The Rozenboom Report – February 23rd, 2024
by Senator Ken Rozenboom
It’s hard to believe, but the 2024 legislative session is already reaching the halfway point. We are scheduled for a 100-day session this year which means that by April 16 we should be wrapping up. That’s never a sure thing of course, but that’s our goal.
Meanwhile both chambers began floor debate this week and a number of bills were passed out of each of the chambers. We continue to wrestle with the AEA reform proposals with both a House version and a Senate version working through the process. Because the question of raising minimum teacher salaries is also wrapped up in those proposals, we’ve been unable to reach agreement on K-12 funding for the next fiscal year. However, the Governor has proposed a 2 ½% increase in SSA, and the House just passed a 3% increase. That means that our schools can use at least the lower number to establish their 2024 -2025 budgets. Remember, unlike in the past, we always deliver every dime we promise.
Land protections pass Iowa Senate
This week the Senate passed Senate File 2204, giving Iowans more information about who owns Iowa’s farmland, and helping us protect one of our greatest resources. Senate File 2204 requires nonresident aliens, foreign businesses, and foreign governments to register their farmland with the Secretary of State. It also requires them to include their legal name, address, nationality, and authority to purchase agricultural land. The bill requires a statement of purpose for conducting business in the state, their interest in owning the land, a listing of all landholdings across the United States totaling more than 250 acres by a parent corporation or its subsidiary, and the legal name and address of a parent corporation or its subsidiary when registering with the state.
If a foreign entity fails to register in a timely manner, they will be subject to a penalty of up to 25 percent of the assessed value of the land, and they must register land within 60 days of acquisition. The bill also requires that this registration be updated twice a year, and if a foreign entity fails to file the biennial report or provides false information, they will be subject to a fine of no more than $10k per offense.
As an agricultural state, Iowans have a strong and vested interest in protecting our land and knowing who owns it. We are already known for having strong laws on foreign and corporate ownership of land, and this bill, proposed by Governor Kim Reynolds, will strengthen those laws even further and increase the penalties for bad actors. It is vital for our food and national security for Iowa farmland remains in the hands of Iowans and Americans.
Religious Freedom Protections Pass the Iowa Senate
In 1993 a Democrat US House, a Democrat US Senate passed a bipartisan bill referred to as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law. There was almost unanimous agreement to protect our religious freedoms as expressed in the First Amendment.
Since then, court cases have restricted that federal law to apply only to situations impacted by the federal government. So, if states want to extend the same protections to their residents, they must pass a state law as well. Twenty-five other states have passed a version of this bill into law, including conservative states like Oklahoma and South Carolina and liberal states like Illinois and Rhode Island.
This week, the Iowa Senate passed very similar legislation to ensure these common-sense protections for Iowans who hold sincere religious beliefs. SF 2095, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, does not pick a winning religion or a losing religion, it does not legalize discrimination, and it does not do so many of the things predicted with breathless hyperbole by opponents of the measure. Furthermore, with laws like SF 2095 on the books in so many states, the alleged boycotts and economic impact of the legislation has been demonstrated not to exist.
The bill says the state must have a compelling state interest, the highest legal burden, to intrude on an Iowan’s religious expression. Further, if the state does have a compelling interest, the impact on someone’s free exercise of religion must be in the least restrictive manner possible.
Ultimately, this bill simply gives people who believe their free exercise of religion has been impeded a day in court. It is reasonable to have a high legal burden to protect the founding principle of this country.
Repealing the gender balance requirement for boards and commissions
The Senate passed Senate File 2096, ensuring Iowa can have the most qualified applicants considered for appointments to a board, commission, committee, or council regardless of their gender. While the requirement is known as “gender balance,” in the end it is more of a restriction and can cause women to be excluded from boards. Not only is this requirement no longer necessary and obsolete, but a federal rule judged earlier this year that Iowa’s law requiring a judicial nominating panel be gender-balanced was unconstitutional. Eliminating this law ensures government at the state and local level has the best, most qualified people on our boards and commissions. Iowa is best served by having boards and commissions filled with passionate and knowledgeable people on those boards.
