Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Spread the word about abuse hotline

    The Iowa Attorney General’s office recently established a new toll-free hotline for adult survivors to report child sexual abuse.

    This is an important step to ensure that survivors of child sex abuse get the justice they deserve.  Iowans will be safer when we know the truth about sex offenders among us and better understand how to prevent child sex abuse.

    You can help by promoting this hotline so that more survivors know that they can seek justice.

    I encourage you to distribute information about the hotline — 855-620-7000 – to your employees, stakeholders and clients/customers, and any other Iowans that you connect with. Spread the word via:

    • Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media
    • Websites
    • Bulletin boards
    • Staff meetings
    • Any public meetings
    • Public service announcements

    Feel free to download and use this flyer and social media graphic!

    It’s going to take a team effort by religious organizations, nonprofits, governmental agencies, businesses and news media to get the word out. I appreciate anything you can do to ensure more adult survivors of child sexual abuse know there is help and hope.

  • Statement on AG’s decision regarding clergy sex abuse

    IA SEN NEWS
    June 3, 2019

    On May 22, Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen joined survivors of childhood sexual abuse in calling for extending Iowa’s criminal and civil statutes of limitations. Iowa should be the safest place in the country to raise a child. Instead, Iowa is tied with Ohio for having the worst civil and criminal statute of limitations laws in the country for child sexual abuse, according to ChildUSA. We must work in a bipartisan way to create a pathway to justice for survivors, ensure accountability for predators, and make our communities safer.

    Statement by Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen on Iowa Attorney General’s decision by regarding clergy sexual abuse in Iowa

    “Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has taken two steps in the right direction today by requesting records on clergy abuse from Catholic dioceses in Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque and Sioux City; and by establishing a hotline — 855-620-7000 — for survivors to call and report abuse.

    “I am grateful for the many survivors of child sex abuse who have stepped forward to tell their stories and to advocate for justice. 

    “It’s important that we continue to listen to survivors to fix Iowa’s laws.  Survivors of child sex abuse deserve a pathway to justice.  Iowans, and our children especially, will be safer when we know the truth about sex offenders among us and have a better understanding of how to prevent child sex abuse.

    “While the Attorney General’s request of the Catholic dioceses was limited only to clergy, I am hopeful he will expand the scope of the investigation to include any sex abuse reported in their dioceses.  I am also hopeful additional investigations will ensue based on information uncovered through the hotline.

    “The Legislature must work next session to pass meaningful legislation to remove Iowa’s criminal and civil statute of limitations and give adult survivors a five-year period to seek justice. I will also support legislation to give the Attorney General expanded powers to go after sexual predators and organizations that cover up the crime.”

    – end –

    NOTE: For more information about the newly established hotline — 855-620-7000 — for survivors to report abuse, please visit this website: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/IACIO/bulletins/248ef66

    Trained advocates will be available to gather information from survivors.

    An investigator will review the reports and may seek additional information. The identities of survivors will remain confidential.

  • HWY 20 shows the promise of rural Iowa investments

    IOWA SENATE NEWS
    October 18, 2018

    Statement on the completed expansion of Highway 20 by State Senator Tod Bowman of Maquoketa, current Ranking Member and former Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee

    “It’s been decades in the making, but we finally have a four-lane highway across northern Iowa between Dubuque and Sioux City.

    “There will be a ribbon cutting in western Iowa for the completion of Highway 20 on Friday. I’ll be teaching in Maquoketa at that time, but I will still be celebrating this important investment in rural Iowa.

    “Safe, efficient roads for Iowans, travelers and commerce have been top priorities over my last eight years on the Senate Transportation Committee. We’ve accomplished a lot in that time through bipartisan efforts focused on making Iowa the best place to live, work and do business.

    “Expanding Highway 20 already has brought more traffic to the communities it passes through and has helped relieve congestion on I-80 by providing another convenient route across the state for people and freight.

    “It will continue to create opportunities for manufacturing, agriculture, services, recreation and tourism—all of which create jobs, boost our economy and improve our quality of life.

    “This and other infrastructure investments—like high-speed Internet—are critical to get Iowa’s economy going again, especially in our small towns and rural areas.”

     

    – end –

  • Two new laws will help protect your credit

    1. Credit reporting agencies cannot charge fees when you freeze checks on your credit reports 

    In the Equifax security breach last year, hackers stole Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and other personal information from 1.1 million Iowans.

    Wary of identity theft, many consumers requested a freeze on their credit reports. They then learned that they had to pay a fee to get the freeze and pay again if they wanted to lift the freeze. Iowans have been paying some of the highest freeze-related fees in the nation, according to the state Attorney General.

