Editorial Roundup: Iowa

Des Moines Register. March 4, 2021.

Editorial: Iowa Legislature embraces big, intrusive government and shuns local control. From trying to micromanage city budgets to dictating policies of private employers, Republicans have lost touch with their core principles

Republicans are supposed to value less intrusive government and local control.

Apparently the GOP-controlled Iowa Legislature didn’t get the memo.

Members of the majority party now embrace big, meddling government. They excel at stripping decision-making authority from cities, counties and even private practitioners and businesses. Their obsession with micromanaging others is particularly egregious this legislative session.

Among what they are trying to do:

Ban traffic cameras

Local traffic ordinances are enforced by local law enforcement. Yet Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, wants to strip from police an enforcement option. He has sponsored, again, a bill prohibiting the use of most traffic cameras and ordering the removal of most existing ones. Senate Study Bill 1176 is opposed by police chiefs who told lawmakers the cameras reduce speeding and accidents. Cameras also generate revenue for law enforcement, meaning Zaun’s bill would literally defund cops.

Control city budgets

Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “Back the Blue” legislation stipulates that a city or county would be ineligible to “receive any state funds” if it reduces the budget of its law enforcement agency unless the budget reduction is at least equal to an overall cut in spending, or unless the city or county “provides sufficient justification.”

The job of lawmakers is to set the state budget. If they want to micromanage the budget of a local government, they should run for a city council.

Ensure landlords can discriminate against the poor

When city leaders try to improve the life of residents by, for example, restricting fireworks or raising the minimum wage, they can rest assured when January rolls around, the GOP-controlled Legislature will intervene to undo their progress, as it has done in recent sessions.

And now there is House Study Bill 171. It would nullify ordinances in Des Moines, Iowa City and Marion that ban discrimination by landlords based on a tenant’s income source. So-called “legal source of income” laws and ordinances make it illegal to deny housing to tenants because they have a rent voucher or are on public assistance.

Of all the things state lawmakers could prioritize, they choose to ensure landlords can turn away people who use federally funded rent vouchers, which often include low-income families, veterans and people with disabilities.

Micromanage county auditors

This year’s GOP voter suppression bill would, among many other things, prevent county auditors from setting up satellite early voting sites, unless specifically petitioned to do so by at least 100 eligible voters. Many county auditors have regularly set up such sites at libraries and other community buildings ahead of elections.

The bill would also strip auditors of their “home rule” authority. Historically, Iowa law has given some election decision-making authority to county auditors if Iowa Code does not specifically vest the authority in the secretary of state, Legislature or other actors. Under the new bill, failure to obey the secretary of state’s guidance could result in felony charges against an auditor.

Free zoos and pet stores from pesky local laws

Senate Study Bill 1195 bans cities and counties from enacting any ordinance or rule that prohibits or creates financial hardship for any commercial enterprise involving animals. That means the long arm of the state could prevent local elected officials from limiting zoos or pet stores that may purchase animals from puppy mills.

For good reason, more than three dozen lobbyists filed in opposition to this legislation, including those representing animal welfare groups, cities, counties, planning and zoning commissions, veterinarians, the Animal Rescue League of Iowa and the Humane Society of the United States.

Tell doctors how to practice medicine

A medication abortion involves swallowing two drugs separated by two to three days to induce a miscarriage early in pregnancy. This is a common, safe alternative to surgical abortion. House File 53 would require doctors to tell women choosing this option “that it may be possible to reverse the intended effects” if they change their minds before taking the second drug.

This practice is not supported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It is not supported by scientific study. But Republicans want to compel doctors to provide inaccurate and even dangerous information to patients. The bill also requires clinics to post a sign with boldface type that is at least three-quarters of an inch informing visitors of “recently developing research” related to medication abortion.

Maybe next year elected officials will dictate what surgeons, cardiologists and dentists must say to patients and tape it on office walls.

Dictate policies set by private businesses

Many health facilities and hospitals require workers to be inoculated against the seasonal flu and other communicable diseases. The goal is to protect vulnerable patients. Now COVID-19 has employers, including at least one airline, contemplating vaccine requirements to protect and provide peace of mind to customers.

But some anti-vaccine lawmakers have no qualms about telling the private sector how to run things. Senate File 193 forbids employers from requiring immunizations and bans them from offering incentives for workers to get them.

Republican politicians have built entire campaigns around rejecting “big” and “intrusive” government. They regularly complain about meddling policies and mandates. They say they’re big fans of freedom and despise government overreach.

Their hypocrisy is on full display at the Iowa Statehouse this session.

