2022 Iowa Legislative Session - Week 15 Summary

The 100th day has passed with two days of debate in the Senate and zero activity in the House this week.  At this point the only real deadline is July 1st - the date of the new fiscal year and the date which the budget bills take effect.  Several legislators have primary contests and are chomping at the bit to get out there and door knock.  The fast-approaching primary is June 7.  

The Senate passed several bills on Monday and Tuesday, including SF 2380 which designates February 1 as George Washington Carver Day.  The governor is requested to issue an annual proclamation to “encourage all governmental entities, civic organizations, schools, and institutions of higher education in the state to observe the day in a manner that emphasizes the meaning and importance of the scientific and agricultural accomplishments and global humanitarian achievements of professor Carver and to acknowledge the Iowa educational institutions, Simpson College and Iowa State University, that allowed George Washington Carver to persevere through racial barriers and fulfill his potential as a human being.”  SF 2380 unanimously passed the Chamber.  

The Senate also worked on two bills that have generated a lot of attention this year and in the past few years.  

Child Care ratios. HF 2198 was amended in the Senate to require the Department of Human Services to allow a child care center to maintain a minimum child-to-staff ratio of one worker for every seven children who are two years old and one worker for every 10 children who are three years old.  The Senate amended the House version of the bill which did NOT increase child care ratios but allows for child care workers who are 16 and older to provide child care to school age children without additional supervision.  An earlier version of the Senate amendment did not pass the House.  Add this bill to the list of issues yet to be resolved between the House and the Senate. 

Mobile Home Parks.  The back and forth between mobile home park owners and the tenants who live in the park have been the subject of much discussion over the past few years.  HF 2562 passed the Senate on a partisan vote 32-16 with Democrats offering amendments and arguing that the bill didn’t do enough to address tenant concerns.  The bill now goes to the Governor for her signature.  The bill contains several sections addressing issues related to retaliation; rental agreements, including requiring 90 days notice of rent increase instead of the current 60 days notice; and 90 day notice of utility increases, when possible.  It also gives tenants rights for wrongful failure to supply running water or essential services; addresses the sale of a mobile home or mobile home park; and restricts local government regulation for nonconforming usess implements additional process for addressing an abandoned mobile home.  This issue is a big issue to check off the list.

The Senate continued honoring the following retiring Senators:

• SR 121 honored Senator Amanda Ragan (D - Mason City).  Ragan was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 2002.  She is viewed as an expert on human services issues at the Capitol and has been the Executive Director of the Mason City Meals on Wheels and the Community Kitchen of North Iowa.  
• SR 122 honored Senator Craig Williams (R - Manning).  Williams was elected in 2020 and served a 2 year term.  His district was changed due to redistricting so he was combined together with another Senator and would have had to run for reelection again.   

SR 123 honored Senator Roby Smith (R - Davenport).  Smith was elected in 2010.  Smith is running for the position of State Treasurer in the 2022 election.

In the Know:

Inaugural Legislative Softball Game.  Iowa lawmakers announced the first-ever slow pitch softball game for charity scheduled for Sunday May 1.  The game will immediately follow the I-Cubs game which starts at 1:08 p.m.  The House and Senate Republicans will take on the House and Senate Democrats with a portion of the ticket proceeds directed to charities selected by the two teams.  The Republicans will be supporting the Puppy Jake Foundation and the Democrats will be supporting the Iowa Food Bank Association.  BrownWinick will be a sponsor of the event.  

In good news for Iowa Republicans, the Republican National Committee maintained Iowa as the first in the nation caucus.  Democrats didn’t fare as well with the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) changed the rules to require that Iowa Democrats submit an application for consideration to be the first in the nation, rather than maintain first in the nation status.  The DNC will now require a letter of intent by May 6 and a completed application by June 3.  The new rule requires a showing that the state has high standards of diversity including ethnic, geographic, union representation and economic diversity.  States are prohibited from holding the first presidential nominating process prior to the first Tuesday in March or after the second Tuesday in June unless the RBC grants a waiver.  The RBC will select no more than 5 states to be allowed to hold the first process outside of this window. 

BrownWinick Government Relations:

To view additional summaries from the 2022 Iowa Legislative session or to learn more about BrownWinick’s Government Relations Team, visit our Lobbying and Public Policy team page.