    This year, we banned Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and other credit reporting agencies from charging fees when Iowans freeze checks on their credit reports (SF 2177). Freezing prevents anyone, including an identity thief, from opening a new line of credit in your name. If you need to apply for a credit card, loan or job that requires a background check, you can have the freeze lifted, even temporarily.

     

    2. Tougher penalties for criminals who use technology to steal your credit card

    We’re also cracking down on illegally using technology to steal payment card information (HF 2199).

    Criminals can access your credit and debit cards remotely through your clothes, wallet or purse, or place nearly undetectable “skimming devices” on gas pumps and other card readers that steal your information. Your card information can even be transferred to another card for the thieves to use later.

    It is now a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison to use a scanning device to take payment card information without authorization, or to use an encoding machine to transfer information from one card to another. In addition, it will be an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison to possess a scanning device intended to obtain payment card information without authorization.

     

    Find helpful tips to avoid credit card fraud and identity theft on the Iowa Attorney General’s website. 

  • 2018 End-of-Session Report

    The Democratic plan for 2018 calls for Putting Iowans First

    • Investing in public schools & preventing more school closures
    • Keeping job training & college affordable for all Iowans
    • Making child care more affordable for working parents & those training for better jobs
    • Raising wages for Iowans
    • Increasing use of renewable energy & fuels
    • Revitalizing rural Iowa with good jobs & a great quality of life
    • Examining tax breaks for big, out-of-state corporations that put the state budget in the red & don’t create Iowa jobs
    • Requiring the Senate GOP to pay for their $1.75 million sexual harassment suit instead of taxpayers
    • Ending privatized Medicaid, especially for our most vulnerable Iowans
    • Keeping health care affordable & accessible for all Iowans
    • Fixing & investing in Iowa’s mental health system
    • Cleaning up the corruption & cronyism in state government


     Gov. Reynolds & Republican lawmakers: Misplaced priorities & mismanagement

    • Instituting the most restrictive abortion ban in the country (SF 359)
    • Slashing investment in skilled worker initiatives (SF 2117, HF 2493)
    • Making record-low investments in public schools (HF 2230)
    • Sending more money to out‐of‐state, for‐profit online schools (SF 475)
    • Raising tuition & reducing opportunities with millions in mid‐year cuts to community colleges & state universities (SF 2117)
    • Allowing unregulated health care plans that can deny people based on pre‐existing conditions (SF 2349)
    • Reducing services at county courthouses with mid‐year cuts (SF 2117)
    • Cutting $4.3 million from an already strapped Department of Human Services (SF 2117)
    • Eliminating protections in current gun ownership laws (HJR 2009)
    • Banning sanctuary cities even though Iowa doesn’t have any (SF 481)
    • Putting Iowans’ safety at risk with lower inspection standards (HF 2297)
    • Cutting energy efficiency programs & discriminating against renewable energy options (SF 2311)
    • Passing a huge tax giveaway that overwhelmingly benefits corporations & the wealthy (SF 2417)
    • Failing to extend funding for school infrastructure & providing more than $100 million in property tax relief with SAVE (HF 2481)
    • Failing to take advantage of industrial help as a promising agricultural commodity (SF 2398)
    • Allowing doctors to give incomplete information to pregnant women (SF 2418)

     

    Several bipartisan bills were approved

    • Requiring ignition interlocks & no temporary license restrictions for OWIs (HF 2338)
    • Ensuring health care coverage for telemedicine services (HF 2305)
    • Expanding mental health services for complex needs (HF 2456)
    • Expanding Move Over law to make the roads safer (HF 2304)
    • Expanding consumer security freezes to protect credit (SF 2177)
    • Expanding Safe Haven laws (SF 360)
    • Helping more veterans by expanding the Veterans Trust Fund (SF 2366)
    • Creating security plans for all Iowa schools (SF 2364)
    • Prohibiting shaming of students who can’t pay for their lunch (HF 2467)
    • Protecting student athletes with new concussion protocols (HF 2442)
    • Requiring suicide prevention training for school employees (SF 2113)
    • Cracking down on electronic forms of identity theft (HF 2199)
    • Licensing for genetic counselors (SF 2228) & autism counselors (SF 192)
    • Enhancing funding for EMS transportation (HF 2285) & 911 HF 2254)
    • Establishing Future Ready plan to train more skilled workers (HF 2458)
    • Expanding work background checks for those with access to personal info (HF 2321, HF 637)
    • Cracking down on electronic eavesdropping (HF 2392)
    • Expanding help through Crime Victims Compensation Fund (SF 2165)
    • Giving schools (HF 2441) & communities (SF 2258) flexibility with certain funding to meet local needs
    • Improving teaching for those with dyslexia (SF 2360)
    • Approving a plan to start combatting Iowa’s opioid crisis (HF 2377)
    • Providing sharing incentives for schools to improve efficiency & save money (HF 633)
    • Protecting the privacy of student data (HF 2354)
    • Taking a first step toward fairer funding for rural schools with high transportation costs (SF 455)

