Iowa lawmakers target schools, LGBTQ kids, property taxes, and more

February 6 "Capitol Week" is online

Before I get to this week’s show, I want to say thanks to all of you. When Julie Gammack invited me to join the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative last summer, I wasn’t sure whether anyone would be interested in a Substack newsletter, given that I publish most of my work at Bleeding Heartland, and already have a free email newsletter linking to recent coverage on my website.

This Substack recently surpassed 800 total subscribers. Enough of you have chosen the paid option to cover about two months of my operating expenses at Bleeding Heartland (such as my salary, web hosting fees, technical support, and reporting costs like public records requests).

Every day I am grateful for the editorial independence that comes from having a broad base of supporters. I decided years ago never to put my best reporting behind a paywall, because I don’t want cost to be a barrier for anyone interested in reading about Iowa politics.

But this new community has been a huge help, because my operating costs increased substantially in 2022. For those who don’t want to commit to a recurring gift through Substack, I also accept one-time contributions through Venmo, PayPal, credit card, or personal check (message me for the address).

I’m also glad this Substack has expanded the audience of KHOI Radio’s “Capitol Week.” Dennis Hart and I have so much fun doing the show.

A note on this week’s recap: Dennis and I broadcast live on Monday nights. So we didn’t talk about President Biden’s State of the Union address, or the GOP response from truth-challenged Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. We’ll get to that next Monday.

On to the February 6 edition:

Dennis and I worked hard to keep up with this fast-moving legislature!

• The Democratic National Committee approving a presidential nominating calendar that leaves Iowa out of the early group, and how Iowa Democrats may adjust;

• Iowa Senate passage of a bill that would increase state aid to K-12 school districts by 3 percent per pupil, higher than what GOP senators had initially proposed (the Iowa House approved the bill February 7, and Governor Kim Reynolds signed it the same day);

• Why this 3 percent increase (which works out to about $107 million statewide) does not mean every Iowa school district will receive 3 percent more funding; in fact, State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott pointed out, 71 school districts will receive less in state funding next year than this year, due to declining enrollment;

• The Democratic proposal to increase state aid for K-12 schools by just under 6 percent, which would work out to around $267 million (roughly equal to what the state will spend this coming year on the new private school voucher program and corporate tax cuts);

• Bills in the state House and Senate targeting school curriculum and accommodations related to gender identity (both have generated deep concern among educators and LGBTQ advocates);

• A new bill introduced in the Iowa House that would remove gender identity protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. At this writing, House Judiciary Chair Steven Holt has not assigned the bill to a subcommittee, but unlike three years ago, he didn’t immediately promise to kill the effort. Iowa’s civil rights law has prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender identity since 2007;

• A House bill that would require Iowa’s three state universities to report to the legislature on how they are training teachers on a wide range of topics or issues (Dan Henderson discussed this proposal in a guest commentary for Bleeding Heartland);

• A Senate bill that would prohibit curriculum on gender identity from kindergarten through 8th grade. This proposal has many people extremely worried, especially transgender kids and their families, several of whom testified at last week’s subcommittee hearing. After that meeting, the bill’s sponsor Senator Jeff Taylor told me he doesn’t think the legislation goes as far as its supporters and detractors believe in preventing teachers from acknowledging transgender students;

• A House bill on “transparency,” which would require school districts to make classroom materials and a list of library books publicly available;

• Last week’s “Moms for Liberty” town hall in Des Moines, where Governor Kim Reynolds promised to introduce new legislation that (among other things) would stipulate that any book removed from shelves in one Iowa school district could not be available to students in any other school district without express parental consent;

• Iowa following the education policy blueprint that conservative groups are pushing in many states this year;

• Iowa Senate passage of a property tax bill that fixes a mistake by the state Department of Revenue and in the process will cost local governments millions of dollars (a similar bill is working its way through committee in the House);

• The changes local government representatives were seeking in this bill to help them craft their budgets without raising property taxes or cutting services;

• Governor Reynolds’ multifaceted bill related to health care: over-the-counter hormonal birth control pills, provisions to help rural hospitals without inpatient services, a fourfold increase in state funding for crisis pregnancy centers, and medical malpractice limits;

• A view from 30,000 feet on Reynolds’ plan to restructure state government and increase the power of the governor and “her” attorney general. The bill published last week is more than 1,500 pages long! I’m working on a series about these proposals at Bleeding Heartland, and the first focused on plans for the Office of Consumer Advocate;

• Bills that would limit the liability of trucking companies and damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits; these bills cleared an important hurdle last week when they received House committee approval;

• Conservative icon Sam Clovis emerging as one of the loudest voices against capping damages for Iowans affected by medical errors;

• A bill introduced in the Iowa Senate that would allow teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 to work in some industries or jobs where they can’t work now, due to safety concerns;

• Some news on reproductive rights: Minnesota codified abortion rights, while Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird signed a letter from 20 Republican AG warning large pharmacy chains that they could face legal action if they sell abortion pills by mail;

• A quick reminder that Iowa GOP leaders are not pushing new abortion restrictions this year, while they await the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling on the governor’s effort to reinstate a 2018 law that would ban most abortions after about six weeks (a Polk County District Court ruled against the state in December);

• Reynolds appointing new heads of the Iowa National Guard and Iowa Law Enforcement Academy;

• What I’m watching at the statehouse this coming week.

Thanks for listening!

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I’m proud to be part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Here’s the full list of columnists, in alphabetical order. 

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla

Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politic Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Macey Spensley: The Midwest Creative, Iowa

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

To receive a weekly roundup of all Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnists, sign up here (free): ROUNDUP COLUMN

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