The Rozenboom Report – April 18th, 2025

by Senator Ken Rozenboom

Getting close to wrapping up?

We are now fourteen weeks into the 2025 legislative session. It was a busy debate week, with the Senate passing over 30 bills throughout the week. We covered a wide range of issues, including civics test requirements for high schoolers, interstate compacts for dietitians and respiratory care, and the exercise of our First Amendment rights.

Election Law Changes

It’s not widely known that 277 non-citizens were registered to vote in Iowa in 2024, that 40 of those non-citizens actually voted in the November 2024 election, and that 35 of those votes were counted. We have had several very close elections in Iowa again in 2024, some of which went to a recount. Those races could well have been decided by those 40 non-citizens. That’s not okay! So this year I worked closely with Secretary of State Paul Pate and Rep. Austin Harris (Appanoose County) to strengthen the integrity of the election process in Iowa.

House File 954 is our election integrity bill that includes the following features: it clarifies the qualifications for federal office candidates to match up with language in the US Constitution, it bans ranked choice voting in Iowa, and it requires political parties to receive at least 2% of the vote for three consecutive election cycles to maintain party status. But most importantly, the bill ensures that misconduct with respect to the voter registration process and the election process is reported, investigated, and prosecuted as intended. And finally, this bill gives our county auditors and the Secretary of State more tools to verify the citizenship status of registered voters.

Also this week the Senate passed House File 928 that significantly changes the way we conduct election recounts in Iowa. This legislation establishes thresholds for the total vote margin that warrants a recount, how a recount can be requested, and who oversees the process of a recount to ensure accuracy and consistency across the state. Under the provisions of this bill, recounts can be requested only when the election results indicate that the margin of victory is less than 50 votes or a 1% margin for local and legislative races. For statewide and congressional races, a recount may be requested only when the margin is 0.15% or less. This would have prevented the recount (and the expense) that was requested last fall for a congressional seat where the margin was 802 votes, and the recount changed that outcome by only 3 votes.

Also in the bill is a provision that a recount will be conducted by the commissioner of elections (county auditors) instead of by the candidates and their representatives, as is currently the case. The recount process will be watched by an equal number, up to five, of observers from each party in each county to ensure the integrity and the results of the recount.

Passing Protections for Iowans on Tax Day

April 15 is known to many Americans as Tax Day, the day federal income taxes are due. This week, April 15 was the day Senate Republicans passed Senate Joint Resolution 11 to make it harder to raise income taxes on Iowans and protect them from reckless tax increases. SJR 11 is a constitutional amendment requiring a 2/3 majority vote of the House and Senate to raise the income tax in Iowa or create a new tax. Constitutional amendments need to pass two consecutive General Assemblies before going to the people of Iowa for a vote. This is the second time this legislation has passed the Iowa Senate. If it passes the Iowa House, the proposal will be on the ballot in the fall of 2026.

Senator Rocky De Witt, the floor manager for the bill, said in his closing comments, “The Iowa state constitution does not belong to this chamber, it doesn’t belong to the House, it doesn’t belong to the governor, it doesn’t even belong to the State of Iowa. It belongs to the people of this state. It belongs to the citizens of this state, and they have entrusted us to protect that Constitution. Why? It is a barrier between the citizens and government. It’s not a guardrail, not a little lowly speed bump, it’s a barrier that guarantees those folks that voted us in their freedoms, and freedom from excessive taxation is real.” I was happy to support this proposal out of the Senate this week to protect Iowans from excessive taxation, protect Iowa’s pro-growth tax relief measures, and protect Iowans’ wallets. It passed 32-15, with all Democrats voting no.

The 2025 legislative session is scheduled to wrap up on May 2. That’s going to be tough, in my view. We must finish budget negotiations, and issues such as the pipeline matter and PBM (pharmacy benefit manager) reform are still open questions. Stay tuned.