In the first two weeks of the 2015 legislative session, House Democrats have been busy crafting legislation that would both abolish existing state law that names English as the state’s official language, and that would offer in-state tuition to illegal entrants at Iowa’s Regents universities and community colleges. House File […]

Earlier this week, state Sen. Rick Bertrand (R-Sioux City) announced his plan to introduce a “Stand Your Ground” bill in the General Assembly. The proposed legislation would apply only to concealed weapon permit holders who find themselves in self-defense situations. It would eliminate current requirements that a person retreat before […]

Last week, Gov. Terry Branstad announced the special election to fill the now-vacant District 23 seat in the Iowa House of Representatives will be held Tuesday, Feb. 10. Republican Party of Iowa chairman Rep. Jeff Kaufmann subsequently established the special nominating convention will be held at 7 p.m. tonight at […]

Conservatives have been bracing for a gas-tax bill in the General Assembly since the start of the new session. So, when state Rep. Larry Sheets (R-Moulton) offered up House File 83 today, there likely was a few folks who cringed. But, while the bill alters how the state’s fuel taxes […]

By Jacob Hall Correspondent The Republican Party of Iowa announced today the hiring of six new staff members in a press release. But, the past of one of the new employees, Communications Director Charlie Szold, have surprised a number of Iowa conservatives. The Iowa GOP’s press release highlighted Szold’s […]

Typically, convention of the states legislation has been the domain of conservatives who say they want to undo the damage done to the country over the past 100 years, but a group of Democrats are now calling for one, too. The 18 members of the Iowa House of Representatives presented […]

When visitors come to the Iowa State Historical Museum, they can learn a lot about Iowa’s native habitat. They can learn about the state bird, the eastern goldfinch; the state tree, the oak tree; the state flower, the wild rose; and the state rock, the geode. And, if two members […]

State Rep. Peter Cownie (R-West Des Moines) has reintroduced a constitutional amendment bill seeking to create term limits for members of the General Assembly. House Joint Resolution 1 would limit both members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to 12 years in office. Representatives could serve no […]

State Rep. Bruce Hunter offered a bill last week that could result in “perpetual absentee voting” in Iowa. Earlier, The Iowa Statesman reported on efforts in the Iowa General Assembly to tinker with the state’s election laws. Those efforts continue with Hunter’s newest piece of proposed legislation. House File 48, […]

Nine Democrat legislators have offered a bill that would establish Iowa as the fourth state in the country to have enacted physician-assisted suicide legislation. State Reps. Brian Meyer (D-Des Moines), Dennis Cohoon (D-Burlington), Cindy Winckler (D-Davenport), Sally Stutsman (D-Riverside), Mary Mascher (D-Iowa City), Timi Brown-Powers (D-Waterloo), Mary Lynn Wolfe (D-Clinton), […]

A popular central Iowa legislator has offered a bill that will no doubt make him even popular with many in his own party. State Sen. Brad Zaun (R-Urbandale) offered Senate File 16 last week to remove all education references to the Iowa Core standards, or any core content standards. […]

A pair of eastern Iowa legislators, one Republican, one Democrat, have proposed a bill in the Iowa Senate to force a 10-year moratorium on new gambling licenses issued by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission – after it approves a new casino for Iowa’s second-largest city. Senate File 24, if […]

The General Assembly wants to tinker with how elections operate in Iowa. Since the opening of the 2015 session, there have been five bills relating to the electoral process offered in the House and Senate. They range from a bill to allow small cities to hold their municipal elections by […]

The most prolific bill sponsor so far in the Iowa House of Representatives certainly likes to take care of his district. Last week, state Rep. Bruce Hunter (D-Des Moines) authored a bill, House File 37, to create a new income tax check-off for the Iowa Income Tax. The bill establishes […]

State Rep. Bruce Hunter (D-Des Moines) has introduced a pair of bills that has organized labor in Iowa quite happy this past week. The first would require a state agency to “consider using a project labor agreement” in large-scale construction projects. The second would authorize the collection of “fair share […]

If a bill proposed by state Rep. Bruce Hunter becomes law, prospective employers cannot discriminate against the unemployed. Although House File 20, if passed, would not preclude employers from considering individuals’ employment history, or from examining the underlying reasons for his or her status as unemployed, it would prohibit employment […]

Last year, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved the production and sale of Palcohol, a powdered alcohol substance, which turns into an alcoholic beverage when combined with water. Lipsmark LLC, the makers of the powder originally touted it as a way to sneak in alcoholic beverages […]

A Polk County Democrat has offered a bill he believes will improve the safety of students traveling in school buses. Last week state Rep. Bruce Hunter (D-Des Moines) has offered House File 35, a bill to require all new school buses ordered for purchase after July 1 to have seat […]

The Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management Division wants to know your phone number. It’s for your own safety, of course. The agency has proposed Senate Study Bill 1025, which would grant it the authority to demand the name, address, and telephone number for every subscriber to every E911 service […]

During a recent period of heavy snowfall and windy conditions that followed, eight Iowa Department of Transportation snowplows were involved in motor vehicle accidents on Iowa’s highways. A bill now offered in the Iowa Senate would make that less likely to happen in the future, if enacted. Senate Study Bill […]

