Eleventh Week of the 91st General Assembly
Moving Legislation Forward

The eleventh week of session brought more days of debate as we worked to continue moving our state house forward in preparation for the next legislative deadline. Subcommittee meetings on bills sent to us from the House were also a priority this week.

Limiting Distractions During the School Day

A bill we passed on Monday was centered around an issue I have mentioned in previous newsletters and that has been discussed many times over the last several weeks, cell phones in schools. House File 782 requires schools to adopt policies that regulate and restrict cell phone use by students during school hours and in the classroom. Cell phones, and especially access to social media, provide distractions throughout the day and take away focus from what is going on in the classroom. This bill will help teachers keep students focused on learning throughout their school day.

Land Owners / Tenants to Harvest One Wild Turkey per Permit During Any Open Turkey Season

SF 148 was a companion bill I submitted that was written to match the bill brought forward in the House by Representative Taylor. The intent of this bill is to change the current allowance for landowners and tenants to harvest one wild turkey on land they own or rent to now include the provision that it be used during any open turkey season using the method of take authorized for that season. This legislation garnered complete bipartisan support in the Senate and is now under consideration in the House.

Ensuring the Most Qualified Applicants Have a Chance
Also passing out of the Senate this week was Senate File 507, which prohibits city and county governments from engaging in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities unless directed by state or federal law and eliminates practices that encourage treating people differently based on certain characteristics. I’m sure we all would agree that all people should be treated with respect and dignity, and when hiring, we should be focused on finding the best, most qualified people for those roles. Local governments should be focused on providing services effectively and efficiently, and this bill ensures city and county governments are hiring people based on merit and working to the best of their ability, not based on profiling to fit demographic characteristics to meet DEI guidelines.

Hard Work… Done Well… Feels Good!

My wife often talks about a former co-worker of hers who taught First Grade at Washington School. Her name was Pam and she loved taking advantage of teachable moments with her little charges. She would often be heard, at the end of a long work session with her first graders or after a day filled with focused learning, starting the mantra, “Hard work… and her students would quickly chime in with, “Done well… Feels Good!” We all have experienced this sense of accomplishment over a job well done, and this is the thought behind Senate File 615.

We are beginning to hear more about this bill in the media since it has now passed out of the House. It would require able-bodied individuals on taxpayer-funded health care work a minimum of 80 hours a month to continue receiving benefits. This bill only applies to those who are 19-64 years old, able-bodied and eligible to work, and includes exceptions for those who are not able to work, such as someone who is pregnant, medically exempt, or disabled. The bill requires the Iowa Department of Human Services to request a waiver from the federal government to implement work requirements as a condition to continue to receive Medicaid.

A department review found as many as 100,407, or 58.5 percent, of Iowans receiving expanded Medicaid coverage are identified as not working and a majority of them could be working at least part time. That number is an astoundingly high amount of able-bodied people receiving health care provided by working taxpayers and demonstrates why this bill is critical to pass. People who can work, should. Taxpayer dollars are limited, and money spent on individuals who can work and choose not to reduces the resources available for those people who are unable to work and truly need the assistance.

By encouraging individuals to work we hope to help them gain the life skills necessary for self-reliance and responsibility. Becoming a viable part of the workforce could significantly improve the quality of life for those people now working to provide for themselves with the intrinsic benefits of work. In turn, more workers will also benefit the economy at large by filling the jobs that so many employers across the state are trying to fill.

This week brought visitors to the Capitol on behalf of the Iowa Bankers Association, the Iowa Corn Growers and Future Farmers of America, as well as clergy members visiting to pray for and with legislators. Friends and family were also in Des Moines to observe and celebrate the swearing in of Representative Blaine C. Watkins who now represents House District 100, and to honor the 2025 recipients of the Hoover Presidential Foundation Uncommon Public Service Award. Representative Kenan Judge received the award for the House and Majority Leader Jack Whitver was honored in the Senate.
Best regards,

Mark