civics Alliance. The organization, which has presented twice to the Higher Education Committee, advocates against diversity and civic action, all with a goal of “saving American civics.”

It seems that at least three bills being considered by the committee have been inspired by policy proposals on the NAS website. 

Take HSB 52, which is nearly identical to the Civics Alliance’s School of Intellectual Freedom Act. This bill would establish a School of Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, dedicated to teaching and researching the ideas that shaped the American constitutional system. Unlike any other department at a regent institution, the school would operate independently, with its own faculty, funding, and governance structure. And this bill has legs, it’s running straight to the Iowa Senate, where SF 127 is moving forward as its companion. Both bills have passed subcommittees and are headed to the full committee.

HSB 56 follows a similar pattern, with almost identical language to the Civics Alliance’s American History Act. If passed, students at Iowa’s public colleges and universities would be required to take a three-credit course on American history and government to graduate starting in 2027. The course would cover key principles of the U.S. government, major historical events, landmark Supreme Court cases, and foundational documents like the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. While the bill sounds like a reasonable attempt to ensure students understand the basics of American governance, coupled with other legislation its supporters seem to be pushing a very specific narrative about what constitutes “American history”. This bill passed subcommittee on February 5th and is moving forward to the full committee.

HSB 55 is another bill from the Civics Alliance to keep an eye on. While it is a more lax version of the Syllabus Transparency Act, it still requires all public universities in Iowa to post their course syllabi online, including details like instructor names, major assignments, required readings, and a general course overview. The bill is framed as a push for transparency, but it could also be seen as a way to ensure that universities are teaching what lawmakers deem appropriate. The bill passed committee on February 5th and is now headed to the House floor under the number HF 270.

Another proposal, HSB 63 seeks to change general education requirements at Iowa’s three regents institutions. If passed, this bill would reduce the credit hours for general education courses to just 40 and mandate a set list of subjects, such as English, math, science, and American and Western heritage. But here’s the catch: it also explicitly bans courses that focus on identity politics or theories of systemic oppression. While the bill allows some exceptions for certain degree programs, it’s clear that the overarching goal is to limit the scope of what students can learn, particularly when it comes to courses that address race, gender, and power. This bill passed its subcommittee on January 28th, and it’s headed toward further legislative action.

Perhaps the most direct attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts comes from HSB 61 and HSB 60. These bills aim to prohibit both public and private universities from establishing DEI offices. HSB 61 extends an existing law that already bans DEI offices in public institutions to include community colleges, while HSB 60 threatens private colleges that receive the Iowa Tuition Grant with the loss of funding if they continue to maintain DEI offices. While HSB 61 has been tabled, HSB 60 is set to have a subcommittee hearing on February 12th. If they pass, these bills could have serious ramifications for how Iowa’s colleges support students from marginalized communities.

HSB 53, the so-called “Freedom from Indoctrination Act,” would prevent universities from requiring courses related to DEI or critical race theory (CRT) as part of degree programs. This bill also prevents universities from using DEI or CRT activities as conditions for faculty hiring, promotion, or tenure. HSB 53 has already passed subcommittee and committee, and it’s on its way to the House floor as HF 269.

And then there’s HF 115, also known as the “Combatting Terrorist Sympathizers Act,” because apparently Iowa’s biggest campus crisis isn’t underfunding or brain drain—it’s international students secretly cheering for terrorism. The bill requires public colleges to create policies banning visa-holding students and employees from publicly supporting terrorist organizations. How universities are supposed to enforce this remains unclear. Perhaps a “thoughts-on-terrorism” section in the student handbook? After a long debate this morning on the definition of terrorism, the bill passed subcommittee.Finally, we have what just might be the most important bill of the 2025 Iowa Legislative Session. HF 153 requires Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa to reinstate men’s baseball teams. The bill doesn’t just encourage schools to add teams, it requires them to compete at the NCAA level. Although the teams were originally cut due to lack of student support, the legislature must believe that if you build it, they will come.

This post was written by Chloe Gayer, Government Relations Associate with The Advocacy Cooperative

House Committee Approves Homeschool Education “Freedom” Bill

The House Education Committee approved a bill (House File 88) to virtually eliminate oversight of home schooling and blur the lines between home school and private education. The bill’s floor manager is freshman Rep. Samantha Fett (R-Indianola), one of the founding Iowa members of Moms for Liberty.

