American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa - 2004 Legislative Voting Records

UNREASONABLE SEARCHES & SEIZURES: House File 265 by Committee on Public Safety. Allows a peace officer warrantless authority to withdraw blood from a person, to be used as evidence, under certain circumstances. ACLU-IA OPPOSED HF 265. It passed the House in 2003. It passed the Senate 40-8 on April 7, and was signed into law by the governor on April 26.

RIGHT TO COUNSEL: House File 2325 by Committee on Judiciary. This bill provides that an ineffective assistance of counsel claim need not be raised on direct appeal in order to preserve the claim for postconviction relief purposes. ACLU-IA SUPPORTED this bill. It passed the House 98-0 on March 8, passed the Senate 49-0 on March 16, and was signed into law by the governor on March 29.

EQUAL PROTECTION: House File 2441 by Committee on Judiciary. This bill changes the statutory duties of the Commission on Latino Affairs so that it may adopt rules to develop a mechanism to ensure Spanish language interpreters are qualified. ACLU-IA SUPPORTED this legislation. It passed the House 95-1 on March 18, passed the Senate 48-0 on April 1, and was signed into law by the governor on April 12.

RIGHT TO PRIVACY: House File 2455 by Committee on Human Resources. This bill, which began as the "Covenant Marriage Bill," but was amended to remove that aspect of the proposal, nonetheless contained procedural restrictions the ACLU-IA concluded violated the right to privacy. ACLU-IA OPPOSED this legislation and eventually requested a veto from the governor. HF 2455 passed the House 77-20 on April 15, passed the Senate 33-14 on April 20, and was vetoed on May 14. vetoed by Governor Vilsack on May 14.

EQUAL APPLICATION OF THE LAW: House File 2459 by Committee on Education. “The DREAM Act.” This bill would have provided equal opportunity to undocumented students in Iowa by granting them resident status. The status would assist them in applying for loans, receiving financial aid, and being able to pay in-state tuition at Iowa postsecondary institutions. ACLU-IA SUPPORTED this bill. It passed the House 99-0 on March 10, but was not brought up for consideration in the Senate Education Committee.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: House File 2558 by Gipp (R-Decorah). The bill relates to crimes against “members of the species homo sapiens at any stage of development.” It is a backdoor attempt of getting “fetus” recognized as a person with full constitutional rights. The ACLU-IA OPPOSED this legislation and asked the governor to veto it. HF 2558 passed the House 63-36 on April 6, passed the Senate 30-18 on April 7, and Governor Vilsack vetoed the legislation on May 14.

GAY & LESBIAN RIGHTS: Senate Joint Resolution 2002 by Veenstra (R-Orange City). This resolution amends the Iowa Constitution by adding a new section which states that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in Iowa. ACLU-IA OPPOSED this proposed amendment. SJR 2002 failed to pass the Senate 24-25 on March 23.

UNEQUAL REPRESENTATION: Senate Joint Resolution 2010 by Committee on Ways & Means. This complicated resolution is a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Iowa that requires approval of a majority of Iowa voters to “raise” taxes that equal 1% or more of total state revenues. ACLU-IA OPPOSED this resolution. It passed the Senate 26-23 on March 30; it passed the House 51-48 on April 16. It must pass the next General Assembly in its exact wording and be ratified by the voters before taking affect.

ENHANCED PENALTIES: Senate File 2148 by Committee on Judiciary. This bill allows the court to suspend a person’s driver’s license if the person drives away from a gas pump without paying for gas. ACLU-IA OPPOSED this legislation. It passed the Senate 46-0 on March 8 and passed the House 76-19 on March 19. The governor vetoed this bill on April 2.

DUE PROCESS: Senate File 2154 by Committee on Judiciary. This bill permits a citation to be issued to the “owner” of a vehicle in which the driver has failed to obey a school bus warning device. ACLU-IA OPPOSED this bill. SF 2154 passed the Senate 49-0 on March 16, passed the House 92-3 on March 29, and was signed by the governor on April 8.

CHURCH/STATE SEPARATION: Senate File 2295 by Committee on Ways and Means. SF 2295 allows persons who make a donation to a religious school tuition scholarship fund to claim a tax credit. ACLU-IA OPPOSED this legislation and requested a veto by the governor. It passed the Senate 33-15 on April 1, and was amended by the House and passed 63-35 on April 13; the Senate concurred in the House amendment and passed the bill 37-10 on April 14. The governor vetoed this bill on May 14.