A bill that affirms English as Iowa’s official language is waiting for Gov. Tom Vilsack’s signature, after it passed in the House of Representatives on Monday.

Senate File 165, also known as the Iowa English Reaffirmation Act of 2001, makes English the official language of Iowa. This means all state documents, programs, regulations and official actions will be written or conducted in English. Activities such as the teaching of foreign languages, issues of public safety, census activity and driver’s license exams are all exempt from the bill.

“To have a person advance they need to communicate in English, and every immigrant that comes to the state of Iowa is working toward those goals,” said Rep. Barbara Finch, R-Ames.

Finch said the bill was designed to eliminate barriers that may occur in official business but not to discourage people from using a foreign language.

“I know some people consider that it might make us seem intolerant, but I don’t think it does,” she said.

In addition to the English Reaffirmation Act, a bill increasing the funding to English as a second language programs in Iowa schools was also passed by the House on Monday.

“It is also our job to make sure to give them those options,” Finch said.

There was a lot of opposition to the bill and it narrowly passed 27-23 in the Senate in March 2001.

This year, it passed the House with a vote of 56-42.

“I think we are wasting the public’s time by discussing this,” said Rep. Jane Greimann, D-Ames. “It is making a statement that is very obvious to all of us that English is very important.”

Greimann said the increase in English as a second language program funding was a very positive by-product of the bill passing the House, but that the funding increase was kind of a bribe to get more Republicans to vote for the English reaffirmation act.

At a recent hearing of the bill in the Statehouse, 60 people spoke against the bill, and only three spoke in favor of passing the bill, she said.

“I had a lot more lobbying from groups that did not like the bill and that it was insulting to our immigrants,” Greimann said. “I think the people that I know recognize that learning many languages is very important in this world.”

The English Reaffirmation Act is expected to go in front of Vilsack sometime soon, she said, and if signed will take effect July 1.