Feds to sue over new Iowa law, state misses big grant, and more
May 6 "Capitol Week" recap
The spring wildflowers are exploding! I’m pulling up invasive garlic mustard on my property—easier to get the roots out after rainfall—and gearing up to restart Bleeding Heartland’s Iowa wildflower Wednesday series later this month. In the meantime, the Iowa wildflower enthusiasts Facebook group (which I created during the pandemic) is very active. Check it out if you like pretty pictures, or have wildflower ID or native plant gardening questions. You don’t have to post any photos or comments; “lurkers” are welcome.
Now that the legislature has gone home for the year, I have more flexibility in my schedule. I recently spoke to the annual meeting for the League of Women Voters of Des Moines. On May 16, I will review the legislative session and take questions on the Iowa Farmers Union’s virtual “lunch and learn,” starting at 12:30 pm. Please let me know if your nonprofit or political organization would like to schedule an appearance. I don’t have a speaker’s fee for events like this.
I do plan to hold some Bleeding Heartland fundraisers this summer to help cover my operating expenses, including my salary, web hosting fees, technical support, and subscriptions. The first event is happening in Iowa City on Friday, May 31. Please contact me (laurabelin@substack.com) if you’d like to attend.
Readers who are not Iowa elected officials, candidates, or paid campaign staff or consultants can also donate online using a credit card, PayPal, Patreon, Venmo, or a personal check (message me for the address). Substack has paid subscriptions too, but they only give people a few dollar amounts to choose from.
On to the business at hand: Monday night’s edition of “KHOI’s Capitol Week.” You can also find the audio on your favorite podcasting platform. The full “Capitol Week” archive going back to February 2021 is available on KHOI’s website.
Mike Murphy and I were able to take things at a slightly slower pace, now that we’re not trying to cover umpteen bills the legislature sent to the governor’s desk. But we still covered a lot of ground:
As the Des Moines Register was first to report on Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice has warned Iowa the federal government will file suit if the state seeks to enforce Senate File 2340, making “illegal reentry” a state crime;
Not only is the law likely unconstitutional, Iowa police (correctly) don’t believe they will be able to enforce it. Even State Representative Steven Holt, who floor managed this attempt to regulate immigration in the Iowa House, has admitted proponents don’t know how some aspects of the law would work;
Last week, Latino advocacy organizations rallied in five Iowa cities to oppose Senate File 2340;
The impending federal litigation is a role reversal, because usually Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is in the news for suing to block Biden administration policies. We briefly discussed several recent cases, which Dennis Hart and I didn’t have time to cover during the busy legislative session. Last week, Bird led a group of states suing to block new regulations on private gun sales;
In April, Iowa joined a lawsuit seeking to block new rules on electric vehicle sales;
Earlier this year, Iowa joined a challenge to the Securities Exchange Commission’s rule requiring businesses to track greenhouse gas emissions. That policy is on hold while litigation proceeds;
Mike asked whether there are any similar lawsuits where Iowa is going it alone. The challenges to Biden administration policies are all multi-state actions, as far as I know. Bird’s suit against TikTok is proceeding in state court, because she’s accusing the company of violating a state consumer fraud law;
Last week, Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2442, which will accelerate income tax cuts and reduce Iowa’s flat income tax from 3.9 percent to 3.8 percent;
The governor also signed another GOP attack on local control. House File 2319 bans local governments from participating in guaranteed income programs. The central Iowa pilot project known as UpLift inspired this bill; the project will continue in the new year using private funds only;
Two more bills the governor signed were non-controversial. At Bleeding Heartland I explained the key points and potential impact of House File 2489 (requiring certain types of private health insurance policies to cover supplemental or diagnostic breast examinations such as MRIs or ultrasound), and House File 2668, requiring public and private health insurance to cover biomarker testing for some cancers and other diseases or conditions;
As you’ve probably heard, Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the country, and some rural counties have cancer rates higher than the statewide average, prompting calls to further study the possible connection between agricultural chemicals and certain cancers;
Iowa was one of just five states not to receive statewide funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All grants. At Bleeding Heartland, I explained more of the context and what was missing from Iowa’s $75 million grant request. Every state surrounding us is set to receive at least $62 million;
Some Iowans may still receive assistance with rooftop solar, through one of the multi-state nonprofits that did receive an EPA grant award;
State Auditor Rob Sand highlighted a report last week suggesting that Iowa could address a government workforce shortage by removing a four-year college degree as a requirement for some positions. The governor’s office and Iowa Department of Administrative Services reacted with hostile comments, even though they seem to agree with Sand on the policy;
The Iowa Department of Education disclosed last week that the state has been erroneously calculating (and inflating) the high school graduation rate for years;
The Republican Party of Iowa held its state convention on May 4, which is unusually early. It was a show of unity behind Donald Trump. Delegates re-elected Iowa’s Republican National Committee members, Steve Scheffler and Tamara Scott;
Three of Iowa’s four U.S. House members attended the GOP state convention; Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04) missed the event while recovering from outpatient surgery to address a blood clot in his leg;
We briefly discussed Iowa GOP state chair Jeff Kaufmann’s angry rant at a recent Jones County Republican event. He’s tired of hearing from Republicans who don’t want to vote for Trump. You can watch the video and read my partial transcript of his comments here;
The Iowa Democratic Party just held district conventions this past weekend and is planning a state convention in Des Moines on June 15. I mentioned Todd Dorman’s interview last month with IDP state chair Rita Hart, but I encourage you to read the whole piece;
Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst didn’t rule out running for governor during her May 3 appearance on the Iowa PBS program “Iowa Press.” I expect the Iowa Democratic field will be frozen until Sand decides whether he wants to run for governor in 2026;
In late April, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Kirkwood v Sand, an open records case involving some of my own email correspondence with staff in the State Auditor’s office. The justices sent the case back to Polk County District Court for further consideration of some issues. I covered the decision in more detail at Bleeding Heartland. My take is that the high court is serious about government compliance with the open records law;
Finally, the Iowa Public Information Board’s legislative committee had a special meeting last Friday to discuss their concerns about a last-minute amendment to House File 2539, which is awaiting Governor Reynolds’ signature. The purpose of the bill was to beef up enforcement of Iowa’s open meetings law (Chapter 21), but the amendment may have created a “loophole” that will undermine government transparency.
Thank you for reading or listening!
Final note: last week, this newsletter hit the 2,000 subscriber mark. I’m grateful to all who are willing to follow me into the Iowa politics weeds.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative continues to expand. Full list of authors, in alphabetical order:
Laura, I'm writing to tell you how much I appreciate your comprehensive and diligent reporting. You are the go-to person for IA politics. I haven't read this article. I will. But I do want to comment on the video you sent recently of the IA State Chair of the GOP in Jones County adamantly telling them all they must vote for DJT no matter that he is an indicted criminal, no matter what he says or does, "just vote for him." What happened to morals? Ethics? Voting for policies we want to see in place? What kind of leadership did the Chair show in his presentation? This is what we are dealing with as we try to navigate our efforts to hold and strengthen our democracy as we prepare to vote for a president in November. Thank you for letting us hear (not just read about) but to hear the passion in his voice, his demand that no matter what you think, you need to vote for DJT. I don't know about others but it does incentive me to do my best to help Democrats win in November.
BTW: I have two small bouquets in my apartment right now of lily of the valleys that grow in my back yard. They are beautiful. Diana