A bill to impose tougher penalties on protesters who block traffic on Iowa interstates and highways has cleared a senate committee with bipartisan support. It comes in response to a November incident on I-80. Anti-Trump protesters marched from downtown Iowa City to the interstate, blocking rush-hour traffic. Senator Jake Chapman, a Republican from Adel, says the current 35 dollar penalty for participating in that kind of a protest does not “fit the crime.”

“Over the last couple of years we’ve seen this to be a growing trend throughout the United States,” Chapman said. “I would encourage my colleagues to look up some of these videos of some of these protesters…seriously getting hurt.”

All the Republicans and three Democrats on the Senate State Government Committee supported the bill. Three Democrats, including Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines, voted no. “I in no way condone people that jeopardize other people’s health or safety, but I do respect the First Amendment and I do think this is an over-reach,” Bisignano said. “And I think it’s politically motivated.”

It’s already illegal for protesters to block traffic on an IOWA highway with a posted speed limit of 55 miles an hour or more. If the bill becomes law, the new penalty for a first time offense would be up to a year in jail and a fine of hundreds of dollars. A third offense would be a felony that carries a prison sentence of up to five years. A handful of other states are considering tougher penalties for protesters.

(Radio Iowa)

Legislation that would have repealed Iowa’s “Bottle Bill” narrowly cleared a House Committee Wednesday, but a key supporter says it will go no further THIS year. Representative Ross Paustian, a Republican from Walcott, says it’ll take a few years to adjust other parts of the bill that would have raised money to expand recycling efforts.
“It’s going to be a very slow process,” Paustian says. “We don’t want to rush through this. Just getting it out of committee was a big deal for us.”

The bill cleared the House Environmental Protection Committee by just one vote. Under Iowa’s 39-year-old “Bottle Bill,” consumers pay a nickel deposit on each container of beer and pop they buy. They may then get the deposit back if they return the empties rather than throw the cans and bottles in the trash. Supporters say Iowa is now one of the top states for recycling beverage containers.

Critics say the empty containers are filthy and grocery stores should not be required to accept those empty cans and bottles. Michelle Hurd, president of the Iowa Grocery Industry Association, calls the bill a “work in progress.” “I think what we wanted to do with this bill was get a good starting place for a discussion going forward,” she says.

Previous efforts over the past couple of decades to repeal the “Bottle Bill” or even EXPAND it to cover water bottles have stalled as legislators struggled to find an acceptable alternative.

(Radio Iowa)

The Senate Education Committee has given unanimous approval to a bill that would make some adjustments in the way state tax dollars are distributed to public school districts. Senator Amy Sinclair, of Allerton, is the committee’s chair. “The student’s zip code should not dictate the quality of their education,” she says.

One part of the bill proposes incremental increases in state support of geographically large districts with huge busing costs. “The transportation equity piece, over the course of 10 years, will fully fund the transportation costs of every single district,” Sinclair says.

The other part of the bill will equalize per pupil spending. “That’s a hold-over from when the current funding formula was developed. There were some districts that were above what the state determined would be the state cost per pupil and so they were allowed to levy up to $175 per student over what the state cost per pupil was in property taxes,” Sinclair says. “…It is just a built-in inequity to property taxpayers, to the students who are there. It needed to be addressed.”

School officials in Davenport especially have complained that calculation set decades ago means other districts get to spend more on each student than Davenport is allowed. Some legislators worry about the 15-to-20 MILLION dollar price tag for the “fix” to this problem.

(Radio Iowa)

A bill ready for debate in BOTH the House and Senate would make it illegal for motorists in Iowa to use a hand-held electronic device – LIKE A CELL PHONE – while driving. Representative Gary Worthan, a Republican from Storm Lake, says “We’re just looking at a situation where it’s been determined that using a hand-held device is six times more troublesome than a drunk driver.”

Worthan guided the bill through a House committee Wednesday. However, the House Transportation Committee has voted to have a one year “grace period” before the law takes effect. That means motorists caught texting or Snap Chatting while driving would be issued a warning ticket instead for the law’s first year. The bill has a few critics, like Representative Rick Olson, a Democrat from Des Moines.

“You see folks that have their dogs riding on their lap, folks putting on make-up…eating a ‘Big Mac,’ adjusting their radio, lighting a cigarette,” Olson said. “It doesn’t address that.” Olson argues a better way to address ALL distractions inside the vehicle would be for state law to require motorists use “due care” when driving.

(Radio Iowa)

Last (Wednesday) night, Republicans on a House committee advanced a bill that includes a dozen gun-related proposals. The centerpiece of the bill, though, is the so-called “stand your ground” policy. Representative Matt Windschitl, a Republican from Missouri Valley, is the bill’s chief architect. “It is about the right to self-preservation,” Windschitl says. “This is about making sure Iowans whoever find themselves in a situation where they have to make a snap decision that they don’t have that fear in the back of their mind of being prosecuted, taken to court and losing a whole bunch of money on attorney’s fees and time out of their life when they were justified in defending themselves or another person.”

Democrats on the committee voted against the bill. Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, says the “stand your ground” provision would let someone shoot to kill to protect not just their life, but their property. “I do believe that it would indisputably make Iowa a more dangerous place to live,” Wolfe says. “…In Iowa, we do not feel that a car or a bicycle or any piece of property is worth a person’s life.”

The bill no longer would grant a lifetime permit to carry a concealed weapon in Iowa. In addition, a previous version of this bill would have ended “gun free zones” in some public places and allowed guns in hospitals, college campuses and the state capitol. Windschitl concedes that was a “lead ballon” and it’s no longer in the bill. The legislation’s latest version, however, says citizens who believe they are “adversely affected” by any NEW guns-free zone on state or local government property can sue for damages.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Court documents say a Des Moines woman first reported missing then found dead in her home had been strangled, with police saying she was the victim of a random home invasion and robbery. A Des Moines man, 22-year-old Kyle Alexander Jepson, has been charged with first-degree murder, burglary and robbery in the January death of 49-year-old Gloria Gary, who was last seen alive Jan. 3. Police say Jepson broke into Gary’s house that evening and attacked her when she arrived home. Investigators say Jepson then stole Gary’s cellphone, $200 and her car. He was arrested Jan. 12 in Utah with her car. Police say he had hidden her body in her house. Jepson, who remains jailed on $1 million bond, next has a court hearing March 10.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge is expected to sentence a Rwandan man today (Thursday), for lying to gain citizenship in the U.S. after helping carry out deadly attacks during the country’s 1994 genocide. U.S. District Judge Linda Reade has found that Gervais Ngombwa was a leader of an extremist Hutu political party during the genocide, in which more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. He was arrested on immigration charges two decades later while living in Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Dozens of public workers gathered at the Iowa Capitol in opposition to a bill that would reduce compensation for getting injured on the job, just weeks after legislators voted to severely limit their collecting bargaining rights. The proposed legislation cuts off worker benefits at 67, minimizes late fees for employers and reduces benefits for injuries tied to a pre-existing condition.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — After facing lawsuits and days of criticism, the University of Iowa is shelving a plan to eliminate scholarships promised to thousands of current and incoming students. UI President Bruce Harreld announced Wednesday that he was reinstating the Iowa Heritage Award and four other smaller scholarship programs for current students and those who start next fall. He had informed 3,000 students last week that he was eliminating their awards, citing a “devastating” funding cut approved by lawmakers.