Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Celebrating the right to vote

    Voting is our country’s most fundamental mode of civic participation.

    This week, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote—the 19th amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920—and with it, the ongoing march toward full equality and citizenship for all Americans.

    One-hundred years later, we have another voting rights victory to celebrate: Iowa will no longer automatically institute a lifetime ban on voting for all Iowans convicted of any felony. Iowa is the last state in the country to take this step.

    Earlier this month, Governor Reynolds issued Executive Order 7, restoring the right to vote and hold public office for thousands of Iowans who have completed their felony sentences. The Governor has also vowed to continue pushing for a constitutional amendment, which is only way to ensure the right to vote remains permanent.

    A constitutional amendment has been delayed time and again by Iowa Senate Republicans who have failed to support efforts to restore voting rights, even after their counterparts in the Iowa House secured a 95-2 vote in favor of this key bipartisan priority.

    With the General Election quickly approaching, an executive order is the best way to make heard the voices of more citizens in our communities.

    The NAACP has been active for decades in pushing for voting rights because racial disparities in our criminal justice system disproportionately impact African Americans and other people of color. To ensure the Governor’s executive order allows all eligible Iowans to vote in November’s election, the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP is calling for additional steps.

    The organization has asked Iowa the Secretary of State to immediately update voting and elections information on his website, on voter registration forms and in the state’s Voter Ready Toolkit. It’s important for all materials to accurately reflect that most people with a felony record are now eligible to register to vote and cast a ballot, and to provide the information they need to do so.

    Prepare to vote by mail

    If you haven’t already requested your vote-by-mail ballot for the November election, now is the time. More and more Iowans are voting by mail because it’s safe, quick and convenient.

    3 steps to vote by mail

    1. Make sure you are registered to vote at your current address at sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation.
    2. Fill in the vote-by-mail request form you received in the mail from the county auditor, or download one at sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/absenteeballotapp.pdf. Fill it out carefully and sign it.
    3. Mail or deliver your vote-by-mail request form to your county auditor. Their contact information is available at sos.iowa.gov/elections/auditors/auditorslist.html.

  • GOP blocked protections for vulnerable seniors; Pandemic intensified damage

    July 10, 2020

    DES MOINES — The Iowa Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Office has issued a state report showing that there was a sharp decline in Iowa nursing home facility visits, advocacy and training in a 12-month period ending September 30, 2019.

    According to a review of the report by the Iowa Capital Dispatch:
    “…of the nation’s 50 state long-term care ombudsmen, Iowa ranks last in on-site visits made to care facilities. In 2018, the Iowa office visited, at least quarterly, just 10% of all the state’s care facilities. The national average was 72%.” (https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2020/07/08/state-agency-reports-dramatic-drop-in-advocacy-for-older-iowans/)

    Iowa has a large population of vulnerable seniors living in facilities across the state. During the 2020 session of the Iowa Legislature, a broad group of Iowa organizations supported Senate File 2278, legislation which called for an adequate budget to hire more help, make regular and unannounced visits to the state’s nursing homes and cover costs of those visits.

    “It’s shameful that the Republican majority in the Senate would not move a bill that called for minimum help for our state’s elderly, who live in long-term care facilities,” said Senator Liz Mathis, the ranking member of the Senate Human Resources Committee. “Now during a pandemic, this neglect has laid bare that under-funding at a time of crisis can kill. We have lost nearly 400 Iowa seniors to coronavirus.”

    The Republicans who control the Iowa Senate chose not to hold a hearing of any kind on Senate File 2278. The bill was supported by a broad range of groups and no group registered against it.

    “We have a responsibility to our seniors to make sure there is help when they have concerns about the health care they are receiving,” said Mathis. “We used to be ranked highly among states that advocated for our elderly. Now we are last on the list and because of shortsightedness from the Majority and our most vulnerable have no voice.”


    Link to SF 2278


    -end-

  • 2020 Session Wrap-up

  • Statement by Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen on passage of Criminal Justice Reforms

    Iowa Senate News Release
    June 11, 2020

    “The death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minneapolis, has sparked protests and conversations about racial injustice in our nation.

