The Iowa legislative session began Jan. 12 and ends April 21. Here’s a step-by-step guide to engaging in the legislative process.
Maintaining contact with legislators
“Email legislators when you have a question or concerns about a piece of legislation,” District 45 Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Iowa, said. “Email or phone, make sure you stay in contact. We love to have visitors at the Capitol, we’d love to meet you face to face and be able to talk about issues that are of concern to you.”
Contact information for senators and representatives can be found on the Iowa Legislature webpage.
“Students have an important perspective on politics and on government and are the people who are going to be most influenced by legislation that’s enacted right now,” Clair Lewis, a senior studying political science, said.
Visiting the Capitol to speak with legislators
At the Capitol, enter through the ground-floor visitor entrance. Once inside, go through security, including a metal detector and a screening of all items brought into the facility.
After security, head to the second floor. The entrances to the Senate and House face each other on the second floor. At both entrances, use the designated paper slip to call a legislator out of session.
The paper slip will ask for your name, contact information, the topic of discussion, the legislator’s name and the district number. Either hand the slip to a legislative page or drop the slip on the counter through the first set of doors entering the chamber.
After handing off the slip, wait outside the chamber for the legislator.
Additionally, the public can address legislators on specific bills during subcommittee meetings. To find the schedule of subcommittee meetings, including times and room locations, visit the Iowa Legislature webpage.
How a bill becomes law
Lewis outlined the process by which a bill becomes law.
“A bill is introduced in either the House or Senate as a study bill, house bill, senate bill or governor’s bill,” Lewis said. “The bill is assigned a subcommittee of three, sometimes five, legislators. If it passes the subcommittee, then it goes to the full committee. If it’s voted out of the full committee, it goes to the floor of the chamber. This process repeats in the other chamber. Once the bill passes both chambers, it goes to the governor’s desk.”
A complete step-by-step guide on how a bill becomes law can be located on the Legislative Services Agency webpage.
Cyclones at the Capitol
“We’re developing an internship program so that we have students plugged into all levels of government,” co-director of the Cyclone Civics program Kelly Shaw said. “I think colleges need to get back to some of those foundational things about creating citizens who are aware and engage civically.”
Off campus at the Capitol, Lewis works for Eide & Walton, lobbying on behalf of clients in the healthcare and education industries.
