Since 2007, two legislators are surprised every year with an award from the Herbert Hoover Foundation. On Thursday Senator Rob Hogg and Representative Zach Nunn were honored. Previous honoree House Speaker Linda Upmeyer says it's one of the most meaningful awards a legislator can receive.
Earlier in the week, an unexpected amendment in the House Human Resources Committee would forbid abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is around six weeks. It was dropped within 24 hours and replaced with a 20-week ban, similar to what the Senate passed two weeks ago. One key difference from the House version is it prevents abortions after this time even in the case of fetal anomalies. We will hear from an opponent of abortion and a woman who terminated a pregnancy at 21 weeks when she discovered her baby would be born unable to breathe due to problems during gestation.
In the Senate, a preemption bill passes preventing counties from requiring businesses to raise the minimum wage above the state level. Highlights from the contentious debate include disappointment from Senator Randy Feenstra. He says his colleagues should be ashamed for questioning the Republicans' motives in advocating for this bill. We also hear from Johnson county business owners who don't plan to lower their wages even though the law says they can.
The preemption law and one changing the state's workers' compensation laws were signed into law by Governor Branstad. They went into effect upon his signature.
