Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Community colleges help workers, economy rebound

    Community colleges are well-positioned to help Iowans and our economy bounce back from the pandemic.

    Since 1964, Iowa’s community colleges have provided education, training and services to students, businesses and communities throughout the state. As times change, so do our community colleges—always adapting to meet local needs.

    This year, the Legislature boosted support that will help our community colleges continue doing just that.

    As businesses and industries look to fully re-open, they’re struggling to find the workers they need to fill well-paying jobs. Iowans may be eager to apply, but often lack the specific skills required. That’s where community colleges come in.

    Looking for a better career? Now is a great time to contact your local community college about current education, training and financial aid opportunities.

    Last Dollar Scholarship

    In particular, you may benefit from a big increase to the state-funded Future Ready Last Dollar Scholarship, which covers a qualifying student’s tuition and fees not met by other federal and state grants and scholarships.

    To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

    • Be Iowa residents
    • Enroll in an eligible program of study
    • Have applied for all other available financial aid
    • Plan to earn a credential for a high-demand job

    Iowa’s community colleges offer a variety of eligible programs, including welding, building trades, information technology, business and health care careers. Depending on the area of study, you can earn a credential in anywhere from 15 weeks to two years.

    Community college resources

    Learn about all career-training programs eligible for the Last Dollar Scholarship at futurereadyiowa.gov/college-list.

    There’s still time to apply for financial aid for the 2021-2022 school year. Go to studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid, and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by August 1.

    See what community college leaders had to say on a recent episode of Iowa PBS’ Iowa Press about how they’re helping Iowa students, businesses and our economy right now: youtu.be/xweuAegc3zA.

  • Expanded Child Tax Credit: Boost for Iowans’ pocketbooks starts July 15

    The federal American Rescue Plan is the biggest piece of anti-poverty legislation in more than 50 years. It’s putting money into Iowans’ pocketbooks and lifting thousands of Iowa children out of poverty.

    One of the key features, an expanded  Child Tax Credit, will provide major tax relief for nearly all families:

    • 93% children under 18 qualify. That’s 669,000 Iowa kids.
    • 198,000 Iowa kids under 17 left out of the full $2,000 Child Tax Credit in prior law will benefit.
    • 48,000 Iowa kids under 18 will be lifted above or closer to the poverty line by the expansion.

    How it works

    All working families making up to $150,000 per couple or $112,500 for a single-parent family will get the full Child Tax Credit, which has been expanded to $3,000 per child for kids ages 6-17 and $3,600 per child for kids under 6.

    Starting July 15, payments will be made monthly (via direct deposit for most families and by mail for some)—$250 per child age 6-17 or $300 per child under 6.

    If you filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020, or if you signed up to receive a stimulus check from the IRS, you will get this tax relief automatically. You do not need to do anything.

    If you didn’t make enough to file taxes in 2019 or 2020, you can still get the Child Tax Credit. Families not automatically enrolled in the program can check their eligibility and enroll at irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-non-filer-sign-up-tool.

    Generally, a couple making less than $24,800, a head of household earning less than $18,650 or a single filer making under $12,400 will qualify.

    The tax credit is based on your income for 2021, which are the taxes that get filed in April 2022. The automatic pre-payment feature allows you to receive your tax credit in monthly payments starting July 15. However, if you wish to receive your tax credit in one lump sum, you may decline the advance monthly payments at irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-update-portal.

    Learn more about the largest Child Tax Credit ever at ChildTaxCredit.gov.

    You may not want advance payment on Child Tax Credit

    More help for your pocketbook

    According to an estimate by the Urban Institute, the American Rescue Plan will reduce overall poverty in the U.S. by a third and cut child poverty by more than half. It’s also putting more money into your pocketbook:

    • A third round of economic impact payments of up to $1,400 went to 91% of Iowa adults and 89% of Iowa children this spring.
    • Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child & Dependent Care Credit.
    • Providing emergency housing and rental assistance.
    • Expanding food stamp benefits.

  • Survivors Network joins Petersen in call to extend statute of limitations

    We fully agree with the opinion piece written by Iowa State Senator Janet Petersen. Our applause for her willingness to champion window legislation, which will protect the vulnerable and hold child predators and the institutions who enable them accountable.

    For too long, survivors have held the entire liability for the long-term effects of the abuse they suffered. Regardless of when the crime occurred, it is time to shift the cost back where it belongs, to the perpetrator and to the organizations who covered up for them. 

    Attorney General Miller took a positive step forward and investigated the Catholic dioceses in his state, but so far, nothing has been done to hold the Church accountable for the damage it caused.

