Any migrants found in Iowa after having been previously deported by federal immigration authorities would be guilty of a new state law under proposed legislation that Republican state lawmakers passed out of the Iowa Senate on Tuesday.
The proposed bill states that a person who attempts to enter or is found in Iowa any time after having been deported or denied admission to the U.S. would be guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine between $855 and $8,540.
Under the bill, the penalty increases to a Class D felony if the person’s removal from the U.S. was after a conviction related to drugs or against another person, or is believed to be a threat to national security, among other provisions. A Class D felony in Iowa is punishable by up to five years in jail and a fine between $750 and $7,500.
Iowa Sen. Jeff Reichman, R-Montrose, said the bill is needed because he believes President Joe Biden’s administration has not sufficiently enforced federal immigration laws at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The proposed bill, Senate File 2340, is similar to a law passed recently in Texas. That law is being challenged as unconstitutional by the federal Department of Justice.
“What is unconstitutional is the way that our federal government is (abdicating) their duties. They refuse to enforce the laws,” Reichman asserted during floor debate in the Senate.
Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, expressed concern that the proposal would make it harder for law enforcement officials to work with victims of human trafficking and sexual assault in order to arrest traffickers.
Similar concerns have been expressed by charity and religious organizations that house asylum-seekers.
Reichman said the legislation does not permit arrests at schools, churches or health care facilities. However, the bill exempts only those physical locations; victims of assault or trafficking could be arrested elsewhere.
With its passage out of the Senate on a party-line vote — all Republicans voted for and all Democrats against — Senate File 2340 is now eligible for consideration in the House, which has an identical bill that has not yet been considered in that chamber.
New Iowa single-family and two-family houses would need to include radon control methods under a bill House lawmakers passed on Tuesday.
Radon is a colorless and odorless gas that comes from the breakdown of radioactive materials in soil and rocks. The gas is harmful at high indoor concentrations and can lead to cancer. Every county in Iowa is rated as a radon “Zone 1” by the EPA, which puts them at the highest potential for indoor radiation levels.
The bill would add a requirement to the state building code that new construction include passive methods for radon mitigation.
Lawmakers said they hoped the bill would help address Iowa's high cancer rate compared to other Midwestern states.
The bill, House File 2491, passed the House 96-1. It is now eligible for consideration in the Senate.
Iowa lawmakers passed a bill to regulate and impose higher taxes on paraphernalia for the use of marijuana and other drugs.
The bill, Senate File 345, targets glass and metal pipes and bongs that are sold as tobacco products but often used to smoke marijuana.
The bill requires retailers to obtain a license in order to sell the products, giving cities and counties the authority to approve permits. Retailers would need to pay a $1,500 permit fee annually to sell the devices.
The bill would impose a 40 percent excise tax on top of the regular sales tax on the sale of glass and metal pipes.
Money collected from both the permit fees and excise taxes would go to fund specialty courts to address substance use disorder and mental health issues as an alternative to a traditional court proceeding.
The bill passed the House 90-7. The bill passed in the Senate last year, and it is now eligible to be signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
www.thegazette.com
The proposed bill states that a person who attempts to enter or is found in Iowa any time after having been deported or denied admission to the U.S. would be guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine between $855 and $8,540.
Under the bill, the penalty increases to a Class D felony if the person’s removal from the U.S. was after a conviction related to drugs or against another person, or is believed to be a threat to national security, among other provisions. A Class D felony in Iowa is punishable by up to five years in jail and a fine between $750 and $7,500.
Iowa Sen. Jeff Reichman, R-Montrose, said the bill is needed because he believes President Joe Biden’s administration has not sufficiently enforced federal immigration laws at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The proposed bill, Senate File 2340, is similar to a law passed recently in Texas. That law is being challenged as unconstitutional by the federal Department of Justice.
“What is unconstitutional is the way that our federal government is (abdicating) their duties. They refuse to enforce the laws,” Reichman asserted during floor debate in the Senate.
Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, expressed concern that the proposal would make it harder for law enforcement officials to work with victims of human trafficking and sexual assault in order to arrest traffickers.
Similar concerns have been expressed by charity and religious organizations that house asylum-seekers.
Reichman said the legislation does not permit arrests at schools, churches or health care facilities. However, the bill exempts only those physical locations; victims of assault or trafficking could be arrested elsewhere.
With its passage out of the Senate on a party-line vote — all Republicans voted for and all Democrats against — Senate File 2340 is now eligible for consideration in the House, which has an identical bill that has not yet been considered in that chamber.
House passes bill to require radon mitigation
New Iowa single-family and two-family houses would need to include radon control methods under a bill House lawmakers passed on Tuesday.
Radon is a colorless and odorless gas that comes from the breakdown of radioactive materials in soil and rocks. The gas is harmful at high indoor concentrations and can lead to cancer. Every county in Iowa is rated as a radon “Zone 1” by the EPA, which puts them at the highest potential for indoor radiation levels.
The bill would add a requirement to the state building code that new construction include passive methods for radon mitigation.
Lawmakers said they hoped the bill would help address Iowa's high cancer rate compared to other Midwestern states.
The bill, House File 2491, passed the House 96-1. It is now eligible for consideration in the Senate.
House bill would regulate drug paraphernalia
Iowa lawmakers passed a bill to regulate and impose higher taxes on paraphernalia for the use of marijuana and other drugs.
The bill, Senate File 345, targets glass and metal pipes and bongs that are sold as tobacco products but often used to smoke marijuana.
The bill requires retailers to obtain a license in order to sell the products, giving cities and counties the authority to approve permits. Retailers would need to pay a $1,500 permit fee annually to sell the devices.
The bill would impose a 40 percent excise tax on top of the regular sales tax on the sale of glass and metal pipes.
Money collected from both the permit fees and excise taxes would go to fund specialty courts to address substance use disorder and mental health issues as an alternative to a traditional court proceeding.
The bill passed the House 90-7. The bill passed in the Senate last year, and it is now eligible to be signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Capitol Notebook: Immigration violation would be added to state law under Iowa bill
Also, the Iowa House passed bills dealing with radon mitigation and taxing drug paraphernalia
www.thegazette.com