What the bill does and the League’s reasons for opposing it:

  • It removes requirements that families homeschooling their children provide proof of immunization and blood lead tests.
    • This weakens public health strategies to combat pandemics and control spread of disease to those who cannot get vaccines.
    • Lead exposure is a preventable cause intellectual disabilities and other serious health conditions, so early detection and mitigation is important. This would negate that work.
    • Public health experts are already alarmed about dropping rates of vaccinations and lead testing, especially in a state like Iowa with known lead exposure risks. The US EPA notified 330,000 Iowa homeowners at the end of last year that they may be at risk of lead exposure because of lead service lines. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported 9,000 homeowners in Cedar Rapids received notice. Some communities have large swaths of their town at risk, including Vinson (66%) and Anamosa (half of the city).
    • Chaney Yeast (Blank Children’s Hospital) told the Capitol Dispatch: “When we think about Iowa’s aging housing stock, and we know that there’s lead in our homes in our rural homes in Iowa and in our urban areas of Iowa, we know for children … that can impact their long-term ability to learn and be healthy.” 
  • Homeschooling families would no longer have to submit an “outline of course of study” for their children.
    • These changes could lower educational standards and leave kids vulnerable to gaps in learning.
    • With no oversight, there is no guarantee the parents are doing anything to education their children.
    • This is already a very flexible requirement; it is an outline not a full syllabus or lesson plan.
    • It is the only mechanism that allows the state to ensure a child is getting basic, grade appropriate instruction.
  • It eliminates current limits in law that only four children who are not related to the homeschooling instructor receive private instruction.
    • This may be the most dangerous provision of this bill.
    • Without oversight, expanding the number of unrelated kids in a homeschool could blur the lines between homeschooling and unregulated private schooling. 
    • Melissa Peterson (ISEA lobbyist) told subcommittee members that this language was put in place through compromises made under former Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration as a way to provide families less monitoring and state oversight while ensuring that there were still sufficient safety and educational professional standards being taken into account.
    • This was considered a fair compromise to balance parent’s rights and state oversight.
    • Children will be at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation, allowing a gap in private school instruction that allows unregulated, unlicensed instructors that have not undergone background checks to instruct larger groups of children who are not their own.
  • It doubles the current tuition and textbook credit from 25% to 50% for the first $2,000 spent.
    • This has not gotten much pushback, but there is a general concern that the state keeps giving financial incentives for non-public school options, which erodes resources and confidence in public schools.
  • Mandates that Iowa colleges and universities treat homeschool diplomas as equal to high school diplomas for admissions.
    • Homeschooling families always point statistics that demonstrate their students do better than public school students on test scores and admissions, so why is this necessary?
    • Advocates against the bill have said there is political motivation for this change, as it feeds into the narrative that “woke” schools are not accepting kids who were educated outside the public school system. There is, of course, no evidence to this assertion.
  • Prohibits the inclusion of gender-neutral language in grades 9-12 world language classes that use a grammatical gender system.
    • This is purely political and yet another effort to put a target on transgender, nonbinary, gender non-conforming students. This continues to marginalize and put these students in danger, for a made-up reason.
    • World language teachers teach the language and they don’t make up gender neutral terms that do not already exist in that language.
    • Keenan Crow (One Iowa) said the bill is “kind of baffling in its current draft format, because it seems to imply that teachers are … being required to make up words — like new words that don’t exist and aren’t in current usage already.”

If you would like to take action on this issue, contact your State Representative and ask that they oppose House File 88. Note that the following legislators are sponsors of the bill: Reps. Brooke Boden (R-Warren), Mark Cisneros (R-Muscatine), Jon Dunwell (R-Jasper), Rep. Samantha Fett (R-Warren), Cindy Golding (R-Linn), Bill Gustoff (R-Polk), Robert Henderson (R-Woodbury), Steve Holt (R-Crawford), and Craig Johnson (R-Buchanan).

There is a Senate Companion – Senate Fine 204 sponsored by Sens. Doug Campbell (R-Cerro Gordo), Dennis Guth (R-Cerro Gordo), Mike Pike (R-Polk) and Sandy Salmon (R-Bremer). It has been assigned to the Senate Education Committee, but not assigned a subcommittee. You can connect with your Senator about that bill too.

Special Election Set for HD 100

Governor Reynolds announced the date for the special election in Iowa House District 100. This follows the sudden death of Rep. Martin Graber last week. Voters in this district, which includes most of Lee County, will elect a new State Representative on Tuesday, March 11. If you live in this district:

We’ll get you more information about early voting options soon. Information will eventually be posted here.

Bill Denying Climate Change Moves Ahead

Several years ago naturalist David Attenborough called climate change “the biggest threat to security that modern humans have ever faced.”  Today a three-person House subcommittee spent all of four minutes debating House Study Bill 67, which would ostensibly kill all consideration of climate change in state decision making.  

The bill eliminates language in Iowa Code directing the state to work on efforts to reduce reliance on petroleum and fossil fuels and prohibits the Iowa Utilities Board from considering climate change in the granting of pipeline and underground storage facility permits.

