Senator Weiner’s April 11 Newsletter

From the Desk of Senator Weiner

Well. That was a week – a week that just got even more interesting with the late breaking news that we will have the first open governor’s race in 20 years. At the national level, it was a week marked by extreme fluctuations in the economy caused by tariffs – and all the concerns that triggered for jobs and high prices and the already soft ag economy. And at the state house, it was a week of largely mundane debate in the state senate. Except when it wasn’t (mundane, that is).

It was the week of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

First, the good: Our whole Senate Democratic Caucus was thrilled to finally be able to expand cancer healthcare protections for firefighters in this state. This bill, HF969, was derailed last year by a committee chair in the Senate. Huge thanks to the tireless advocates who worked hard to find a work-around this year. It’s rare to get an ovation after a vote, but with many firefighters in the gallery, that’s what happened after we voted almost unanimously (I’ve included the video below) to pass the bill that the House had already passed. We need to be doing the right thing for Iowans more often.

The bad: Republicans caved and passed a wholly inadequate school funding bill, SF167. It is too little, too late. In fact, it was nearly two months too late. At a 2% raise, it will leave 159 school districts in budget guarantee, which could cause them to either slash staff and programming or raise property taxes to close the gap. So, our communities, our schools, and our kids end up paying the price.

Republicans also pushed through Secretary of State Pate’s omnibus elections bill, HF954, which once again is making it harder for Iowans to vote, and will, among other things, essentially deputize poll workers to determine a voter’s citizenship status.

The ugly: We pass a lot of uncontroversial bills in the legislature. Sometimes, Democrats have ideas that fix problems with a bill or make it better. There were two examples of that this week, and in neither case were Senate Republicans willing to accept a Democratic amendment that, to be clear, was not a policy statement, but in both cases was simply either fixing a problem with a bill, or solving a problem closely related to a bill. Senator Quirmbach found an issue with one bill and offered the Republican sponsor an amendment that would fix it. The sponsor agreed it was an issue but instead offered his own amendment to fix the issue, declining the Senator’s offer to co-sponsor an amendment. Senator Bisignano tried to fix an ongoing issue with remains that end up unclaimed at funeral homes by appending an amendment to a closely related bill. The Republican sponsor agreed it was a problem that needed fixing but declined to add it. It got a bit heated on the floor. We represent Iowans, too, and there is no monopoly on good ideas.

Furthermore, we offered a series of four amendments to a small nursing home bill, HF309, seeing it as perhaps the only vehicle we would have this session to address the serious health and safety issues in a number of Iowa’s nursing homes. Three of our amendments were bills that we had filed earlier in session. They would have (1) allowed cameras in nursing homes; (2) prevented further private equity acquisitions of nursing homes; and (3) upped administrative penalties and increased the number of inspectors. All were ruled out of order, though the Republican running the bill claimed she had empathy for older Iowans. The fourth amendment would have leveled the playing field in the existing bill, allowing the complainant equal say as the administrators. It was voted down. Here’s my issue with this: our colleagues regularly run amendments that greatly expand the scope of a bill or add something completely unrelated to an existing bill. In this case we were calling attention to a long-running problem. If our colleagues really wanted to fix it, they could have taken any of our amendments – or, indeed, given them subcommittee and committee hearings during the session. It’s time to prioritize our seniors. Or, as I said: When will grandma and grandpa be germane? Here are two articles on that debate from Iowa Capital Dispatch that illuminate the issues at play: here and here.

We are running into the budget part of the session now – we *should* only have three weeks left in the session, but I’m skeptical that we will see the budget details we need to in a timely manner. Hope springs eternal.

On Saturday at 2pm, three colleagues and I are holding a listening post in Eldridge at the Scott County library. If you are in the area, please join us! We want to continue to hear from you. And to those who have already sent me their stories, thank you. If you have a story to share, my email is janice.weiner@legis.iowa.gov.

The Second Funnel Closes

Last Friday marked the end of Week 12 for the 2025 legislative session, and, with it, the end of the second legislative funnel.

Funnel weeks are self-imposed deadlines designed to narrow the pool of legislation up for consideration during a given year. By setting a deadline for policy bills, the idea is that the Legislature can quickly pivot to finalizing the budget before the session closes for the year.

While most of the bills proposed by my colleagues and I failed to advance beyond the funnel deadlines, there are some good bipartisan bills still alive. And though there are many bad GOP bills still alive, we’ve managed to help defeat quite a few terrible pieces of legislation. Here’s a brief rundown of where we stand after the second funnel (this list is not comprehensive):

Bipartisan Bills Still Alive

Ban cell phone usage in schools (HF 782)
Expanded cancer and health care coverage for firefighters (HF 969)
Helping individuals with disabilities to work and keep their healthcare (HF 905)
Expanding parental leave for adoptive parents & state employees (HF 889/HF 248)
New tools to address human trafficking (HF 649, HF 908)
Prohibiting the use of bots for ticket purchases (SF 146)
Lead service lines disclosed at selling (SF 425/HF 876)
Health Care coverage for spouses and children of workers killed on the job (HF 913)
Radon protections and free radon tests (HF 707)
Increased privacy protections for victims of domestic assault (HF 397/SF 457)
Expand services available in the Veterans Trust Fund (SF 617/HF 534)
Provides recovery funding and strengthens protections against out-of-state predators during a natural disaster (HF 982/SF 619)
Cryptocurrency Fraud Transaction Protections (SF 449)

