This week, on July 1, a number of new laws went into effect that impact civil liberties, the result of an incredibly difficult Iowa legislative session, to be sure. In particular, it is heartbreaking to see gender identity protections stripped out of the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
Meanwhile, our legislative team at the Iowa Capitol and elsewhere continues to work to mitigate harms when possible. And we help pass positive legislation more often than might be evident during this difficult political environment.
Here are some of the most notable of the good, bad, and the ugly:
First, the bad bills that passed:
- SF 418 Removes gender identity protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Details here.
- Language was approved in the state's health and human services budget that bans Medicaid from paying for gender-affirming surgeries and hormone therapies. Read more.
- HF 856 Imposes devastating restrictions on diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives at the state, county, and local level. Find out more.
- HF 954 Opens the door for wrongful citizenship challenges for Iowa voters. Read more.
- SF 175 Requires biased and inaccurate fetal development information, similar to the so-called "Baby Olivia video," to be shown to Iowa students. Details here.
But there were also some positive bills that passed:
- HF 472 Allows destructive SLAPP litigation, frivolous lawsuits that target free speech, to be dismissed earlier in the legal process. Get details.
- HF 706 Requires open meetings and records training and increases fines for those who violate open meeting and record laws. Find out more.
- HF 639 This eminent domain bill would limit the power of state government from seizing individual property for the benefit of private companies, and restore due process rights to people in certain administrative actions. It passed but has been vetoed by the Governor.
We were able to help stop the passage of some other bad bills or significantly alter potentially bad bills:
- HF 274 Would have changed exceptions for public libraries and allowed improper censorship of books and materials with sexual or LGBTQ content. Read more.
- HF 891 Was dramatically altered so that all drag performances would not have been defined as obscene. Details here.
- HSB 187 This anti-immigrant bill would have required local law enforcement to shift their public safety focus and help ICE identify and detain possibly undocumented immigrants. Find out more.
- HF 775 Would have required an unnecessary in-person appointment for a medication abortion, delaying the tight timeline required in Iowa, where nearly all abortions are banned after six weeks.
- SSB 1195 and its companion HSB 286 would have criminalized sleeping or camping in public spaces. Details here.
- HF 884 Would have allowed untrained religious chaplains to be hired by public schools or volunteer at them for support, services, or programs. Read more.
And we'll continue to press on for the passing of some others.
One of our legislative priorities has been to allow for the expungement of certain eviction reports to protect against discrimination in housing. We didn't get legislation passed this year, but we will continue to work for it. Here's why it matters.