Pam Mackey-Taylor of the Iowa chapter of Sierra Club spoke against the bill. She said the Iowa Utilities board “…should be able to consider a whole range, a whole host, of issues…including climate change.” She also said that the Utilities Board should discuss and consider climate change if an applicant mentions it in their application.

Rep. Adam Zabner of Iowa City, one of the subcommittee members, stated that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has a list of negative impacts Iowa is already seeing due to climate change, including increased precipitation, higher temperatures, skyrocketing homeowners insurance, habitat changes, and agricultural challenges.

“This is not the time to pull back on our actions, particularly when we are talking about 30 and 50 year projects,” emphasized Rep. Zabner. Rep. Judd Lawler of Oxford and Rep. Charlie Thomson of Charles City both voted to advance the bill to the full House Commerce Committee for what Rep. Thomson called “a more fulsome discussion.”

LWVIA is registered opposed.

Rep. Graber Funeral

Today the Iowa House has shut down their work to attend their colleague Rep. Martin Graber’s funeral. Rep. Graber died of a heart attack suddenly Friday morning, shocking all who worked in the Capitol. He was known as a statesman in a time when diplomacy seems to be a negative word. He was a retired Brigadier General and served as Commander at Camp Dodge. Things will start back up tomorrow (Wed) at the Capitol, with a special election announcement for House District 100 (most of Lee County) coming soon.

Busy Week Ahead

Iowa lawmakers are starting week three at the Iowa Capitol today, but the week will be dedicated to passing a moratorium on new casinos (HSB 80/SF 76). A House subcommittee and committee will be meeting today to make the change ahead of the February 6 Racing & Gaming Commission’s decision on awarding a new license to Cedar Rapids. Look for caucuses and floor debates – and of course lots of subcommittee meetings, including a few key ones for LWVIA:

  • HF 88 (Monday @ 11:30 am) is an education omnibus that strikes the requirement home schooling parents or privately educated students not in an accredited school setting show proof of immunization and scales back reports that such instruction must supply to the state to demonstrate curricula. It also strikes the caps on the number of students who can be in such programs before needing accreditation, and prevents college discrimination against its graduates. The bill also prohibits a teacher from using gender-neutral language in high school World Language classes if the language uses a grammatical gender system (in other words, teachers can’t make up gender-neutral terms and must stick to the language being taught, which teachers say is of course what they do). To top it off, the bill doubles the tuition tax credit for private instruction. LWVIA is watching this bill.
  • HSB 47 (Tuesday @ Noon) is supported by schools, educators, and children’s groups to improve school safety by requiring multidisciplinary threat assessment teams and allowing disparate agencies to share information. Identified students in distress are to be flagged for services and other appropriate interventions. LWVIA supports.
  • HF 26 (Tuesday @ 12:30) requires employers to treat adoptive parents the same as birthing parents when it comes to maternity leave. LWVIA supports.
  • HSB 37 (Wednesday @ 12:30) requires all Iowa-issued driver’s licenses and IDs include citizenship status on them, which while not explicitly stated in the bill, would require proof of citizenship when getting an ID. LWVIA is keeping an eye this bill right now to see if it advances. Another bill (HF 99) was introduced that would require this for voter registration, which LWVIA opposes.
  • HSB 53 (Wednesday @ 4 pm) is the so-called “Freedom from Indoctrination Act,” which LWVIA opposes as a threat to intellectual freedom. It goes further into dismantling anything that may be considered DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) in academic coursework, subject studies, and administration within the Regents universities. The new House Higher Education Committee is also reviewing a “Syllabus Transparency Act” (HF 55) that is going after the same issues. Oddly, the same people proposing these have introduced HSB 52, which establishes a School of Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa (but is clearly going after “woke” education).

There is so much more I could talk about – but best to refer you to the League of Women Voters of Iowa Bill Tracker! Check back here frequently – our updates will get more focused as the session moves along. Remember you can watch all House committees and subcommittees, you can watch Senate committees, and you can remotely participate in Senate subcommittees! Schedule is updated frequently here.

2025 Session is Underway

Iowa’s lawmakers are back in action – the 2025 Iowa Legislative Session begins today! Watch this blog for updates throughout the session. Few reminders:

  • You can see committee assignments here.
  • You can see legislator contact information here.
  • Daily and weekly schedules, as well as links to watch debate can be found here.

Some key dates to remember:

  • January 13 (Governor’s Condition of the State – 6:00 pm – broadcast on public television)
  • January 14 @ 10 am (Chief Justice of Iowa Supreme Court “Condition of Judiciary” – watch here)
  • February 14 (deadline for requests for individually sponsored bills)
  • March 7 (first funnel deadline – bills out of originating committee to stay alive)
  • April 4 (second funnel deadline – bills out of committee in opposite chamber)
  • May 2 (“final day” of 110-day session, per diems run out but can work beyond date without pay)

Stay tuned here for updates throughout session!