    “Iowans are coming together as we’ve never seen before to say ‘enough is enough.’

    “Senate Democrats support these first steps because they will advance equality and justice in our state.

    “We know there is much more work to be done here in Iowa. Senate Democrats pledge to continue working to end racial profiling, enact  criminal justice reforms, and expand voting rights.

    “We also need to address racial disparities in health care, income and educational inequality, and much more.

    “Iowans are calling for social and racial justice. Senate Democrats are ready to make that a reality, and we are so happy to make a first step today in a bipartisan manner.”

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    Summary of Senate File 2416, which passed the Iowa Senate June 11, 2020.

    • DIVISION I – Attorney General authority to investigate when officer causes a death
    • DIVISION II – Prohibition on use of chokeholds by officers – adds prohibition and definition
    • DIVISION III – Officers from other states, including reserve officers, applying for jobs in Iowa and Iowa applicants, revocation or suspension
    • DIVISION IV – Requiring de-escalation and prevention of bias training

  • Boulton: Solutions to racial injustice must be new

    By State Senator Nate Boulton

    The last couple weeks have been heart-wrenching.

    We cannot forget the utter horror of seeing a black man in a midwestern city having the life literally crushed out of him so casually by an officer who refused to acknowledge his pleas or those of the witnesses to his killing. Over the course of nine minutes–Nine, stone-cold minutes. Three of those minutes where George Floyd didn’t move. Not a flinch. And not a moment of concern, let alone an attempt at aid, by the officer. In those nine minutes, it is undeniable: George Floyd was a black life that did not matter. Just nine minutes of deadly indifference.

    That indifference is also starkly symbolic. We cannot pretend that this is a new problem, a unique problem, or that it is going away. We also cannot pretend that the problems of a growing mental health crisis and escalations of gun violence have not made police work today exceptionally dangerous.

    Our city, state, and nation are struggling with what is broken in our society. Racial injustice isn’t new, but our solutions absolutely must be. We have seen powerful, poignant moments. A peaceful, massive assembly has inspired new conversations. It also inspired a powerful and real emotion for some: anger.

    We have seen people rise to the occasion, like Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, who has stood between the crowds and police. We’ve seen our police officers put in the awful position of being the subject of protest as they fulfill their sworn duty to protect our community. We need them. They, too, have felt the horrific sting of senseless murder.

    Just three years ago, we saw two police officers here lose their lives after they were targeted and shot dead simply because they wore the shield of protection and service on their chests. We need good people in our police force to keep our communities and neighborhoods safe, and we need to find ways to heal these wounds and right these wrongs to get there.

    This moment, awful as it is, can be an opportunity. Elected representatives of the people are duty bound to lift their voices and promote well-being. Those who are hurting should be able to turn to their government as a partner, not an adversary, in making their lives better.

    We need to root out implicit bias in our judicial system and eradicate the racial injustices that have led us to disproportionate rates of incarceration and poverty in our state’s racial and ethnic minority communities. Disparities cannot continue in education and health care. In short, we have a lot of work ahead of us in this state.

    I and Representative Ruth Ann Gaines are working now to plan community meetings in our neighborhoods to listen, collaborate on solutions, and offer new legislation to help make tomorrow a better day for Iowa. We must seek to understand each other, heal the wounds, and unite to create a better path forward for our city, state, and nation.

  • Petersen: Let’s give Iowans a healthier way to restart the economy

    By State Senator Janet Petersen

    Iowans have made big sacrifices to protect our families, friends and neighbors.

    Businesses have been forced to close, people were laid off, and many parents are now at-home teachers—all while keeping a distance from the kind of community and family support we count on during a crisis.

    And then there’s the lack of leadership at the top.

    Save grandma or save the economy. Save Iowans working in meatpacking plants or save protein. Protect privacy or protect virus-outbreak data. Protect health or protect freedom of religion. Save Iowa’s economy or save ourselves.

    These are false choices. Even Governor Reynolds knows it.

    Yet, the Governor and Republican legislators continue to deliver narratives that are heavy on spin and light on facts and data.