    SNAP Leaders John Chambers and Paul Koeniguer and SNAP President Tim Lennon made great efforts in Iowa in 2019. They appeared at the state’s capitol with Senator Petersen to demand legislators take the issue of much-needed SOL reform seriously. We welcome the opportunity to be invited once again to the table to discuss this critical cause.

    No boy or girl should be put at risk from known abusers. As victim stories are told and heard across the state, lawmakers should work to deliver justice to those who have been silenced for far too long. 

    When SOL laws are amended, children and communities are safer, and institutions with hidden or recycled perpetrators have a solid incentive to change their behavior.  SOL reforms help hold sexual predators accountable and instill accountability and consequences for any institution that harbors, conceals, or protects them. Reform will help ensure another child will not be the next victim, and Iowa will become a safer place. 

    Governor Reynolds and Attorney General Miller should take the proper next step on the heels of this recent investigative report and pledge their support for window legislation. Senator Petersen has demonstrated leadership in this matter, and SNAP will support survivors and advocates in Iowa who follow her lead in every way possible.

    END

    CONTACT: Michael McDonnell, SNAP Communications Manager (mmcdonnell@snapnetwork.org,  267.261.0578), Zach Hiner, SNAP Executive Director (zhiner@snapnetwork.org, 517.974.9009) Tim Lennon, SNAP President (415-312-5820, tlennon@SNAPnetwork.org), Paul A. Koeniguer, SNAP Iowa (515-865-9673, Paul.koeniguer@focusfirstinc.com), John S. Chambers, SNAP Iowa (515-277-8436, jsc2597@aol.com) 

    (SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is www.snapnetwork.org)

  • Initial analysis of GOP’s latest attack on Iowa voters

    The key section is Ballot Courier Language – Operation 11

    SF 568 – Public Measures/Elections Changes – Original Bill Summary

    First passed Senate: 30 -17 (March 17); Passed House: 54-33; Final passage in Senate: 29-17 (May 19)

    SF 568 relates to the conduct of elections, including nominations and procedures for proposed amendments to the Iowa Constitution. Key provisions of the bill include:

    Public Measures/Elections Changes: The bill adds the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of an even-numbered year as an available date for a county to hold a special election on a public measure. This does not apply to cities or school districts.

    Constitutional Amendments/Petitions: The bill requires the constitutional convention question, which is required to be submitted every decade, to be treated the same as a public measure on a ballot.

    Holding Two Offices/Vacancies: The bill allows an elected official to be elected to and simultaneously serve in a second office for not more than 30 days.Under the bill, if a person is elected to multiple incompatible offices and doesn’t resign from one, the vacancy will be in the first office to which the person was elected. Under current law, a vacancy occurs in all of the offices to which the person was elected.The bill includes an effective date of January 1, 2022, for sections of the division relating to ballot vacancies.

    Filing/Withdrawal Deadlines: The bill changes the deadline for the filing and withdrawal of nomination papers for primary elections, as well as for filing objections to the nominations of candidates. The bill changes the timeline for the replacement of a candidate who withdraws from a primary or general election or dies.The bill requires a ballot for president and vice president of the United States to disclose that a vote for such candidates is a vote for the slate of electors selected by the organization nominating such candidates.

    After Election Activities (House amended this section): The bill  now requires when ballots are returned to the auditor the memory device used by voting equipment shall be returned to the auditor by two precinct election officials of different political parties, by law enforcement, or by a person designated by the commissioner. The printed results and memory device shall be returned in a sealed envelope with signature of all board members of the precinct place across the seal so envelop cannot be opened without breaking the seal. 

    Secretary of State: The bill requires the SOS to order election audits prior to all elections other than general elections. This provision of the bill takes effect January 1, 2022.The bill requires the SOS to develop an Internet application to allow voters to track their absentee ballot requests and ballots by February 26, 2024. The system must also inform a voter of an error in the voter’s application or ballot that requires correction.
    [3/17: 30-17  (No: Democrats; Excused: Goodwin, Hogg, Nunn)]

    Amendment H-1535 (compromise between House and Senate Republicans)

    Standing in Court – Operation 1

    Gives political parties and non-political parties standing to bring certain actions in court, and gives them standing to intervene in certain actions brought by other persons.

    Nomination Papers – Operation 3

    The amendment makes multiple changes to signature requirements for county and city office nomination papers.

    Voter Registration Cancellation – pg 4

    Prohibits sending a voter from being sent a notice and return card for the purpose of cancelling or making a voter inactive if the registered voter was not 18 years old for the general election.

