2021 Iowa legislative session sees passage of many conservative priorities before adjournment
The Iowa Legislature adjourned its 2021 session just before midnight Wednesday, closing out a consequential year that saw the passage of Republican priorities on voting, guns, police, education, abortion and tax cuts.
The legislative session blew past its target end date of April 30 as lawmakers worked to reach a deal on a tax cut package that will shift mental health funding from property taxes to the state, speed up income tax cuts and end the state's inheritance tax.
Republican leaders reached that elusive deal on taxes over the weekend, paving the way for a packed sprint that featured late night debates on enhancing legal protections for police and increasing criminal penalties for protest-related crimes, passing an anti-abortion constitutional amendment, banning local mask mandates and approving the state budget — typically the final item to be passed each year before adjournment.
"I think this legislative session will be seen as one of the most active and influential sessions we’ve ever had," Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, told reporters Thursday. "In a lot of ways, I think it will be looked at as a historic session with a number of major policy pieces that we were able to accomplish."
Even before the tax discussion dominated the final weeks of the session, Republicans saw many of their priorities become law. Those included requiring schools to offer 100% in-person learning, expanding the options for creating charter schools, reducing the time for early and Election Day voting and allowing adults to purchase and carry handguns without a permit.
"This legislative session, I charged the House and Senate to work together to further advance Iowa’s strong recovery from COVID-19 and promote policies that strengthen our families, communities, schools, workforce and economy," Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said in a statement following the session's conclusion. "I’m proud that we delivered on the promises made to the people of Iowa."
Democrats accused Republicans of focusing on divisive topics and shunting aside their ideas to help the state recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"They’ve largely ignored the challenges that our state is facing, that our small businesses are still struggling with, and it was politics as usual from Iowa Republicans. Division over unity and partisanship over common sense," said Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville.
Tensions over COVID-19, masks run through session
The polarization in Iowa over the coronavirus pandemic was apparent in the Legislature from the opening gavel to the final flurry.
On the first day of session in January, several hundred protesters in the Capitol rotunda argued against a statewide mask requirement that was in place at the time. Reynolds lifted the limited requirement in early February.
The pandemic affected how legislators ran the session. For the first time, committee and subcommittee meetings were livestreamed, allowing the public to view the legislative process from afar.
Attendance at the Capitol dwindled as lobbyists and members of the public chose to participate virtually. Those who were present were not required to wear masks, although they were encouraged to do so.
While the legislative session never shut down due to COVID-19, unlike last year, there were 10 publicly reported COVID-19 cases at the Capitol throughout the session. However, reporting a positive test was not mandatory.
From January:Republicans' COVID-19 guidelines for Iowa Legislature have no mask mandate, optional disclosure of positive test
More than four months later, the session ended with lawmakers banning cities, counties and school districts from implementing mask mandates of their own. Reynolds signed the law less than an hour after the session adjourned, to applause as Republican lawmakers and others gathered in her office. A woman in a video of the moment, which House Speaker Pat Grassley tweeted, held a sign that read "Unmask Our Children."
On Thursday, school districts across the metro quickly dropped mask mandates for the final weeks of the year.
"Our students and staff have been doing an amazing job of protecting one another's health, and so it's disappointing that we don't have the support to continue masking through the end of the year," Des Moines Superintendent Tom Ahart told the Register Thursday.
At the Capitol, Democrats argued Republicans didn't do enough to address the health and economic damage caused by the pandemic, which has killed more than 6,000 Iowans since it began last spring.
"We’ve had over 1,800 Iowans die since we started session," said House Minority Leader Todd Prichard, D-Charles City. "And where had been the urgency for those people?"
More:Iowa records 6,000 COVID-19 deaths. That pain is 'just the tip of the iceberg.'
Republicans have said their approach has been borne out by falling COVID-19 cases and an improving economic outlook.
Grassley, R-New Hartford, pointed to the tax cut package, which includes exemptions on taxation for COVID-19 related grants, as an important piece of pandemic recovery response.
“When the question is asked, 'What have we done for COVID recovery?' I feel very confident in saying anytime we can leave those dollars in the pocket of hardworking Iowans," he said. "I feel pretty good about that as (a) piece of our recovery."
Democrats also criticized Republicans and Reynolds in particular for focusing on issues that divide Iowans, like Reynolds' unsuccessful push for a bill to ban transgender women and girls from participating in girls' sports.
"Instead of working with Iowans to recover from the pandemic she found time to make it on Fox News and throw out some really divisive policies that hurt kids, hurt Iowans and hurt Iowa’s reputation instead of being here to help shepherd this session along," said Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights.
'Boring' standings bill gets applause: Lighthearted moments in final hours
When Rep. Gary Mohr, R-Bettendorf, introduced the end-of-session "standings" bill — the final budget bill to receive a vote in the House — late Wednesday he got applause for what he said next.
“It's one of the most boring standing bills in recent memory,” he said.
Past standings bills have contained last-minute controversial policy proposals, and there had been murmurings that the measure would contain a ban on transgender women and girls from competing on women's and girls' sports teams.
The applause for Mohr was among the lighthearted moments as lawmakers drew close to the finish late Wednesday.
A few hours earlier, as Democrats and Republicans prepared to leave the floor for their final caucus meeting ahead of the standings bill vote, House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, asked Prichard to make a “gentleman’s agreement” that Democrats would take a break and return to the floor if the House needed to vote to suspend a rule allowing them to debate past midnight.
Prichard responded by asking what could be in the bill that would require Democrats to lengthen their meeting.
“That is a subjective question. Your caucus thinks differently than my caucus,” Windschitl answered.
“I will give you a gentleman’s agreement, Army to Marine, to let you know if we’re going to need to suspend the rules to go past midnight,” Prichard said.
Windschitl asked if that meant he would personally come out to the floor.
"You have me in person,” Prichard said. “I realize how much your caucus enjoys my presence.”
In the end, the agreement was not necessary. The House adjourned at 11:45 p.m.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.
Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.