Iowa legislatures have been busy introducing and voting on new bills. Here are some notable one making their rounds through the General Assembly.

Abortion

House Human Resources Committee legislators introduced a new bill, commonly known as the “Heart Beat” bill, that would restrict women from the seeking an abortion six weeks after conception. 

The bill’s quick introduction came right before House committee members were preparing to vote on newly added amendments to Senate File 471, which would allow women to seek abortions until they were 20 weeks past conception.

Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, said that under the committee’s bill, physicians who perform abortions on women past 20 weeks can only do so if the “the pregnant woman has a condition which the physician deems a medical emergency” or if “the abortion is necessary to preserve the life of an unborn child.”

The amendments were voted on and passed the Iowa Senate.

Education

A looming teacher shortage in Iowa has caused lawmakers to invoke student loan forgiveness and grant programs in order to attract more candidates to teach in designated shortage subject areas.

The Iowa Senate passed House File 472, 14 to 1, which would allow teachers who have federal loans to work in the state, for up to five years, in order to pay off their loan debt. 

According to the Department of Education, Iowa has been experiencing a teacher shortage in numerous areas such as agriculture, mathematics, all foreign languages and science levels and courses. According to the bill, the last time loan forgiveness program funds were appropriated was in fiscal year 2007-08.

Protection of Personal Security and Data

A House Joint Resolution passed, 12 to 0, as an added amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa that would protect all forms of electronic information and data from illegal searches and seizures by law enforcement without a legitimately obtained warrant. 

Rep. Ken Rizer, R-Linn, introduced the amendment and was met with support and opposition on the legislation. Notable groups lobbying for the bill included Microsoft, Google and Amazon.com. 

If adopted, it would not go into effect until July 1, 2021.