Latest news with #StudyBill1195
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bills on elections, immigration and guns squeak past Legislature's ‘funnel' deadline
The Iowa State Capitol on Jan. 29, 2025. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Iowa lawmakers approved bills on elections, firearms and immigration law enforcement Thursday just ahead of the Legislature's first 'funnel' deadline of the 2025 session. Most bills needed approval by a committee in one chamber this week to remain eligible for consideration. There are exceptions to this deadline, such as bills that involve taxes, government spending or oversight components, or legislation that is sponsored by leaders. However, much of the legislation that failed to gain approval in committee this week is considered 'dead' and will not be up for consideration for the rest of the session. One of the bills tabled Thursday would penalize sleeping and camping on public property, as well as allow local governments to create public camping spaces for homeless populations. The legislation was considered in subcommittees Wednesday, with the House version, House Study Bill 286 gaining approval while the Senate version, Senate Study Bill 1195, failed. Though the House version passed the first round of the legislative process, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said in the House Judiciary Committee Thursday that the measure will not move forward. 'There's a lot of work on that legislation that would need to be done, and so that legislation is not running today,' Holt said. 'But it was a good discussion, a lot of good information in the subcommittee, so I appreciate that.' Though the bill on homelessness did not advance, several other high-profile measures cleared the 'funnel' deadline Thursday: House Study Bill 294 would create protections and penalties relating to election materials produced with artificial intelligence, or 'algorithmic discrimination' caused by AI. The House Economic Growth and Technology Committee advanced the bill, with its floor manager Rep. Ray Sorensen noting the bill was a 'work in progress.' Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, cautioned the committee on moving too quickly on the issue, noting a similar law had passed in Colorado and 'is not going well.' 'We are on the cutting edge right now … We could perhaps use some time to learn from the mistakes of others and come out with something perfect – maybe it needs to be next year,' Baeth, who voted to advance the bill, said. Another bill on elections, House Study Bill 281, advanced through the House State Government Committee Thursday. The legislation would allow the Iowa Secretary of State's office to work with federal and state agencies, as well as private companies, to confirm the citizenship status of voters registered in Iowa. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate proposed the bill after his office issued controversial guidance leading into the 2024 general election. Pate directed county auditors to challenge the ballots of more than 2,000 registered voters whose citizenship status was in question. The Senate State Government committee also passed a measure with this provision Wednesday, but the House bill tackles several other subjects, including a ban on ranked choice voting. The legislation also includes increasing the threshold for political party recognition from 2% to 10% of the total votes cast for a candidate in the previous general election. The measure was passed 14-7 through the House committee with no debate. House File 191, which advanced from committee, would prohibit airborne emissions of contaminants that would affect 'temperature, weather, or the intensity of sunlight.' Some House Environmental Protection Committee members tied the legislation to the chemtrails conspiracy theory, which holds that certain aircraft are involved in a scheme to spray chemicals affecting health, fertility or weather patterns. Rep. Ken Croken, D-Davenport, who was part of the subcommittee on the bill, said it 'would ban a practice that there's no evidence is actually occurring.' The bill references 'geoengineering' which, according to the Harvard Solar Geoengineering Research Program, is an emerging practice that could manipulate the environment and partially offset the effects of climate change by releasing particles into the atmosphere that would reflect more sunlight back into space, or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. One of the bill's authors, Rep. Sam Wengryn, R-Pleasanton, said he has seen several reports from different states and companies that this practice is already happening. '(The bill) is just a matter of getting the ball rolling on this to look, hopefully bring in if we could, the state universities take a look … examine the air quality and see if there is actually something here,' Wengryn said. Four bills advanced from the House Judiciary committee Thursday to restrict pipeline projects from using eminent domain and protecting intervenors in Iowa Utilities Commission proceedings. House Study Bill 262, which would lower the age limit to carry a firearm from 21 to 18, will head to the House floor. Holt said there will likely be an amendment stipulating that permits will not be allowed for 18-21 year-olds to satisfy the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, requirements. Under current law, Iowa is a permitless carry state for anyone over the age of 21. Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, opposed the bill in the House Judiciary Committee, noting that gun violence is the second leading cause of death for children and teens. Holt said there are 'all kinds of rights we could lose based upon what someone might do,' but he urged committee members to think of a 20-year-old living alone who would like to own a handgun to protect herself. 'She is an adult,' Holt said. 'She has a right to do that.' The bill was approved 17-4. The House Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would establish a Class D felony charge for law enforcement officials, including elected sheriffs, who do not comply with immigration law enforcement requirements in Iowa Code. House Study Bill 285, passed by a subcommittee Wednesday, would create this criminal penalty for law enforcement officers who 'knowingly and intentionally' defy state law on immigration enforcement. The measure comes following comments made on social media by Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx stating that he would not comply with immigration detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Holt said that under current Iowa Code, state funding is at risk for a local entity if one employee chooses to go against Iowa law on immigration enforcement. The bill, he said, would place the punishment on the individual directly. 'I have always been a big fan of our sheriffs and deputies and our law enforcement, obviously, I was one,' Holt said. 'There's nothing to worry about if you comply with the law, not a thing.' While the legislation was passed as-is, Holt said he would likely advance an amendment during floor debate to lower the penalty from a felony to a serious misdemeanor charge. Cami Koons contributed to this report. Coming Friday: Which bills remain alive for the 2025 session and and which ones missed the cut
