State Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour)

Week 9 of the session was again filled with debate as we continue to send bills over to the Senate. This newsletter is also continuing discussion about bills passed in week 8 as well.

After the initial discussion about Special Education and the Area Education Agencies spurred by the governor’s bill, the House decided to step back, engage all the stakeholders including parents, teachers, administrators, and the AEA’s themselves, and craft a new bill that will improve the 50 year old system. That bill, House File 2612, with a significant amendment on the floor, passed the House. The significant actions in the bill were to allow school districts to have more control over their funds that otherwise were mandated to go to the AEA’s, make the AEA director salaries comparable to those of school superintendents, and to add oversight of the nine AEA’s budget by the Department of Education. The bill also requires a task force to be formed to review the AEA’s for future action.

Also, during week 8 the House passed House File 2569, a bill that directs the Iowa Department of Transportation to complete US Highway 30 as a 4 lane divided highway across Iowa. Much of US 30 is of course already 4 lane, but the DOT’s plans for some sections of the route were not yet aligned with this 4 lane directive. Completing US 30 as 4 lane across the state will not only improve safety, but spur economic growth.

And finally, during week 8 the House passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), House File 2454. This bill simply prohibits state, county, or city action from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion unless there is a compelling government interest. RFRA simply guarantees that everyone gets a fair day in court when the government attempts to intrude on their freedom of religion. This bill doesn’t create a new rule. RFRA is already law at the federal level, signed by President Clinton in 1994. This bill would just apply this standard to state government in Iowa. 25 states already have RFRA at the state level. That includes red, blue and purple states. During debate in the House, we heard many hypotheticals and incorrectly cited court cases, that would not apply to RFRA. Opponents claimed that this bill would allow legal discrimination, but that is simply not the case. This standard already exists in many other states and has not been used to allow discrimination.

On Tuesday we passed House File 2610, an Election Integrity bill. This bill increases security in the absentee ballot process, eliminates ballot drop boxes, requires absentee ballots to be received by Monday night before the election, and bans ranked choice voting. The billstrengthens the Safe at Home program to protect the confidentiality of voters who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, stalking or assault. These reforms will take affect in 2025.

In a bipartisan manner, we passed a bill through the House to help parents and kids navigate the ever-changing world of social media, HF 2255. As social media has gotten more popular, we’ve seen the mental health of children decline. Social media can have negative impacts on kids’ self-esteem, result in cyberbullying, and expose kids to inappropriate content. Right now, it’s tough for parents to keep up with all the new, trending social media apps. This bill would require social media apps to get parental permission before anyone under the age of 18 could create an account on their platform. Under this bill, it would be against the law for social media companies to gather data on kids without permission from parents.

This week, we passed House File 2319 to prohibit counties and cities from participating in guaranteed income programs. The government already has programs in place to help Iowans who are low-income or in need of assistance. We’ve already seen pilot programs in Iowa, including one that would give a $500 monthly payment to 110 individuals in Polk, Dallas or Warren counties. I believe these programs will do much more harm than good. They will increase government dependency, rather than reward Iowans’ hard work and independence. And they would ultimately operate using property tax dollars, the primary source of city and county revenue.

We’ve seen an increase in retail theft both nationally and here in Iowa. Smash and grab mobs have taken over cities, not just on the coasts, but here in the Midwest as well. We do not want to see these violent mobs make their way to Iowa. Last week, we passed HF 2594 establishing the crime of organized retail theft and lays out a tiered system of punishment depending on the value of the stolen goods. This week, we unanimously passed HF 2598 which establishes a new crime of looting. Looting is breaking in and stealing from a business, vehicle, or other structure by someone acting in joint criminal conduct with another or a group. People choose to live in Iowa because it is a safe place to live. Tough on crime policies like this can help ensure that our communities remain safe.

As always, I look forward to seeing you at the capitol, or in the district.

Dean Fisher, a Republican from Montour, represents District 53 in the Iowa House of Representatives including the communities of Clutier, Garwin, Gladbrook, and Lincoln.