DES MOINS — Week 14 ended last week with the Iowa House debating eight bills on April 15th and 18 bills on April 17th. Of these, eleven were unanimous, 12 were bipartisan, and three bills voted by party line.
On Tuesday, we passed for the second time House File 969, after it was amended by the senate. This bill finally goes to Governor Kim Reynolds’ desk after years of being debated and amended. It will help protect firefighters by expanding coverage of more types of cancer than the current 14 types listed for the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement and the Special Services Members of IPERS. Firefighters and their relatives have been at the Capitol many times to advocate for this bill. We thank them for protecting us, and this bill will help protect them.
On Thursday, one of the bills passed by the house was Senate File 369. This bill requires high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship and immigration services naturalization civics test that’s given to prospective citizens. Students who intend to earn their high school equivalency diploma will also need to pass this. Also, students will be allowed as many times as necessary to pass the test anytime from 9th grade through 12th, which will be a minimum 60% for all students.
An NBC poll found a very disappointing 36% of American adults could pass this test, seen here: . Students need to know the very basics of our government and country to make better informed decisions later in life. According to , 13 states currently require taking a civics test for high school graduation. The senate passed this bill and half of the democrats voted in favor. The house passed the bill with only two democrats voting in favor. It now goes to Gov. Reynolds for her consideration.
Also going to Gov. Reynolds for her signature is SF 619. This bill intends to provide relief to Iowans who are impacted by natural disasters. It establishes the Natural Hazard Mitigation Financing Program, which will provide loans for projects to reduce the impact of future natural hazards. It removes the requirement for homeowners and renters to register for the disaster case advocacy program to receive assistance. The bill will help free up additional funding after and emergency.
On April 16th, I had a nice chat with Vinton Police Chief Ted Paxton and Belle Plaine Police Chief Kris Hudson, who were at the Capitol advocating for HF 967, which intends to improve the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS).
Have a safe and healthy week and support our local businesses. I hope you had a very Happy Easter, and this Saturday, April 26th is the Blairstown Fire Department’s annual spaghetti supper from 5-7pm at the Community Center, 305 Locust Street. Free will donation, so please help them and get a great meal!!
