Iowa House Republicans approved a pair of bills that would reform the state’s recount and election administration laws on Tuesday.

The bills, House File 954 and House File 928, would make dramatic reforms to Iowa’s recount laws and would make further forms to the state’s election administration laws.

House File 928 would limit which candidates can request a recount, require county election officials to conduct recounts, require vote tabulation machines be required to conduct recounts unless extenuating circumstances require a hand count, and require county election officials to comply with guidance from the Iowa Secretary of State.

The bill would prohibit candidates from requesting recounts unless the margin of votes between the winning and losing candidate is less than 0.15 percent for statewide and federal offices and less than 1 percent of 50 votes, whichever is less, for all other races.

The bill, if it becomes law, would mark the most drastic changes to Iowa’s recount laws that county auditors and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate have long said need reform and standardization to ensure trust in Iowa’s election system.

The bill seeks to create that standardization and require that election officials conduct recounts rather than the current system, which requires recount boards to be selected by the candidates in the recounted race with one of the three members agreed upon by both candidates or appointed by a district court judge.

The bill also creates a $25,000 fine for county auditors if they purposefully skew a recount.

Under current law, recount boards can decide most parts of the recount process and decide to keep or exclude ballots from the recount. Iowa Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, said that process degrades trust in Iowa’s election system.

“We often say election law is the most important legislation we can pass because it can help prevent the unforeseen from happening,” Harris said. “This legislation will prevent the abuse of the flaws in our current system from happening again. Campaigns will no longer be able to manipulate the recount system to bend to their political aspirations.”

Iowa Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, said Iowa’s recount laws are in need of reform, however, he disagrees that the current recount board system is the problem and that it insulates recounts from the possibility of influence by county auditors that are elected by partisan elections.

“I think it’s important to remember why it is in the first place that we have a system to allow for recounts — it’s really about trust,” Zabner said. “It’s about verifying the decision that was made by the auditor when they counted the votes on election night and in the days thereafter and ensuring that the results that they got are the actual will of the people of the state of Iowa.”

The bill passed 66-31, mostly along party lines, with Republicans in favor of the bill and Democrats against.

House File 954 would ban rank choice voting, change the threshold for major political parties, create an exemption for federal elections from Iowa law that prohibits felons from running for office, and create a program for the Iowa Secretary of State to verify the citizenship of registered voters.

The bill would raise the threshold for major party status, or listing as a political party on ballots, from 2 percent of a statewide vote to 10 percent.

The bill would effectively end the Iowa libertarian party’s ability to get on the ballot unless they run as independent or no party candidates.

Zabner said the bill would make it harder for candidates who aren’t affiliated with a major party to run for office, and it would limit voters’ choices.

“When I travel around the state of Iowa and I talk to Iowans, when I talk to my constituents, the number one thing I hear is that folks are fed up with our polarized, two party system and the choices that are available,” Zabner said. “It limits the options of Iowans. It boxes out competition, and it begs the question, what is the majority party scared of?”

Harris said the most important provision of the bill is the one that allows the Secretary of State to verify the citizenship status of voters.

Harris pointed to a recent report from the Iowa Secretary of State that 277 voters who do not have citizenship were registered to vote in the last election, 40 cast a ballot, and 35 of those ballots were counted.

“To me, it threatens what it means to be an American,” Harris said. “As American, we have a right to self determination through our elections, and when we turn to blind eye and we let people who have not earned the right to vote to do that, that threatens all of our abilities to self determination.”

The bill passed 65-31, mostly along party lines, with Republicans in favor of the bill and Democrats against. Both bills now head to the Senate for consideration where no companion legislation exists.

Iowa Senate Republicans approve bill prohibiting Iowa HHS from discriminating against foster parents based on religious beliefs

Iowa Senate Republicans approved a bill Tuesday that would prohibit the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services from precluding prospective foster parents and adoptive parents based on their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.

The bill, Senate File 473, would also prohibit HHS from requiring prospective foster and adoptive parents to agree with a policy regarding sexuality or gender identity if it conflicts with their beliefs.

Iowa Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, said the bill could result in the abuse or poor treatment of LGBTQ+ foster youth that could be subjected to “conversion therapy,” the scientifically discredited practice of using therapy to “convert” LGBTQ+ people to heterosexuality or traditional gender expectations.

“My big concern today is the child’s health and safety, and this bill could lead to discrimination against the LGBTQ+ children in the foster system by allowing foster parents to adhere to their personal beliefs that may not affirm those identities,” Donahue said. “And there is a concern with LGBTQ+ youth that could be placed in environments where they are not supported or subjected or subjected to practices such as conversion therapy, which is abusive.”

However, the bill clarifies that the department should still take a child’s best interests into account when deciding to place a child in foster care or an adoptive home.

Sen. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, said the bill is solely intended to provide protections for foster and adoptive parents.

Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-Waukee, said she is concerned about provisions that would allow the Iowa Attorney General to bring litigation under the bill against the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services or subcontractors to enforce the bill.

The bill passed on party lines and now heads to the House for consideration where there is no companion legislation.

Iowa House approves bill allowing 18-year-olds to own handguns

Iowa House lawmakers approved a bill that would allow 18-year-olds to own handguns and revolvers on Tuesday.

The bill, House File 924, would allow them to own a handgun or revolver, but to comply with federal background check systems, they would not be allowed to buy a gun or get a permit to purchase a handgun.

The bill comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that any regulations on firearm ownerships must be rooted in a deep history of firearm regulation, and federal courts around the country have struck down laws that restrict firearm possession for 18 to 20-year-olds.

“The idea that young adults aged 18 to 20 are not mature enough to own a handgun is being rejected by the courts,” Iowa Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said during his opening remarks on the bill. “The courts are ruling that young adults have the same right to keep and bear arms as older adults.”

Democrats said the bill fails to address the danger that firearms pose to youth, and Iowa Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, pointed to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing firearms are the leading cause of death for children.

“I’ll be a no today, but I do want to appreciate the fact that we are going to continue having conversations in this body about how we can better protect our kids and our teens,” James said.

The bill passed 79-18 with mostly Democrats opposing the legislation. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration where no companion legislation exists.