    Ignoring the warnings of health experts is more than dangerous. It’s deadly for our health and economy.

    Iowa hasn’t flattened the curve. The number of COVID-19 cases is still increasing, and nationally ranked hotspots are popping up all over the state.

    Despite the numbers and the clear warnings from health experts in Iowa and across the country, Governor Reynolds is distancing Iowans from the facts with ribbon-cutting rhetoric.

    Instead, Iowans deserve:

    COVID-19 REPORTING WE CAN TRUST: Iowans need daily access to ZIP Code-specific COVID-19 numbers. Data from the botched Test Iowa program is giving us inaccurate information on cases, deaths, hospitalizations and contact tracing. It is unacceptable that the Governor is allowing workplaces to hide COVID-19 outbreak information from employees, customers and the public. 

    ACCURATE, ACCESSIBLE & TIMELY TESTING: Nebraska legislators are calling for their Governor to put the kibosh on the failed Test Nebraska program. Governor Reynolds’s $26 million no-bid, no-results Test Iowa program is a failure. Iowans deserve access to testing and contact tracing in all 99 counties, every day. Local county health departments should be in charge of running testing and contact-tracing programs. 

    WORKPLACE & SAFETY NET POLICIES TO PREVENT SUPER-SPREAD: Keeping Iowans safe will require new policies that incentivize people to stay home instead of spread COVID-19 because they are pressured to go to work. We need a better safety net, more accountability for taxpayer dollars, and an end to sweetheart deals for campaign donors.

    SAFE ACCESS TO FOOD, HEALTH CARE & DEMOCRACY: One of the easiest ways to make sure Iowans don’t go hungry is to expand nutrition assistance programs. They help families access food, while providing business for our local grocery stores and farmers. The Legislature also should extend telemedicine parity so that Iowans can get health care no matter where they live. And we ought to access federal aid to help more Iowans safely vote from home in the November general election. 

    ACCESS TO BROADBAND & TECHNOLOGY: Finally, the first day back to school will look completely different than what we’ve seen in our lifetimes. That’s why every Iowa family and child needs access to broadband and technology. Let’s expand Iowa’s networks. It will pay off in many ways for decades to come.

    It is time to give Iowans confidence that the decisions to reopen ourbusinesses, local schools, childcare facilities, and houses of worship are based on data and common sense, not polling. Our lives and our economy depend upon it. 

    Senator Janet Petersen of Des Moines is the Senate Democratic Leader

  • Petersen: Need transparency in fight against COVID-19

    By Janet Petersen, Iowa Senate Democratic leader

    When trouble hits our state, Iowans want leaders who talk straight and make sure all Iowans can be part of the solution.

    That’s true when we are helping fellow Iowans recover from flooding, tornadoes and other natural disasters. And it’s certainly true of our efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

    If we are not all pulling in the same direction, that hurts everyone.

    Last fall, I had a conversation with a member of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ team who was refusing to invite lawmakers to attend a Maternal Health Summit to discuss such dangerous trends as labor and delivery departments shuttering across the state at record speed.

    I reminded him, “You are the Department of Public Health, not the Department of Private Health.”

    Like many Iowans, I was frustrated. I could see our health care infrastructure crumbling, and the Reynolds administration was continuing its alarming pattern of not sharing information.

    Since the for-profit privatized Medicaid program began, Iowa’s health care infrastructure has taken a beating. Iowa’s nursing homes, rural hospitals, ambulance services and public transportation services, and mental health providers were already financially reeling before COVID-19 crossed our state’s borders.

    The onset of this pandemic was like pouring lighter fluid on Iowa’s financially shaky health care system. In this perfect storm, the virus could trigger a wider health care disaster.

    It’s impacted our everyday lives, our jobs, our paychecks, our education, and our future.  It’s gone from being a public health crisis to a full-blown economic crisis, too.

    Fortunately, Iowans want to be part of the solution. That requires more Iowans knowing what is going on.  We deserve straightforward leadership that includes timely, accurate data, and clear directions.

    Iowa should take lessons from leaders in states who are doing things right.

