The Iowa Legislature reached its second key deadline of the session, when most bills must pass a committee in the opposite chamber to stay eligible.
Republicans have advanced policies like Medicaid work requirements and restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion spending. And, it’s the first time the Senate advanced a bill in response to concerns about carbon capture pipelines — though they stripped key House proposals out of it.
A bill to put citizenship status on driver’s licenses failed to advance, as did a bill to remove Medicaid income limits for employed people with disabilities.
Senate President Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, says everything the Senate is doing has the goal of making Iowa a “destination state.”
“Those priorities that the Senate had at the beginning of session — property tax policy, working on health care availability — all of those priorities that we had at the beginning of the session will still be our priorities. And we have bills that are alive to make that happen.”
Democratic leaders say the Republican majority hasn’t done anything to help Iowa’s economy.