Lots of bill signings, one veto, and more Iowa politics news
May 20 "Capitol Week" is online
Good morning! Governor Kim Reynolds may have finished signing bills approved this year, but I’m still working my way through projects related to the 2024 legislative session (most recently a piece about the only bill the governor vetoed this year). If you don’t want to miss any articles or commentaries published at Bleeding Heartland, subscribe to my other email newsletter, which is also free.
On Monday evening I had the chance to meet Spencer Dirks over Zoom. It was our first time co-hosting the show together, and I’m so glad Robert Leonard connected us. Spencer’s a radio pro; his day job is being Program Director for KNIA/KRLS Radio in Knoxville, and he and “Dr. Bob” co-host the Iowa Revolution podcast.
On to the May 20 show. Remember, you can subscribe to “KHOI’s Capitol Week” on your favorite podcast platform (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc), or listen to past episodes going back to February 2021 on KHOI’s website.
Topics Spencer and I covered on the show:
We started with some of the noteworthy education-related bills the governor signed last week, since education was a central issue throughout the 2024 session. Reynolds traveled to the Quad Cities last week to sign a controversial social studies curriculum bill, House File 2545;
On Friday the governor signed Senate File 2368, which is designed to make it easier for charter schools to open. Among other things, it requires school districts to sell or lease excess property to educational institutions if they are the highest bidder. This bill was slightly altered from Reynolds’ original proposal, which would have given charter schools a right of first refusal to buy property from school districts;
At Friday’s bill signing, Reynolds announced a new grant program for charter schools, funded through federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan;
Also Friday, the governor signed House File 2652, a school security bill that (among other things) creates a grant program for school districts that authorize staff to carry firearms on the premises;
Another one of Reynolds’ proposals signed into law last week was House File 2673, which will reorganize the state’s mental health and substance abuse services;
Other new laws related to state government: Reynolds finally signed Senate File 2385, scrapping dozens of state boards and commissions and downgrading the power of certain boards. Ralph Rosenberg wrote a Bleeding Heartland post last month highlighting two of that bill’s most controversial elements, which neutered the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and eliminated commissions focused on marginalized communities;
Reynolds signed a bill on administrative rulemaking, but Senate File 2370 doesn’t go as far as the governor’s original proposal, which would have codified her office’s power to veto rules drafted by state agencies;
The last state government bill Reynolds signed Friday, House File 2686, follows up on last year’s massive government “realignment.” This was described as a “code clean-up” bill, but I hope to dig into a couple of its provisions in a future post;
A rare occurrence: a bill first introduced by a Democrat (State Representative Adam Zabner) was signed into law last Thursday. House File 2364 received unanimous approval in both chambers and requires the state “to research and develop recommendations to increase the accessibility for people with disabilities in Iowa’s state parks”;
Despite an intense lobbying effort, Reynolds signed House File 2604 regulating consumable hemp products. Many people are concerned the legislation will put dispensaries out of business and put certain products out of reach for Iowans who need them for medical conditions. The state says the products will still be available for purchase online or in physical locations at other states;
A couple more notable bills signed last week: House File 2681 will limit local government use of traffic cameras to catch speeders (but doesn’t restrict the use of red light cameras);
Senate File 2391 started out as an uncontroversial food labeling bill for meatless products, but House Republicans amended it to cover egg products and prohibit Iowans from using food assistance to purchase egg substitutes. I hope the federal government refuses to grant the state a waiver to do this;
Spencer and I covered the governor’s only veto this year. House File 2539 was designed to increase penalties for violating Iowa’s open meetings law. At Bleeding Heartland, I had much more to say about how this poorly-worded bill made it through both chambers. The episode illustrates broader problems with how the GOP-controlled legislature operates;
Speaking of legislative dysfunction: since the House and Senate couldn’t agree on a bill allocating money from the state’s opioid settlement fund, the governor used $17.5 million in American Rescue Plan money last week for opioid prevention and recovery programs. I will have more to say about this in a future article;
Next year the legislature will need to figure out how to spend the opioid settlement money (now up to $45 million). The main sticking point is going to be whether the state creates an advisory council to review proposals and evaluable their success;
One last bit of legislative news: Iowa Senate Minority Leader Jack Whitver announced on Friday that he is undergoing radiation therapy to treat a brain tumor;
Moving to other state government topics, we followed up on Attorney General Brenna Bird’s trip to New York last Monday. According to Bird’s campaign, the Republican Attorneys General Association organized the trip and covered the expenses. I wrote more about this story at Bleeding Heartland and am still asking questions about this trip;
Although no one in Iowa’s Congressional delegation has gone to Manhattan to attend Donald Trump’s criminal trial, Senator Joni Ernst did talk about the case on a Fox News radio show last week, and Senator Chuck Grassley discussed it on one of his regular calls with some Iowa reporters. Grassley’s staff have never allowed me to participate in those calls;
We spent some time on a study by Princeton researchers on how Iowa’s school voucher program affected private school tuition. I covered those findings at Bleeding Heartland, and you can read their working paper here;
Iowans will go to the polls on June 4, and Spencer and I summarized the competitive primaries in three of Iowa’s four U.S. House districts. GOP incumbent Mariannette Miler-Meeks faces David Pautsch in IA-01. Lanon Baccam and Melissa Vine are running in the IA-03 Democratic primary, where the winner will face GOP incumbent Zach Nunn. In IA-04, incumbent Randy Feenstra has a challenger from the right: Kevin Virgil has been endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Steve King;
Thank you for reading or listening! We’re taking Memorial Day off, but “KHOI’s Capitol Week” will be back on June 3. Spencer and I will spend more time previewing notable primary elections, especially in legislative races.
The deadline for requesting a mailed ballot has passed, but you can vote early in the primary at your county elections office through June 3. Polls will be open on June 4 from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.
If you’re on Substack, please consider recommending this newsletter for in-depth coverage of Iowa politics.
Rachelle Chase and Marianne Fons are the newest members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Rachelle’s first post is “Don’t delete your social media accounts.” Marianne’s is “Reporting from Quiltropolis.”
Thank you, Laura, for keeping track of and reporting on what has been going on in the Statehouse 😕