    Strikes “Public Measures” from the bill – Operation  5 

    School, City, County elections and any public measure election held in  March or September: Not less than four days and not more than 20 days before an election, an auditor must publish notice containing a list of candidates and public measures to be voted upon. Costs for a notification sent or posted pursuant to this section may be charged to the entity requesting the public measure. For an election to approve the issuance of a bond, the bill requires auditors to send notification to all voters not later than 20 days before the election. The notification must include time and date of election. Estimated costs for this mailing could reach $153,000 in additional costs per election.

    Provision Ballot – Operation 7

    Clarifies that the new absentee ballot deadline does not apply to those who are eligible to reconcile their provisional ballots.

    Absentee Request Forms – Operation 10

    Requires voter to date and sign absentee ballot requests forms.

    Satellite Voting – Operation 10

    The amendment allows a valid petition for satellite voting to be rejected within four days if any of the following apply:

    1. The site is not accessible to elderly and disabled voters.
    2. The site has physical limitation that make it impossible to meet ballot security and secret voting.
    3. The owner of the site refuses.
    4. After a reasonable effort, the auditor cannot find the staff to ensure compliance with law.

    The other reasons listed for a reason that a petition can be denied include if the petition asks for satellite voting location in a city runoff election and a special election is held between the date of the regular city election and the city run-off election.  A petition can also be denied if the owner of the site of the location is demanding payment.

    If a county auditor receives two petitions for the same precinct the auditor is allowed to establish only one satellite voting location.

    Ballot Courier Language – Operation 11

    The amendment clarifies who can return a ballot for a registered voter. The person must be a registered voter in Iowa. A person can be an immediate family member which is defined as a someone in the within the fourth degree of consanguinity which extends out to a first cousin once removed or great-great grandparent. The delivery agent can only return a ballot so long as the person they are delivering for cannot deliver the ballot on their own due to blindness or disability.

    A person can NOT deliver a ballot for someone if they are the voters’ employer, an officer or agent of the registered voters union, or a person acting as an actual or implied agent for a political party, or a candidate or candidate’s committee.

    A delivery agent must fill out a form or receipt as prescribed by the Secretary of State.  A delivery agent can only deliver two ballots per election.   The delivery agent can NOT return the ballot to a mailbox or drop box and must return it to the county auditor’s office and must present an ID and must sign a statement saying they are eligible to return the ballot.

    Technical Stuff

    • Operation 4 – state register determines date of audit not county auditor
    • Operation 6 – adds “facsimile” of county seal
    • Operation 8 – Strikes Sec. 31 – Return and preservation of ballots
    • Operation 9 – Strikes Sec. 33 – Return of election register
    • Operations 12 – 20 –  technical stuff.

  • Iowa Executive Branch launches investigation into Heritage Foundation allegations

    Senate Democratic Leader calls on Sen. Roby Smith to cooperate with investigation

    “The claims made recently by Heritage Action about their role in secretly pushing voter suppression legislation in Iowa and other states are disturbing. The allegations by Heritage Action are that they secretly wrote and lobbied for harmful legislation that Iowa legislators are claiming they authored.

    “Iowa is the first state that we got to work in, and we did it quickly and we did it quietly,” Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action, said during a recent meeting with supporters in Arizona. “We helped draft the bills. … Honestly, nobody even noticed. My team looked at each other, and we’re like, ‘it can’t be that easy.’”

    “It is good news that the Executive Director of the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board has opened an investigation into these allegations. Specifically, Executive Director Mike Marshall has requested that Jessica Anderson provide the Board with any contacts that she or other Heritage Action representatives made in Iowa. Marshall has also asked the office of Gov. Kim Reynolds to search its records for any such interactions, according to the Associated Press.

    “Today, I am calling on Senator Roby Smith, Chair of the Senate’s State Government Committee, to cooperate with the investigation by the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board. If asked, Sen. Smith should turn over any records of contacts with anyone affiliated with Heritage Action, including emails, letters, messaging memos and phone records.

    “Iowans deserve to know the facts about this case and whether any laws or rules have been broken.” 

    end

  • SF 342 is misguided criminal justice legislation

    State Senator and Veteran Law Enforcement Office Speaks Out Against Misguided Criminal Legislation

    DES MOINES – State Senator Kevin Kinney of rural Oxford spoke passionately this afternoon in the Iowa Senate against legislation that he says will do harm to Iowa communities.

    “Thirty-five years ago, I got into law enforcement to help people, to protect people,” said Kinney, who recently retired as a Lieutenant in the Investigations Division of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.

    During a speech during debate on Senate File 342, Kinney said that pieces the legislation are going to hurt people in our communities.

    “It doesn’t even make sense,” he said.