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Dubuque Telegraph Herald. March 5, 2021.

Editorial: Iowans must object to discouraging use of 1619 Project in schools

It’s one thing for community leaders to discuss and even debate what works best to help illuminate history and what should be used to support school curriculum.

It’s another thing entirely for the heavy hand of the state Legislature to threaten to withhold money from school districts that opt to include particular works to supplement curricula. That’s precisely what’s happening in Iowa, where House of Representatives File 222 says districts would receive less funding based on the number of days the 1619 Project was used in classrooms, claiming the project “attempts to deny or obfuscate the fundamental principles upon which the United States was founded.”

To be clear, the 1619 Project is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism that mines history for rarely told stories and historical facts about the history of slavery in this country. It’s not meant to be a textbook, but a supplement - and an eye-opening conversation starter. Isn’t that, after all, the kind of thought-provoking, critical-thinking subject matter we want kids to discuss at school?

The 1619 Project underscores the point that White settlers and businesspeople earned fortunes on the labor of enslaved Black people. Not an easy subject matter to reckon with, but precisely the kind that prompts conversations that can bridge understanding in the next generation.

Iowa isn’t the only state contemplating keeping this work of journalism out of schools. But Iowans should stand up and cry foul as lawmakers consider withholding school funding for the transgression of instigating serious discussion of America’s deeply rooted racial strife.

If Iowa lawmakers really want to do something to help schools provide a better student experience, they could give teachers and administrators some relief in the form of loosening requirements for substitute teacher authorization.

A bill in the Legislature would allow those with an associate’s degree, or at least 60 undergraduate semester hours, to receive substitute authorization for any grade, instead of the currently required bachelor’s degree.

The change would coincide with a temporary change that Gov. Kim Reynolds put in place last summer to help alleviate school districts’ staffing struggles as teachers got sick with COVID-19 or were quarantined. The change helped schools ensure staffing needs are met at a time when substitute teachers have been highly difficult to secure.

Here’s a good opportunity for lawmakers to come together, regardless of party, in support of schools and students. Easing restrictions on substitute teacher credentials could help keep school systems running smoothly with a bigger reservoir of backups.

Southwest Wisconsin residents and other interested parties can voice opinions about the state’s new redistricting maps now through Thursday, March 11.

This is the time to weigh in on the process that could impact the state congressional seats for the next decade. This is Wisconsin’s chance to emulate Iowa’s fair and unbiased district maps.

After each new decade’s census is tallied, states must establish new state legislature and congressional districts that take into consideration shifts in population. In Iowa, nonpartisan legislative staffers draw the maps without considering party affiliations indicated on voter registration rolls. The main consideration is keeping the districts compact and uniform in population.

That’s not the case in Wisconsin, Illinois or numerous other states. In many other places, drawing new maps is a wholly political endeavor meant to preserve “safe seats” - where the re-election of incumbents is practically guaranteed. That can lead to complacency, pork-barrel spending and a lack of accountability. In Iowa, there are no safe seats.

This year, the Badgers could take a lesson from the Hawkeye State.

Gov. Tony Evers has charged the People’s Map Commission with drawing new redistricting maps using a nonpartisan process. The virtual hearing in this area’s 2nd Congressional District will be held on Thursday, with written comments accepted in advance.

Help put an end to gerrymandering in Wisconsin and make your views known at https://govstatus.egov.com/peoplesmaps/hearings-meetings.

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Fort Dodge Messenger. Marc 5, 2021.

Editorial: Change by EPA is good news for Iowa. Agency to reduce waivers for refineries

Corn growers and ethanol producers finally got a bit of good news from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA has reversed its position on a policy issue in a move that, in the long run, will grow the market for ethanol.

Refineries are required by federal law to blend billions of gallons of ethanol into the nation’s gasoline supply. However, they can seek and receive waivers that exempt them from blending the required amount of ethanol.

Perhaps there are some valid reasons why a refinery would need a waiver. But it seems like such instances would be far and few between.

But over the last four years, the number of waivers issued jumped dramatically. It seemed as if the EPA was granting waivers to any refinery that asked for one.

The whole situation ended up in federal court when farm groups and the Renewable Fuels Association filed a lawsuit. In the wake of a ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the EPA has done a 180 degree turn and is now supporting the farm groups and the Renewable Fuels Association. In other words, the EPA is now stating that it is in favor of fewer waivers for refineries.

While the litigation may not be over, we are pleased that the EPA has apparently come to its senses on this issue.

The agency’s new stance means a better market for corn growers and ethanol producers. It also means cleaner air for all Americans.

It is a win for everyone.

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