First Funnel Week ends at the Statehouse

First Funnel Week ends at the Iowa Statehouse

MINUTES TO KNOCK THEM DOWN. IN IOWA, LAWMAKERS HAVE CLEARED THEIR FIRST MAJOR HURDLE IN PASSING NEW LAWS. THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION, THEY WORKED UNTIL THE EARLY MORNING HOURS TO PASS BILLS TO THE HOUSE AND SENATE FLOORS. ��vlog CHIEF POLITICAL REPORTER AMANDA ROOKER TELLS US THE EDUCATION PROPOSALS THAT COULD BECOME LAW THIS YEAR. AMANDA JAMES HUNDREDS OF BILLS FLEW THROUGH COMMITTEE THIS WEEK AS LAWMAKERS WORKED TO KEEP THEIR TOP PRIORITIES ALIVE AGAIN. BILLS HAD TO MAKE IT OUT OF COMMITTEE BY THIS MORNING IN ORDER TO STAY ELIGIBLE FOR THE REST OF SESSION. AND AS LAWMAKERS WORK TO MEET THAT DEADLINE, BILLS SURROUNDING EDUCATION AND KIDS REALLY TOOK CENTER STAGE. THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE MAJOR BILLS THAT MADE IT THROUGH COMMITTEE THIS WEEK. HOUSE BILL 219 BANS ANY MATERIAL FROM IOWA SCHOOLS THAT INCLUDES DESCRIPTIONS OR VISUAL DEPICTIONS OF A SEX ACT. ANOTHER EDUCATION BILL, SENATE BILL 1145 CREATES A STATEWIDE BOOK REMOVAL LIST, AND THAT BILL ALSO REQUIRES SCHOOLS TO GET WRITTEN PARENT PERMISSION BEFORE ANY STAFF CAN REFER TO A STUDENT BY A NAME OR A PRONOUN THAT DOES NOT MATCH THAT. STUDENTS BIRTH CERTIFICATE. AND HOUSE BILL 367 PREVENTS DISTRICTS FROM PUNISHING STUDENTS OR SCHOOL STAFF FOR NOT CALLING OTHER STUDENTS BY THEIR PREFERRED NAME AND PRONOUNS. NOW, JAMES AND I SAT DOWN WITH TOP LAWMAKERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE TO HEAR THEIR REACTION TO SOME OF THESE BILLS MOVING FORWARD. I WANT THEM TO CONCENTRATE ON READING, WRITING, MATH, SCIENCE, STEM. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT SOME OF THE REASON WHY THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE BEING HAD DOWN THE CAPITOL IS SO MANY PARENTS DON’T FEEL LIKE THEY’RE BEING LISTENED TO WHEN THEY GO TO THE VARIOUS SCHOOL BOARDS. IF YOU LOOKED AT THE I WOULD LEGISLATURE’S DOCKET RIGHT NOW, YOU’D THINK THAT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING OUR STATE WAS LGBTQ KIDS. AND THAT’S SIMPLY NOT THE CASE. AND SO WE NEED TO FOCUS MORE ON WHAT IOWANS WANT AND LESS ON WHAT POLITICS PLAY. AND YOU CAN WATCH OUR FULL INTERVIEWS WITH REPUBLICAN SENATOR PRO TEM BRAD ZORN AND DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MINORITY LEADER JENNIFER CONVERSE COMING UP ON ��vlog 8 NEWS CLOSE UP THA

