Iowa lawmakers take on LGBTQ issues, the state auditor's authority, and more

March 13 "Capitol Week" is online

Mar 14, 2023

I thought I was good at multi-tasking, but Dennis Hart had one eye on the C-SPAN feed of Donald Trump in Davenport as we were going on the air Monday night!

Before I get to the latest “Capitol Week,” I wanted to let you know that supporters are hosting some fundraisers for Bleeding Heartland over the next several months. These are casual affairs: after some social time over cheese and crackers, I talk for a while about my background and how I came to be writing about Iowa politics. There’s plenty of time for Q&A about the legislative session, state government, or whatever’s on people’s minds.

Cindy Pollard and Gayla Snook are hosting me in Newton on Wednesday, March 22, starting around 5:30 pm. Events are tentatively planned for Des Moines, Pella, Fairfield, Oskaloosa, and Davenport in April or early May. Please let me know if you’d like to be invited to any of these house parties, or if you might be able to host one in your community.

We’re trying to keep these events accessible, so there is no minimum contribution level. People can donate via credit card here, or through PayPal, Venmo, Patreon, Substack, or personal check (email me for the address).

Support from a broad base of donors allows me to keep all of Bleeding Heartland’s coverage available for free. Some news organizations cover their costs by putting their best original reporting behind a paywall.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming! All past episodes of “Capitol Week” are available on KHOI’s website. Here’s the March 13 show:

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Recap of topics Dennis and I discussed:

Donald Trump visited Iowa for the first time since officially launching his 2024 campaign, and Dennis shared a few points from the former president’s remarks in Davenport, delivered in his trademark stream-of-consciousness style;
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has not formally declared his presidential campaign, but he appears to be Trump’s strongest Republican competitor and visited Davenport and Des Moines on Friday;
My reporting on a survey the DeSantis team distributed to potential Iowa GOP caucus-goers last week, testing various positive messages about the governor;
The latest Iowa visit by presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who emphasized foreign policy issues and especially the need to hold China accountable;
The new Iowa Poll by Selzer & Co for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom, which tested favorability numbers for Trump, DeSantis, and some other prospective candidates among self-identified Iowa Republicans (I thought these numbers were fairly solid for DeSantis);
The Iowa legislature approving a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 18 (I had much more to say at Bleeding Heartland about Senate File 538 and whether it can withstand a court challenge);
Points Republican and Democratic lawmakers raised during last week’s debates on banning gender-affirming care for kids;
The large protest at the capitol last Wednesday, organized by LGBTQ youth advocates who opposed Senate File 538 and other discriminatory bills;
The Iowa Senate approving the latest version of a “bathroom bill,” which would prohibit schools from allowing transgender people to use facilities that are consistent with their gender identity (the bill has cleared a House committee but isn’t yet on the debate calendar for the full Iowa House);
The Iowa House approving a bill (House File 348) that would ban instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-6, with a small amendment;
New findings from Selzer’s Iowa Poll, which showed that small majorities support Republican efforts to ban teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary school, and ban gender-affirming care for Iowans under age 18;
The Iowa Senate approving Governor Kim Reynolds’ huge state government reorganization bill (Senate File 514) last Tuesday; the House State Government Committee approved this bill in early March, but the lower chamber hasn’t scheduled floor debate yet;
A few of the amendments Senate Democrats proposed on the state government reorganization, which Republicans voted down (a few of them might be live wires in the House);
Why Democrats have described the bill as a “power grab” for the governor and Attorney General Brenna Bird (those provisions were not part of the recommendations from an out-of-state consultant hired to develop a streamlining plan);
Catching up on some funnel week news Dennis and I didn’t get to last week, we talked about where things stand with bills that would affect Iowans who receive federal food assistance;
The Iowa Senate’s passage of a bill (Senate File 478) that would greatly limit State Auditor Rob Sand’s ability to conduct independent audits (I have a post in progress about this bill and the bait-and-switch Mike Bousselot pulled last week);
The Iowa Senate Ways and Means Committee approving a bill (Senate File 480) that would eliminate the requirement for local government bodies to post public notices in newspapers; Art Cullen noted in his latest column that around a third of Iowa’s roughly 300 newspapers might go out of business if they lose revenue from public notices;
The Iowa House unanimously approving a bill (House File 350) that would improve the process for Iowans who request public records (I reported on this at Bleeding Heartland on Friday, just in time for “Sunshine Week”);
Governor Reynolds appointed Chad Aldis as the next director of the Iowa Department of Education; the move immediately drew criticism due to his lack of experience in public education;
The Iowa House passed a bill (House File 430) that would change the composition of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners;
What I’m watching for this week in the state legislature.