     

    Good news: These GOP bills failed

    • Raising property taxes & reducing local services by ending the state’s property tax backfill for local governments & school districts (SF 2420)
    • Shifting $200 million from public schools to private & home schools through vouchers (SF 2091)
    • Eliminating the Iowa Department of Public Health (HF 2017)
    • Reinstating the death penalty (SF 335)
    • Instituting political discrimination for university faculty (SF 288)
    • Intimidating abortion providers to limit health care choices for women (SF 26)
    • Ending retirement security for public employees, including teachers, fire fighter, & police officers (IPERS, PORS & 411) (SF 45)
    • Defining abortion as murder, even in cases of rape or incest (SF 54)
    • Putting Bible literacy classes in public schools (HF 2031)
    • Removing gender identity protections from Iowa Civil Rights Code (HF 2164)
    • Making Iowa Supreme Court Justices part‐time & paying them like lawmakers (HF 2036)
    • Giving Iowans a “license to discriminate” against fellow citizens who are different from them (SF 2338)
    • Creating new requirements & drug testing for recipients of Medicaid, FIP & SNAP, while limiting food items (SF 2370)
    • Requiring a super‐majority vote for Iowa Supreme Court decisions (SF 2282)
    • Ending state accreditation for community colleges (SF 2272)
    • Extending school bus riding times for K-12 students (SF 2137)

  • Workers Memorial Day: We stand with Iowa workers

    April 28 is Workers’ Memorial Day, a time to remember those who died in Iowa workplaces and while serving in the military. It is also a time to renew our commitment to safe, healthy jobs.

    This year, we honor the 32 Iowans who died from injuries sustained while working in 2017, and reflect on the toll workplace injuries take on Iowa families and communities.

    Since 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) has promised everyone the right to a safe job. Over the years, workers, unions and other advocates have fought to eliminate hazards and save lives.

    Those gains are now threatened by efforts to overturn worker protections at the state and federal levels, and cuts to safe-workplace enforcement.

    In Iowa, we have seen an all-out attack over the last 15 months that has left workers in often-precarious situations with little power to help themselves. The bad news is that new Iowa laws have:

    • Hurt 185,000 families and their communities by prohibiting public workers from collectively negotiating terms of employment, including safety (HF 291).
    • Cut protections for Iowans hurt on the job through no fault of their own, reduced an employer’s liability for injuries, and encouraged employers and insurance carriers to avoid paying claims (HF 518).
    • Made it extremely difficult for Iowans who are sick or dying from asbestos exposure to be adequately compensated for their pain and suffering (SF 376).
    • Weakened inspections of commercial boilers, which can cause severe injury or even death if they explode (HF 2297).

    We voted against this legislation and continue to stand up to the attacks on hard-working Iowans. We won’t support threats to the safety of Iowa workers—the engine that drives our economy.

  • Statement on deferred confirmation vote for DHS Director

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release:  March 7, 2018

    Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen on deferred confirmation vote for DHS Director

    “We made a reasonable request today to delay the confirmation vote on Jerry Foxhoven until we can fully assess his leadership at the Iowa Department of Human Services.

    “First, there’s no need to rush this important decision. The deadline to deal with confirmations isn’t until April 15.

    “Second, there are too many unresolved problems with the privatization of Medicaid services by the Reynolds Administration. This is particularly concerning because Governor Reynolds promised in her Condition of the State address this year that Jerry Foxhoven and other new members of her team would:

    • Resolve issues for caregivers ‘in a timely manner and ensure on-time payments.’
    • Reach patients in ‘new and innovative ways to individualize their care.’
    • ‘Make it right.’

    “There’s no evidence today that she has kept those promises or has a plan for addressing the concerns of Medicaid recipients, health care providers and Iowa taxpayers.

    “In addition, Senate Democrats have concerns related to:

    • Plans to turn the Iowa State Training School for Boys in Eldora into a correctional facility.
    • Foxhoven failing to raise red flags about the impact of mid-year budget cuts on critical services provided by the Department of Human Services.
    • Doubts about the state’s ability to ensure the health and safety of vulnerable Iowa children.”