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Homelessness bill fails to pass Iowa Senate subcommittee
Sens. Cherielynn Westrich, Dave Sires and Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner discussed legislation that would create criminal penalties and fines for sleeping or camping on public property in a subcommittee meeting March 5, 2025. Weiner and Sires did not support the bill advancing. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Legislation that would criminalize sleeping and camping on public property while allowing cities and counties to create designated areas for homeless encampments did not advance in a Senate subcommittee meeting Wednesday. The legislation, Senate Study Bill 1195, was supported by the Cicero Institute, a nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, that promotes bans on unauthorized public camping and calls for funds to be directed away from 'Housing First' programs. The institute advocated for a similar measure in 2024 that failed to advance, but Dennis Tibben, representing Cicero Action, said this year's proposal comes after a year of discussions by Iowa communities on how to address homelessness. Cities including Des Moines passed bans on camping and sleeping in public spaces in 2024. 'The bill before you intended to help with these efforts by ensuring consistent statewide policies, including basic minimum services and support, greater transparency on how public homelessness dollars are being utilized, and most importantly, creating a pathway to stability and self-sustainability for Iowans,' Tibben said. The legislation includes four parts: one section would set a statewide penalty of a misdemeanor charge with a fine of at least $105 and up to 30 days of jail time for individuals who refuse to vacate public property after receiving a warning and being offered services or shelter by law enforcement. Local governments would be allowed to enact policies designating portions of public property to be used for public camping by people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, such as parking lots or camping facilities, that would be required to provide individuals access to clean and running water, showers and restrooms, as well as access to available behavioral health and substance abuse services in the region. The bill would also create 'drug-free homeless service zones,' stating that operators of facilities providing shelter and services to unhoused populations could be charged with a crime if a person accessing services is allowed to possess or use a controlled substance at their facility. The aggravated misdemeanor change is punishable by up to two years in confinement and fines between $855 and $8,540. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Organizations providing homeless services would also be required to submit annual reports to the Iowa Finance Authority if they have received funding for combatting homelessness in the previous fiscal year. While Tibben said these policies are meant to aid Iowa communities grappling with 'public safety concerns with street camping and how to better support Iowa struggling with homelessness,' advocates for local governments and organizations providing support to Iowans experiencing homelessness said the measure is not the right fit for Iowa. Angie Arthur, executive director of Homeward Iowa, a group focused on homelessness in Polk County, said local governments do not have the funding needed to be able to provide the homelessness services required under the legislation. She said the measure would result in significant increased costs for police, emergency and crisis-based services. She also said criminalizing the act of sleeping or camping in public spaces will trap homeless individuals in a loop of being incarcerated for these acts, as they will likely not be able find secure housing when they are released from jail and will face further difficulties in finding stable housing when amassing fines. 'It will increase the number of individuals caught in the cycle and generate significant costs for the state, counties and local health authorities, placing a new burden on taxpayers already facing economic challenges,' Arthur said. 'What it will not do is reduce homelessness. What is needed in Iowa (is a) stronger investment in housing and services that support people getting help.' Zeb Beilke-McCallum with the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence said the financial and criminal penalties could discourage people from leaving abusive situations, and expressed concerns about the lack of clarity on whether children would be subject to fines under the legislation. He said that the coalition was against public camping sites as described by the legislation, and said while Iowa cities like Des Moines are considering creating public camping sites, 'there is nothing like it's described in this bill right now.' 'This is legislation that might work in other states, but it doesn't represent or reflect the good job that Iowa does in caring for its homeless population,' Beilke-McCallum said. Sen. Cherielynn Westrich, R-Ottumwa, said she was encouraged by the large number of people who came to advocate for Iowans experiencing homelessness, sharing that she had experienced a level of homelessness living in a vehicle as a teenager. However, she said she supported the measure moving forward because it seeks to address 'that other side' of the impacts of homelessness on communities. 'We have to address campsites that may be in areas where it's disrupting businesses or disrupting other people's homes, and make sure that we're providing services, but that we're not allowing folks to just camp wherever they would like,' Westrich said, adding that she would support amendments to address specific concerns about provisions of the bill. However, the measure did not move forward as both Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner and Sen. Dave Sires, R-Cedar Falls, did not sign off on the bill. Sires said he was 'shocked' by the proposed punishments of '$800 fines for people who really don't have any money.' 'This is not fair to people, whether they're down on their luck or they're having a problem — I know that sounds crazy coming from conservative Republican, but I do support my food pantry in my own hometown,' Sires said. '… We have to change the things and come back with this a second time.' Though the measure did not gain approval from the Senate subcommittee, it could advance in the House, where a subcommittee is set to consider a companion bill, House Study Bill 286, at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
