Iowa House panel approves pipeline-related bills, parental consent for social media
Before a House Judiciary Committee meeting, Rep. Eddie Andrews, R-Johnston, takes a selfie with landowners who regularly attend legislative hearings on bills pertaining liquid hazardous pipelines and eminent domain. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Representatives from the House Judiciary Committee advanced another slate of bills that would impact hazardous liquid pipeline projects, and a bill that would require parental consent for minors who wish to start a social media account.
The pipeline bills would limit the length of permits, increase the insurance requirements of a pipeline operator, mandate official presence at informational meetings and allow landowners to seek declaratory judgment on eminent domain claims.
The bills were introduced and supported by lawmakers who have voiced opposition to the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline that would transport sequestered carbon dioxide across Iowa, and surrounding states, to underground storage in North Dakota.
House File 238 would limit permits for liquified carbon dioxide pipelines to 25 years and prohibit the Iowa Utilities Commission from renewing those permits.
It passed 20-1, with Rep. Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, voting no.
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House File 240 would increase insurance requirements for pipeline operators to cover any potential damage to property from construction or ruptures. Pipeline operators would additionally have to reimburse landowners for increases to insurance premiums caused by the presence of the pipeline.
Summit Carbon Solutions, as a condition of its permit granted by the Iowa Utilities Commission, is required to carry a $100 million insurance plan.
HF 240 passed with the same margins as HF 238, with Lohse again dissenting.
House File 241 would mandate the attendance of at least one member of the Iowa Utilities Commission at all informational meetings and hearings.
Current code allows the commission to send a representative on its behalf to preside at the meetings. Lawmakers and pipeline protesters, in a subcommittee on the bill, said the commissioners' lack of personal attendance at meetings for the pipeline project as demonstrative of 'arrogance' toward property owners.
Rep. Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, said he was 'shocked' to hear commissioners were not attending meetings. He and the rest of the committee voted in favor of the bill.
House File 242 would allow Iowa landowners to seek a legally binding explanation of their rights, in the event their property is subject to an eminent domain claim in an application before the Iowa Utilities Commission.
Opponents of the bill said in subcommittee it would increase the time and cost for pipeline projects. No one spoke in opposition Tuesday, though Lohse and Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, voted nay.
A spokesperson for Summit Carbon Solutions said the company has signed easements with more than 1,200 Iowa landowners and has adjusted the route in response to stakeholder and regulatory feedback.
'Regulatory certainty is crucial for maintaining Iowa's competitive edge in business, fostering long-term opportunities for farmers, ethanol producers, and rural communities,' the spokesperson said in a statement.
The committee also advanced House File 278, which would require social media companies to obtain parental authorization for Iowans under the age of 18 to create a social media account.
The bill is intended to protect the health and well-being of minors and to protect them from sex trafficking and predators online, but opponents of the bill worry it could cause issues with personal data collection.
The bill passed with an amendment, which Rep. Samantha Fett, R-Carlisle, said adjusted the definition of social media platforms.
Rep. Megan Srinivas, D-Des Moines, and Lohse opposed the bill, which advanced 19-2.
The House Judiciary Committee also unanimously advanced House File 189, to change the definition of services related to human trafficking to remove the 'ongoing relationship' language from the law.
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