    -end-

     

  • Legislators offer next steps to improve child welfare

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: July 6, 2017


    Postponing Oversight until the next tragedy is NOT ACCEPTABLE

    Legislators fear more children under state care will suffer due to inaction by Republican leaders of the Legislature’s oversight committees.

    On June 5, the Iowa House and Senate Government Oversight Committees officially met to consider failures to protect children in state care. That meeting came in response to the horrific deaths of Natalie Finn and Sabrina Ray, and after months of public pressure and unofficial meetings organized by Senate Democrats.

    Following the June 5 meeting, State Senators Matt McCoy and Janet Petersen, members of the Senate Government Oversight Committee, sent the committee’s Republican co-chairs a letter outlining steps needed to better protect at-risk children.

    The following month, there has been no response.

    “Do the Iowa Legislature’s Republican leaders really plan to wait until another child dies before they take this issue seriously?” asked Senator McCoy. “The Oversight Committee’s job is to prepare fundamental, effective recommendations and reforms for passage during the next legislative session. So far, Republican legislators have only made things worse with deep cuts to human services.”

    The Iowa Department of Human Services recently announced that it had hired an out-of-state consultant to help review its child protective system. Senate Democrats believe Iowans deserve an independent review from the Government Oversight Committee.

    “The Department of Human Services shouldn’t be in charge of overseeing its own review,” said Senator Petersen. “It is clear the state of Iowa is not protecting our children when we have two unrelated situations where a child was adopted out of state foster care, isolated in an unregulated homeschool setting and starved to death. If that doesn’t warrant a Government Oversight investigation, I’m at a loss for what does.”

    Below are the steps McCoy and Petersen have suggested to ensure the safety of Iowa’s most vulnerable kids. They include:

    • Monthly Government Oversight meetings during the interim
    • Making sure all child protective workers can discuss concerns without retaliation
    • Addressing the problems that lead to thousands of reports of abuse going unchecked
    • Preventing further budget cuts to DHS child protective services
    • Requiring all foster care children to attend public or private schools
    • Requiring all homeschooled children to register yearly with the Department of Education and have an annual physical exam.

    A copy of the letter sent to the co-chairs of the Legislature’s State Government Oversight Committee is available at http://wp.me/a8aBRy-66c .

    ************************************

    Senator Matt McCoy and Senator Janet Petersen – Necessary Next Steps for Protecting Iowa Children

    At the first Joint Government Oversight Committee meeting held by the Republican legislative majorities, we learned the Iowa Department of Human Services is planning to hire an out-of-state consultant to help them review their own department after the horrific deaths of two Iowa girls who were adopted out of our state’s foster care system and starved to death in completely unregulated “homeschool” settings.

    It has been four weeks since the Government Oversight Committee adjourned.  We have yet to hear from the committee’s co-chairs Senator Breitbach and Rep. Kaufmann about plans for additional hearings.

    The Government Oversight Committee should continue to explore innovative solutions to prevent children from falling through the cracks in our system.

    Iowa children deserve the chance to grow up in safe and loving homes.  We can make that happen.

     

    Senator Matt McCoy and Senator Janet Petersen propose the following:

    • Monthly Government Oversight meetings during the interim to review the progress of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and to hear from the DHS review team, parent groups, frontline DHS workers, Department of Education, home schooling coordinators, patrol officers, Child Welfare Advisory Committee, Iowa Child Death Review Team and current and future vendors who hold contracts with DHS.
    • The Department’s review with an external partner they are hiring is not an autonomous process and should not replace the legislature’s need to review as well.

     

    We call on the newly appointed Department of Human Services Director, Jerry Foxhoven, to do the following:

    • Fix the system: Child protective workers do not have the ability to speak up about problems impacting the safety of our children, foster parents, and even themselves, without the risk of getting fired.  Ensure all child protective workers are protected to speak out and discuss problems openly without retaliation.  Employees shouldn’t have to worry about getting fired for speaking the truth about budget cuts, policies or problems.
    • Fix the system: Thousands of reports of abuse go unchecked because they are rejected at Iowa’s centralized intake center.  The centralized intake system takes away local relationships and knowledge that may be helpful on reported cases.
    • Fix the system: DHS is denying a larger numbers of abuse calls.  If a caregiver is not involved, the case is not accepted even though it may clearly be a case of abuse.  If not enough information is provided, it is denied.  It is unclear if criminal cases are referred to law enforcement.  Proper checks and balances – including tracking these rejected cases – are not in place.