Shortly before the start of the new legislative session, Gov. Terry Branstad announced the Iowa Department of Education would no longer automatically waive the statutory school year start date. Iowa Code Section 279.10 requires the school year to begin July 1, and for classes to not commence until the first […]

State Rep. Peter Cownie (R-West Des Moines) last week introduced a bill, House File 1, to require state agencies to use zero-base budgeting principles when preparing their biennial budget requests to the General Assembly. Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting whereby all expenses each period must be justified. In […]

A forgotten Bible, a medical emergency in the audience, and a case of the sniffles couldn’t keep Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad from making history today at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines. With a joint session of the General Assembly, the department heads of the […]

The state’s first openly gay legislator has offered a bill that, if passed, will make it illegal for licensed mental health providers to offer sexual orientation change counseling to minors. State Sen. Matt McCoy (D-Des Moines) authored Senate File 31 earlier this week. The bill not only prohibits a mental […]

With the 42nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision coming next week, a number of pro-life groups will be focusing attention on efforts to end the practice of abortion, both nationally and in Iowa. One such effort was announced today by state Sen. Rick Bertrand (R-Sioux […]

State Sen. David Johnson (R-Ocheyedan) this week offered up two bills relating to abortion. One places restrictions on “medical abortions” – those induced by use of abortifacient drugs – and the other requires a 72-hour informed consent period prior to having an abortion. Senate File 11 defines “medical abortion” as […]

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady ivered the 2015 Condition of the Judiciary Address before a joint session of the Iowa House of Representatives and Iowa Senate today. In his speech, Cady told the legislators and Gov. Branstad, who also was in attendance, “The three separate branches of government […]

If you’ve been listening to Iowa Democrats during the first few hours of the 2015 legislative session, it’s pretty clear they were paying attention on Election Day last November. Their agenda, titled “Building a Strong Middle Class,” focuses on using government as a means of strengthening Iowa’s middle class and […]

Senate Minority Leader Bill Dix liked the vision Gov. Branstad laid out in his Condition of the State Address today. The Shell Rock Republican said the governor has proposed a vision for Iowa that will help strengthen the state’s economy, make necessary advancements across rural Iowa and continue to enhance […]

If you like your state government, not only do you get to keep it, Gov. Terry Branstad would like to give you of it. Today, the governor gave his annual Condition of the State speech to a joint session of the General Assembly. In the speech, he laid out […]

During the opening ceremony of the 86th Iowa General Assembly today, Republicans and Democrats unveiled their plans for the next several weeks. Republicans said they sought to “do less” and to “do it well,” while Democrats repeated many of the same themes Senate Democrats expressed in their opening remarks on […]

During the opening ceremony of the 86th Iowa General Assembly today, Republicans and Democrats unveiled their plans for the next several weeks. Both sides emphasized working together, with Democrats pledging to lo out for the best interests of middle-class Iowans and Republicans promising continued fiscal responsibility. The Senate elected Sen. […]

Clarice Alons is getting her wish. The seat formerly held by her late husband, Dwayne, in Iowa House District 4 will be filled by his good friend, John Kooiker of Hull. The Republican nominee faced both Democratic challenger John Buntsma of Orange City and a well-organized write-in effort launched by […]

Arthur A. Neu, former Lt. Governor of Iowa, passed away Friday, Jan. 2, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines at the age of 81. Neu, a Republican, had been a state senator in a district representing Carroll, Crawford, and Monona counties since 1967 when he was elected to the […]

State Rep. Mark Costello (R-Imogene) easily cruised to a special election victory Tuesday, Dec. 30, in Senate District 12 in southwest Iowa. “Thanks to everyone in Senate District 12 who helped to secure this nice win,” he told supporters shortly after the results were announced. “I’m loing forward to moving […]

By Jacob Hall Correspondent   UPDATE (11:45, 12/20) — Eric Rankin of Hull, one of the precinct leaders who to part in last week’s nomination convention, commented on the situation. He said: “I agree that the process does not seem very democratic, nor does it allow for an in-depth vetting […]

By Jacob Hall Correspondent   John Kooiker was selected Tuesday night as the Republican candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives District 4 seat. Kooiker, a 68-year old retiree from Boyden, toted his relationship with former Rep. Dwayne Alons in a letter he sent to District 4’s precinct leaders. “Dwayne […]

By Jacob Hall Correspondent     Shortly after his nomination as the Republican candidate to replace Rep. Dwayne Alons, who passed away earlier this month, Iowa House District 4 candidate John Kooiker sat down for an exclusive one-on-one with The Iowa Statesman. Here is the complete exchange.   Describe your […]

Immediately following his nomination as the Democratic candidate to replace Rep. Dwayne Alons, who passed away earlier this month, Iowa House District 4 candidate John Buntsma sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with The Iowa Statesman. Here is the complete exchange.   Describe for me your worldview and what […]

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad became a hero to border-security proponents Monday when he said he opposed bringing illegals into Iowa. “The first thing we need to do is secure the border. I do have empathy for these kids … But I also don’t want to send the signal that (you) […]