Bad GOP Bills Still Alive

Low public school funding that reduces opportunities (SF 167)
Allow unlicensed chaplain services in public schools (HF 884)
State encouragement for elective high school courses on the Bible (SF 510/HF 845)
Ending Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in Iowa (HF 856)
$1 billion in new tax breaks for corporations at the expense of workers (SF 607/HF 980)
Make it easier to fire employees (HF 767/SF 110)
Voter Suppression (HF 954)
Limit food options for hungry children (HF 970)
Puts health care for 182,000 Iowans at risk (SF 615)
Creates a new offense for smuggling persons that could criminalize nonprofits and religious organizations helping people (HF 572)
Allow doctors to refuse treatment based on political beliefs (HF 571/SF 220)

Good News: These Bad GOP Bills are Dead

Immunity for pesticide companies giving people cancer (SF 394)
Gives the Governor a $100,000 pay raise (SF 544)
Funding diversion to charter schools affecting school district teacher salaries (HF 789)
Make it harder to access vaccines (HF 712)
Expands the ability to carry a gun into a school (HF 621)
Ties the hands of DNR to acquire public land (SF 553)
Cuts funding to libraries based on affiliation (HF 880)
Vitamins and light therapeutics for at-risk students (HF 522)
Conspiracy theory on chemicals in the air (HF 927)

School Funding Finally Advances

This week, after nearly two months of delays, Republicans in the House and Senate have finally come together to advance a school funding proposal – just days before the deadline at which school districts are required to submit their annual budgets.

The deal negotiated between the Republican factions in both chambers – without input from legislative Democrats – is still woefully inadequate.

At the agreed-upon amount (2%), nearly half of Iowa’s school districts would be forced to raise property taxes or enact deep budget or staffing cuts. The funding rate fails to keep pace with rising costs and will continue the years-long trend of underfunding our public schools.

Earlier in the legislative session, my colleagues and I offered an amendment that would have altered the school funding increase to 5%, providing schools some breathing room and beginning to make up ground on the funding gaps enacted under the Republican trifecta. That proposal was rejected in February.

Quick Updates

Cancer Coverage for Firefighters, finally: This week, the Senate finally passed HF 969, expanding cancer healthcare coverage for Iowa’s firefighters. This bill endured more hurdles than it should have, but I am proud to have supported it all the way through. Iowa’s firefighters deserve healthcare coverage that respects their service and the risks they take to keep the rest of us safe.
Kinship & Victim Advocacy: This week is the 2025 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and this year’s theme is kinship. Though the week is wrapping up, be sure to check out upcoming events throughout the year.
Celebrating and Defending Access to Books: April is National School Library Month, a time to celebrate the vital role that school libraries and librarians play in fostering curiosity, literacy, and a love of learning. But in many states, including Iowa, this celebration comes with a challenge—as legislators continue to ban books and restrict access to diverse perspectives in school libraries. Now more than ever, it’s important to support librarians and students by advocating for the freedom to read. Join us this month in celebrating school libraries—because every student deserves access to books that reflect the world around them.
Update your boat registration: Boat registrations expire April 30. Boat owners may bring their current registration to any Iowa county recorder’s office when they renew. Only boats displaying a current registration decal are allowed to operate on Iowa waters, so make sure yours is up to date! Learn more about how to register your boat on the DNR website.
Field to Fork: The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering a six-month workshop to teach skills needed to hunt, field dress, and cook white-tailed deer to individuals who have little-to-no archery hunting experience. This workshop consists of summer long archery practices, fall workshops, and hunting opportunities throughout Iowa’s archery season. The course will be hosted in Adel, Ames, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Iowa City. Once accepted into the program, participants will be invited to register for the course. Visit here for more information.
Text Phishing Scam Alert: The Iowa Department of Transportation is warning consumers of a recent text phishing scam that is occurring across the country. Iowans are receiving fraudulent text messages that appear to be from the Iowa DOT that say they have an unpaid toll or registration fee. The text asks recipients to click on a link to provide personal information as well as credit card numbers. These texts are not from the Iowa DOT and citizens should not click on links. The Iowa DOT does not collect tolls on any of their roads or bridges. If you feel that you are a victim of a text scam, consider filing a police report and report internet-based crime here.
REAL ID Deadline is May 7, 2025: If you fly commercially or need to access federal facilities, you will need a REAL ID license. Make an appointment to the DOT and present the documents that prove your identity and residency. It does not cost more to get a card with a REAL ID star and there are no tests required to add a REAL ID star. It can take up to 30 days to receive your REAL ID in the mail.

Iowa Senate Democrats