     

    We call on Governor Reynolds to do the following immediately:

    • Protect our children: A thorough review of case plans to ensure we know where these kids are and get safety nets reestablished.
    • Protect our children: Child protective workers are overworked and carry unmanageable caseloads.  The department is dangerously understaffed.  Several Iowa counties don’t even have one caseworker.  Some case workers must cover multiple counties.  Governor Reynolds should transfer funds to ensure DHS child protective services do not suffer another funding blow.
    • Protect our children: Iowa’s law that removed any regulation on homeschooling has given bad parents the power to isolate abuse and starve children.  The department has no idea how many Iowa foster children are in these types of settings.  Immediately direct the Department of Human Services to require all foster care children to attend public or private school. IOWA KIDS MUST NOT FALL OFF THE RADAR.
    • Protect our children: All homeschool children should be registered annually with the Department of Education and get a physical exam turned in before school year begins.
    • Protect our children: Make sure Iowa’s foster care children are getting the same educational opportunities as other Iowa kids.  As Governor Reynolds stated back in 2016 in a letter to the editor, “In a knowledge-based, global economy, the careers of today and tomorrow demand stronger skills, including science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.  All students need to finish high school ready for college or career training. This begins with regular attendance in school.”

    end

     

  • Latest state deficit figures show GOP budget is ‘out of whack’ and hurting Iowa families

    A statement from Senator Joe Bolkcom, ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee:

    “Iowa is not in a recession. Iowa is experiencing slow revenue growth because the policies of Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans are out of whack. Delaying tax refunds for Iowa families and other gimmicks will not solve this budget mess.

    “Republicans must stop showering tens of millions on large tax giveaways to out-of-state corporations.  These tax giveaways now top $500 million annually and are the fastest growing part of the state spending.
    “The really bad news is that Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans are balancing the budget on the backs of working Iowans. Senate Democrats will continue to oppose Republican-sponsored cuts to the services that Iowans depend on.  These cuts threaten public safety, the quality of education, and the safety net for seniors, children and vulnerable Iowans.
    “These cuts to services could have been avoided if Republican legislators and Governor Reynolds had delivered on their promises to increase family income by 25% and create more than 200,000 new jobs in Iowa.
    “So far, working Iowans have seen nothing but broken promises and horrible cuts to state services from Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans.”
    – end –

  • Gov. Reynolds: Convince Pres. Trump to stop Iowa health care disaster

    June 21, 2017

    (Open letter from Senator Joe Bolkcom to Governor Kim Reynolds)

    Dear Governor Reynolds:

    Today, you will have an opportunity to speak one-on-one with President Trump in Cedar Rapids.

    I support your announced plan to raise the issue of Iowa’s failing individual insurance market.  However, that issue is only one part of Iowa’s health care problems.

    Governor Reynolds, you must be aware that the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress is rushing to send President Trump health care legislation.  This legislation will devastate Iowa families, Iowa health care providers, the State of Iowa’s budget, and the Iowa economy.

    That’s why Iowans are counting on you to convince President Trump to oppose this impending disaster.  Here are some of the reasons why the Republican health care bills are so bad for all Iowans:

    1. Proposed cuts to Medicaid expansion threaten health care for 150,000 Iowans.
    2. More Iowans will be living without health insurance. There will be more uninsured charity care, care that is less effective, more costly, and will increase everyone’s health care costs.
    3. Older Iowans, who make up an increasingly large share of Iowa’s population, will be hit especially hard by these changes.
    4. Cuts, caps or block granting federal Medicaid spending will cost the state of Iowa hundreds of millions of dollars.
    5. Health care providers will be paid less. It will be harder to recruit and keep qualified doctors, nurses and other caregivers, especially in Iowa’s small towns and rural communities.
    6. Health care is a large part of Iowa’s economy. Health care layoffs and wage cuts will hurt all sorts of Iowa businesses and weaken our economy.

    Iowa’s response must be bipartisan. That’s why at tomorrow’s meeting of the Legislative Council, I will propose that we create a special legislative interim committee to examine Iowa’s health care crisis and offer solutions.

    This committee would look at proposed Medicaid cuts, the collapse of the individual market, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and the impact on the state budget.

    Governor Reynolds, please use your influence with President Trump to make sure Iowans can keep their health insurance, to protect rural hospitals and health care providers, and to prevent a devastating blow to Iowa’s economy.

    I hope you will return to Des Moines with some good news.  We need some right now.

     

    Signed,

    Joe Bolkcom

    State Senator

    PDF of letter to Gov Reynolds