    Governors who have been clear in their message and have had tough conversations with the people they represent about what to do to beat the virus are seeing better results. Most important, they’ve acted quickly to save lives, knowing that time matters.

    Leaders shouldn’t keep people in the dark. There is no reason to withhold knowledge of COVID-19 cases from Iowans who share the same living space or workspace with those infected. Iowa families with relatives in nursing facilities and meatpacking plants deserve to know immediately if their loved ones are being exposed.

    Iowans are frustrated that Reynolds is basing her decision-making on a “mystery model” instead of the scientific modeling that other states are using, especially when they are seeing better results elsewhere.

    Iowans deserve to know the governor’s plan for testing. The lack of widespread testing may give some a false belief that COVID-19 is not going to hit our state as hard as it has hit other states. The truth is that the continued lack of widespread testing and contact tracing puts us at greater risk than states with more aggressive testing measures.

    Our continued shortage of personal protective equipment should have more Iowans sounding the alarm because it’s putting our front-line workforce in danger.

    Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis will not be simple, but we can get there sooner with bold leadership, better information, and more confidence that everything possible is being done to protect the health and safety of all Iowans.

    Iowans want to be part of the solution. We want to help our front-line workforce. We want to protect our friends and neighbors. Most important, we want more sunshine, especially from the governor and her team.

  • Enhancing communities through land banks

    By State Sen. Pam Jochum, Dubuque (Senate District 50)

    Iowa communities may soon have a new tool to spur affordable housing, local investment and economic growth.

    Bipartisan legislation (SF 2369) establishing “land banks” has passed the Senate Local Government Committee. Land banks are public-private partnerships to rehabilitate rundown, vacant and tax-delinquent properties for productive use.

    This has been a priority for many in Dubuque. I appreciate the local advocacy and all who have traveled to the Statehouse to speak up for land bank legislation.

    The Local Government Committee made great progress to ensure this program can improve housing in blighted areas. Members listened to the input of organizations like Habitat for Humanity, local governments, and legal and financial experts to make sure this initiative will work well for all concerned.

    Vacant and abandoned properties signal a community is in decline. They can be magnets for crime, pose health and safety risks, and lower property values throughout the neighborhood.

    For communities and local governments committed to redevelopment and reuse, SF 2369 addresses some of the challenges they’ve faced.

    Under the legislation, local governments can create a public agency to purchase abandoned or blighted properties at a special tax sale and contract with private organizations to rehabilitate the sites. The land bank may rent or sell the renovated properties, and the money they make will go back into the pot to continue buying and fixing up additional properties.

    Renovated properties may be sold as homes, rented as apartments, turned into restaurants, offices or stores—and much more. It’s great for the local economy because it takes problem properties and turns them into assets.

  • Iowa courts innovate to improve lives

    Iowa’s court system continues to pursue innovative approaches that provide effective and timely justice to Iowans.

    Many of these initiatives got their start under the leadership of former Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady, who died unexpectedly in November.

    Acting Chief Justice David Wiggins highlighted these accomplishments and paid tribute to Cady, when he addressed legislators in his Condition of the Judiciary presentation Wednesday. Iowa’s court system became one of the most respected in the country under Cady.  

    Iowa has developed specialized courts to address the specific needs of Iowans and their communities. These problem-solving courts include drug courts, mental health courts and veterans’ courts. Judges, treatment professionals, lawyers and service agencies form treatment teams to help Iowans address their underlying problems. Instead of going to prison, most problem-solving court graduates leave with a job, a support system and a better chance to succeed in life.

    Family treatment courts keep drug-affected families together by helping parents understand how their substance abuse issues impact their parenting. A Fast Track probation violation program in Waterloo provides swift sanctions to simple misdemeanor probation violators. This gives them consistent, timely consequences so that they can return to their families and jobs, while avoiding unnecessary jail time.

    Iowa even has business courts, which handle complex civil business cases. For example, the Judicial Branch, with the help of the Drake Law School Agricultural Law Center, reaches out to farmers to share how disputes can be better resolved with the help of business courts designed to meet their needs. 

