The View From Here
It was a privilege last week to visit with RECs, county Farm Bureaus, 4-H and FFA students in the district. All these organizations contribute much to the quality of life in rural Iowa, and for that I am grateful.
Here are a few of the more significant bills we passed on the Senate floor last week:
HF 577 - allows doctors latitude in how they treat patients with Lyme disease. Currently, there are multiple methods to treat Lyme disease, but only one is approved by the medical association in Iowa.
SF 220 - We had an interesting debate on the use of traffic cameras in Iowa. The original bill would have prohibited all use of traffic enforcement cameras in the state. The bill was amended to allow some cameras as approved by local authorities at a public meeting, if they are calibrated and the money collected goes for safety. I am concerned we have lost our constitutional right to face our accuser. I voted against the amended bill.
SF 234 - makes texting or viewing your phone, while driving, a primary offense for which an officer could pull you over. Currently, texting while driving is a secondary offense, which means an officer cannot pull you over for just for texting while driving.
SF 359 - prohibits a person from knowingly acquiring, transferring, or using fetal body parts in Iowa. It allows for the donation of a fetal body after a stillbirth. This is a good step that helps protect innocent lives and passed the Senate 43-6.
SF 489- passed after a spirited four hour debate. This bill legalizes the sale and use of fireworks in Iowa. Sales and use are allowed between June 1 and July 8 and between December 10 and January 3 each year. The debate centered on safety verses freedom and personal responsibility.
SF 516- The final bill we passed last week was on Election Integrity. This is something that polls say 70% of Iowans support. This bill requires a few things: it requires a voter to prove who they are when they vote, adds safeguards around absentee voting, and it updates voter lists. There was a long partisan debate but in the end it passed 26-21.
