Iowa House lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday to require the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine and Dentistry to have at least 80 percent of students admitted be from Iowa or have attended an Iowa college or university prior to applying.
The bill, House File 516, would also require the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to prioritize applicants with Iowa ties for residency slots at UIHC and offer a rural rotation during their residency.
The bill would also require UIHC to offer interviews to applicants with Iowa ties for obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, general surgery, emergency medicine, neurology, or primary care residencies.
The bill passed in a mostly party-line vote, 67-28, with three Democrats joining all Republicans in voting for the bill. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration, where no companion bill exists, requiring it to go through the committee process again before being eligible for floor consideration.
According to an analysis by the Legislative Services Agency, requiring the UI’s College of Medicine and Dentistry to have at least 80 percent of their admissions have ties to Iowa would cost the colleges $5.5 million in lost revenue on out-of-state tuition over five years. No fiscal analysis on the other divisions of the bill exists yet.
Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, who represents the area surrounding the UI, said the bill will limit the university’s ability to attract top talent to the state.
“This bill will limit the ability of our medical school to be at its top, at the top of its game,” Zabner said. “It will limit the ability of kids from Iowa to go to medical school and be around the top talent from the country.”
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Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, said the bill would refocus the state’s medical school on training doctors for Iowa and combating the doctor shortage in Iowa.
“This bill, as amended, concentrates on the medical training of our state’s public hospital and medical school,” Meyer said. “This bill aims to focus our taxpayer-funded institution on intentional efforts to grow the health care workforce of Iowa.”
Iowa House approves bill protecting children from testifying in front of abusers
Iowa House approved a bill allowing a minor to testify through a televised two-way, closed-circuit video feed.
The legislation was approved by the House in a 95-1 vote Wednesday with Iowa Rep. Charley Thomson, R-Charles City, as the sole dissenting vote.
House File 602 would allow a court to protect a minor from trauma caused by testifying in the physical presence of a defendant if it would impair the minor’s ability to communicate.
The legislation follows Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s proposal for an amendment to the state constitution that would allow minors to testify against their alleged abuser via a one-way closed-circuit video.
The amendment would apply to children under the age of 18 and witnesses with developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, or mental illnesses.
While Bird’s proposal is a state constitutional amendment, House File 602 is an amendment to state law.
Bird brought the amendment forward after a June 2024 ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court in State v. White, which ruled that allowing child witnesses to testify through a one-way closed-circuit television system violates a defendant’s right to confront their accuser under the Iowa Constitution.
The Senate advanced Bird’s proposal last month. The legislation will now go to the Senate for consideration.