Iowa House lawmakers approved a bill that would require Johnson County and other counties containing regent universities to elect their county supervisors by district on Tuesday.
The bill, Senate File 75, would require counties with one of Iowa’s three regent universities physically located within their borders — Johnson, Story, and Black Hawk — to elect their Board of Supervisors by district instead of at-large.
Currently, counties can decide in their county charter if they want to elect supervisors at-large, by district, or from equal population districts.
Republicans said the bill brings more representation for rural populations in the counties that see large influxes of student populations.
“The current system is a system for some that is voter suppression,” Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, said. “I am against voter suppression. I’m sorry that some of you may see this, in my opinion, through a partisan lens. This is not about partisan politics. This is about making sure that all votes count, including those votes in the rural areas.”
Democrats argued that limiting the bill to counties with regent universities targets counties that overwhelmingly elect Democrats to county supervisor seats. Currently all county supervisors in the affected counties are registered Democrats. Democrats also said the bill would take away the rights of the voters in those counties.
“This is a blatant political effort to change who was elected in these counties, to take down supervisors who have been elected by the voters,” Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, said. “The only people who should decide who are the supervisors of these three counties should be the voters there who are eligible to participate in elections.”
Governor’s cellphone bill approved by the House
Iowa House lawmakers approved Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ legislative effort to ban cellphones from classrooms during instructional time on Tuesday. The bill passed, 88-9, with nine Democrats voting against the bill.
The bill, House File 782, would require Iowa public school districts to minimally adopt a policy prohibiting the use of cellphones during instructional time. Advocates argue cellphones are impacting students’ success in the classroom and are disrupting the learning environment.
In a statement following the bill’s passage, Reynolds said the bill would help eliminate distractions in the classroom and refocus students on learning.
“With digital distractions at an all-time high, we must ensure Iowa classrooms maintain environments where focus, learning, and productivity can truly thrive,” Reynolds said in a statement Tuesday. “Our students deserve the opportunity to learn free from the distraction of personal electronic devices.”
The bill would also require training on the impact of social media for sixth through eighth grade students.
The bill will now head to the Senate where a similar version is eligible for consideration on the Senate floor.
Senate approved hands-free driving bill
Iowa Senate lawmakers approved a bill that would ban the use of cellphones or electronic devices while operating a vehicle on Tuesday, in an effort to finish a years-long legislative effort to address the state’s distracted driving laws.
The bill, Senate File 22, would prohibit the use of cellphones or other electronic devices while driving unless they can be operated in “hands-free mode” or with a driver’s voice.
The bill passed nearly unanimously, 47-1, with Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen, R-Walcott, being the lone dissenting vote.
Senate lawmakers have passed similar legislation in previous legislative sessions, but the bill was never taken up for a vote in the House. Reynolds called attention to the issue during her Condition of the State address in January, but did not introduce her own legislation on the issue.
A similar bill in the House was approved by the House Transportation Committee and is eligible for debate. The bill will now head to the House for consideration.
The bill would levy fines up to $100 if violating the bill and up to $1,000 if serious injury or death occur. If an injury or death occurs a driver’s license could be suspended. It would also be considered a moving violation and could result in the suspension of a driver’s license or establish habitual offender status.
Senate Democrats introduced an amendment that would strike exceptions under the bill for those operating farm vehicles. However, Democrats expressed support for the whole bill.
“We know how important, how critical it is that we pass something that addresses cellphones and so forth. We know that it saves lives,” Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, said during opening remarks on the amendment. “So, I ask the body that we pass this amendment for the public safety of all Iowans and travelers coming through Iowa, and we just really enhanced the bill by enhancing public safety.”
Senate Republicans said accepting the amendment could make it more difficult to pass the bill in the House, which has previously killed the Senate’s efforts to pass the legislation.