    Kinney is particularly concerned about new criminal penalties that could make it unsafe for the general public during traffic stops by officers operating unmarked vehicles.

    Here’s a link to Sen. Kinney’s speech and transcript: https://youtu.be/cc9n8cpMc2w

    end

  • Statement on Biden decision to support Iowa farmers

    Statement by Senators Kevin Kinney, Amanda Ragan and Jackie Smith on Biden Administration’s decision to support Iowa farmers

    Background: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has filed a motion to vacate three waivers given by the Trump administration to Sinclair Oil Corporation refineries that exempted them from biofuel blending mandates.

    “This decision by the Biden administration is good news for the renewable fuel industry and Iowa farmers who sell to them. It reverses a terrible decision by the Trump administration to support Big Oil and dampen demand for ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable fuels.

    “We need more policies at the state and federal levels to boost – not threaten – the economic well-being of rural communities. We must boost ethanol demand, help farmers and the biofuel industry, and jump-start the farm economy.”

    Senators Kinney, Ragan and Smith are members of the Iowa Senate’s Agriculture Committee.

    -end-

  • Oversight needed on rejection of federal COVID help

    Legislators request Oversight meeting on Reynolds rejection of $95 million in federal COVID help

    The top Democrats on the Iowa Legislature’s House and Senate Oversight Committees are requesting meetings to review the Reynolds Administration’s handling of Federal COVID relief funds. 

    In a joint letter to the House and Senate Oversight Committee chairs, the top Democrats on each committee, Senator Claire Celsi of West Des Moines and Representative Ruth Ann Gaines of Des Moines, write that they were “flabbergasted to discover that Governor Reynolds sent $95 million in COVID-19 testing funding back to the U.S. Federal Government instead of giving schools the option to use it for COVID-19 testing protocols in their districts.”

    For more information, contact Senator Claire Celsi, 515-554-6754.

    -end-

  • Federal investigation needed at Anamosa, DOC

    Axne, Iowa Lawmakers Request Federal Investigation into Anamosa, DOC

    Des Moines, Iowa — Today US Rep. Cindy Axne, Iowa House Minority Leader Todd Prichard, and Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls sent a letter to federal officials requesting an independent investigation into last month’s deadly assaults at the Anamosa State Penitentiary, as well as the increasing violence within Iowa’s correctional facilities.

    In the letter to the US Attorney General and US Secretary of Labor, the Iowa lawmakers outlined the ways in which Governor Reynolds and Iowa Department of Corrections have disregarded and dismissed several warning signs leading up to this tragedy. The signs include: rising violence, prison overcrowding, staff reductions and continued budget cuts.  As two inmates attempted to escape the Anamosa State Penitentiary on March 23, they violently killed correctional officer Robert McFarland and nurse Lorena Schulte. 

    Last year, the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration (I-OSHA) issued numerous warnings and serious violations to DOC for inadequate communication and prison staffing. One I-OSHA report warned Anamosa employees did not have reliable communication equipment or adequate staff for emergency responses. Instead of fixing the problems identified, the DOC began denying state inspectors access to facilities for fair and independent safety assessments. 

    “Last month’s attack at Anamosa highlights the risks facing our workers if adequate emergency procedures and other measures are not in place to protect them. We owe it to these employees and their families to seek an independent investigation that will uncover all of the facts of this tragic incident and ensure we have clear answers for what went wrong and what can be done to better protect Iowa’s workers,” said Representative Cindy Axne.

    “This terrible tragedy should never have happened. We know the Reynolds Administration ignored the warning signs for years, failed to take action, and even proposed denying additional safety inspections in our correctional facilities. It’s time for an independent investigation that’s completely outside the control of the Reynolds Administration,” said House Minority Leader Todd Prichard.  

    “The Governor’s reaction to last month’s tragic events is yet another example of her failed leadership. How can Iowans expect Republican leaders to keep our state safe if Republicans can’t even keep state workers safe? The Reynolds Administration should have immediately requested an independent, outside investigation. Because she was unwilling to do so, today, we are calling on the Federal government to intervene and take on that responsibility. Iowans need to know the truth about what is happening in our prisons,” said Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls. 

    ###

  • Statement on tragic deaths at the Anamosa State Penitentiary

    Statement by Sen. Todd Taylor, Ranking Member of the Justice System Appropriations Subcommittee

    “The death of two prison employees at the Anamosa State Penitentiary is a horrible tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, neighbors and co-workers. In addition to ensuring that justice is served, we must also ensure that state leaders address chronic understaffing and other systemic problems at our prisons before we have more deaths.”

    – end –