    A recent $500,000 grant from the Department of Justice will allow Iowa to continue improving its specialty courts. Along with adequate budget support from the Legislature, our courts can expand proven justice and corrections efforts throughout the state.

  • 2020 Session Must Fix Iowa’s Medical Cannabis Program

    (Des Moines)  Improved health care for tens of thousands of Iowans depends on passing major reforms of Iowa’s medical cannabis program during the 2020 session according to two legislative leaders on this issue.

    At a statehouse news conference today, Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City and Representative John Forbes of Urbandale listed reasons why the 2020 session will determine whether Iowa’s struggling medical cannabis program is able to improve.

    “Time is running out.  Recreational cannabis sales in Illinois will soon be undercutting Iowa’s legal, regulated medical cannabis businesses,” said Senator Bolkcom.  “As that program expands, it threatens the goal of making affordable, regulated medicines available to Iowans regardless of where they live.”

    For the last six years, legislators have debated various efforts to establish a working medical cannabis program. 

    “Iowa’s state government has so far failed to meet the needs of Iowans,” said Representative Forbes, an Urbandale pharmacist.  “Today, less than 4,000 Iowans have managed to become approved to legally purchase medicines made from cannabis.  That’s far less than the number that could be helped and not nearly enough to create a viable system.  The vast majority of all Americans live in states that have successfully created regulated, affordable, sustainable medical cannabis programs.  Why not Iowa?”

    In 2019, the Iowa House and Senate overwhelmingly approved major reforms to Iowa’s medical cannabis program.  The reforms would have expanded the number of conditions and made other changes that would have made Iowa’s program more similar to successful programs in other states.  After the session ended, Governor Reynolds unexpectedly vetoed that legislation.  Republicans, who control both chambers, unanimously refused to override Reynold’s veto.

    “Eliminating Iowa’s current 3% cap on the level of THC is very important for some patients with severe medical conditions,” said Representative Forbes.  “Adopting the standard of a 25 grams/90 days purchase cap would provide effective, affordable medication and put Iowa in line with what other states have done.””

    “When faced with serious, life threatening medical conditions, Iowans want better choices than opiods and other potentially dangerous drugs,” said Bolkcom.  “In just the first half of 2019, Iowa doctors wrote 850,000 prescriptions for narcotics.  Why are we preventing Iowans from having access to less dangerous alternatives?”

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    Representative John Forbes and Senator Joe Bolkcom argue for reforms to Iowa’s “worst in the nation” medical cannabis program in a news conference at the Iowa Statehouse on Friday, November 15, 2019.

    Key reforms for Iowa’s “Worst in the Nation” Medical Cannabis Program

    • Eliminate the 3% THC cap and adopt a 25 grams/90 days purchase cap to provide effective, affordable medicine.
    • Add additional chronic conditions, including PTSD. (See the list from SF 506, the legislation overwhelmingly approved last year by the Iowa House and Senate.)
    • Allow twelve more dispensaries, particularly in small towns and rural Iowa.
    • Allow other practitioners, such as PAs, ARNPs and podiatrists, to certify medical conditions.
    • Revise the membership of the Advisory Board to include at least three medical cannabis patients.
    • Eliminate the Iowa Department of Transportation from the cannabis card process and allow IDPH to issue cards directly. Lower the cost to apply for a card to $25.
    • Eliminate the Iowa Board of Medicine from the process of getting approval for new conditions and cannabis products.
    • Add additional chronic conditions, including PTSD. (See the list from SF 506, the legislation overwhelmingly approved last year by the Iowa House and Senate.)

    Additional Conditions for Iowa’s Medical Cannabis Program

    Stop forcing sick Iowans to come to the Capitol and beg legislators for treatment options that could help them.

    Instead, Iowa should simply adopt the conditions covered by most other states.  That would mean adding the conditions listed below.

    • Glaucoma
    • Hepatitis C
    • Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
    • Post-traumatic stress disorder
    • Tourette’s syndrome
    • Muscular dystrophy
    • Huntington’s disease
    • Alzheimer’s disease
    • Complex regional pain syndrome, type I and II
    • Rheumatoid arthritis
    • Polyarteritis nodosa