Season 2 - Episode 21: Quick Hits 2nd Funnel

After the 2nd legislative funnel, some bills are gone…
and some are very much still alive.

🎶 Yes… we went there.

In Episode 21 Quick Hits, we break it down:
✔️ Investments in pediatric cancer research
✔️ Mental health care access
✔️ Radon mitigation in new homes
…and

⚠️ Bills impacting vaccines, higher ed, and executive authority

The list of what made it through tells a story and what’s still moving forward will shape what comes next.

👍 The good
🤔 The concerning
👀 The ones to keep watching

Take a few minutes and stay informed ⬇️
#DecidingIowa #IowaPolicy

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hello, Brammer Kelly in Olive Iowa. I'm Dr. Sean Ellibrick. I'm a cancer scientist, biochem prof, and House District 57 candidate.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

And I'm Dr. Emily Bavers. I'm a physician, mom of three, and a health advocate. Okay, Sean, post-second funnel quick hits. Uh let's start with the positive side with bills that we are glad are still alive.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

You know, I'm uh I'm glad that House File 2310 would provide a standing appropriation of either$1 per Iowa resident or$3 million to the Iowa Board of Regents for Pediatric Cancer Research at the University of Iowa.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Here, here. Uh House file 2543 proposes several changes to improve Iowan's treatment options, coverage of and availability of subacute mental health care.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

And house file 2297 would require uh all new single and two-family residences to be constructed with radar mitigation systems. So that's about time. That's a good bill.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Yep. Now, here on the flip side, here are a few bills that are still kicking, but we're less enthusiastic about.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

You know, a pair of bills to curb the powers of the governor's office are in play. House file 2717 and Senate file 2395 would require major administrative rule changes by the governor to require legislative approval. That's a big handoff for our next or handcuff for our new uh governor, whoever that might be. It also includes reducing a governor's appointees their terms from six to four years.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

This legislation has also been amended in the Senate to add in language that if the legislature doesn't pass a budget, the state will just revert back to the last year's plan.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Well, let's call it we don't have to do our jobs and pass a budget bill.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Yeah, very convenient. Uh that's that's wow. Nice job, legislature. Um, Senate said study file 304 would require minors to need parental support to receive the human papillomavirus or HPV vaccine and the hepatitis B vaccine. These vaccines are safe, effective, and really in the case of HPV, they prevent cancer.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Yeah. House file 2557 is a bill that we had discussed previously, and it would allow parent or guardian to well, it would carve out exemptions for a parent or guardian to basically do conversion therapy.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Yeah, we have already talked about our our feelings on this bill and really what the science supports. Yeah. Senate file 2300 and House File 2336 is a pair of bills that ban schools from penalizing or discriminating against students' viewpoints through religious, political, or ideological speech where similarly situated students are not punished. So henceforth, we're gonna call this the reverse DEI bill cursey of our city salmon.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Yeah. Newsflash, we have a First Amendment already, and also some legislatures show no awareness of their hypocrisy.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

House file 2240 would impose a tax on university endowments holding more than$500 million at a rate equaling the highest corporate income tax rate identified in the bill as currently 7.1%. Just wave after wave of a tax against higher education here in the state.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

You know, Emily, with over 2,900 bills filed, there's just so much more we could have mentioned. So you know, in our next episode, well, let's just look at what didn't make it through the funnel.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Sounds like a plan.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Be well, Iowa.