First Funnel Week ends at the Iowa Statehouse

Lawmakers wrapped up the first Funnel Week at the Statehouse on Friday morning. During Funnel Week, all plans that lawmakers have must get through the committee in order to stay eligible this session.Some worked overnight and into the morning to get their top priorities through committee. The House gaveled out shortly before noon, meaning they had met their deadline.Lawmakers now have fewer bills to work on, giving them a narrower focus for the rest of the session.As lawmakers raced to move their top priorities forward this week, bills dealing with parents' rights, books and age-appropriate content in schools and restrictions on LGBTQ kids took center stage.This week, lawmakers approved bills that would ban kids from receiving any "gender transition procedure," another bill that would require Iowa students to only use the bathroom that matches their sex at birth and several bills banning discussion of gender identity and sexual activity in schools.One bill that made it past the deadline is Gov. Kim Reynolds' nearly 1,600-page plan to reorganize Iowa's government. The plan would reduce the number of state agencies from 37 to 16. Gov. Reynolds released the following statement Friday morning after the State Government Committee moved the bill forward:"State government should be efficient and effective to best serve the needs of Iowans. Right now, we have a state government that is difficult to navigate and bloated – hindering Iowans’ and our states’ growth. This legislation will streamline services, create a clearer path to new opportunities, and save hundreds of millions of dollars for taxpayers. I look forward to seeing this bill pass both chambers soon."Previous coverage:��vlog is keeping track of which bills have made it through committee and which bills have officially died this week.Alive:HSB 206 School DisciplineHSB 218 Banning Diversity at state universitiesHSB 219 Requiring 'age-appropriate' content in schools and other library programsSSB 1145 Gov. Reynolds' education billHSB 134 and SF 167 Loosening Iowa's child labor lawsHF 101 Putting Crisis Hotline Number 988 on school ID cardsHF 367 No teacher punishments for deadnaming students (to deadname is to refer to a transgender or nonbinary person by the name they used prior to transitioning.)HF 3 Tightening qualifications for SNAP benefits and other welfare programsHSB 104 and SSB 1096 Gov. Reynolds' fentanyl proposalsHF 368 Landowner protections from Carbon Capture PipelinesSSB 1105 Changing oversight for public assistance programsDead:HJR 8 Gay marriage banHF 510 Total abortion banLegalizing recreational marijuanaSF 348 Banning drag shows for minors

DES MOINES, Iowa —

Some worked overnight and into the morning to get their top priorities through committee. The House gaveled out shortly before noon, meaning they had met their deadline.

Lawmakers now have fewer bills to work on, giving them a narrower focus for the rest of the session.

As lawmakers raced to move their top priorities forward this week, bills dealing with parents' rights, books and age-appropriate content in schools and restrictions on LGBTQ kids took center stage.

This week, lawmakers approved bills that would ban kids from receiving any "gender transition procedure," another bill that would require Iowa students to only use the bathroom that matches their sex at birth and several bills banning discussion of gender identity and sexual activity in schools.

One bill that made it past the deadline is Gov. Kim Reynolds' nearly 1,600-page plan to reorganize Iowa's government. The plan would reduce the number of state agencies from 37 to 16.

Gov. Reynolds released the following statement Friday morning after the State Government Committee moved the bill forward:

"State government should be efficient and effective to best serve the needs of Iowans. Right now, we have a state government that is difficult to navigate and bloated – hindering Iowans’ and our states’ growth. This legislation will streamline services, create a clearer path to new opportunities, and save hundreds of millions of dollars for taxpayers. I look forward to seeing this bill pass both chambers soon."

Previous coverage:

��vlog is keeping track of which bills have made it through committee and which bills have officially died this week.

Alive:

HSB 206 School Discipline
HSB 218 Banning Diversity at state universities
HSB 219 Requiring 'age-appropriate' content in schools and other library programs
SSB 1145 Gov. Reynolds' education bill
HSB 134 and SF 167 Loosening Iowa's child labor laws
HF 101 Putting Crisis Hotline Number 988 on school ID cards
HF 367 No teacher punishments for deadnaming students (to deadname is to refer to a transgender or nonbinary person by the name they used prior to transitioning.)
HF 3 Tightening qualifications for SNAP benefits and other welfare programs
HSB 104 and SSB 1096 Gov. Reynolds' fentanyl proposals
HF 368 Landowner protections from Carbon Capture Pipelines
SSB 1105 Changing oversight for public assistance programs

Dead:

HJR 8 Gay marriage ban
HF 510 Total abortion ban
Legalizing recreational marijuana
SF 348 Banning drag shows for minors

����vlog

First Funnel Week ends at the Iowa Statehouse

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