We have entered “debate season” in the House chamber. Each day this week we caucused on a long list of bills, then debated them on the House floor, sending over 80 of them to the Senate.

One significant bill that we passed late last week was House File 2565, creating a Human Trafficking Task Force. Iowa is the first state in the nation to create such a task force, signifying Iowa’s commitment to fighting this heinous crime. The bill creates four regional task force centers, with the regions defined by Interstates 80 and 35. This task force will have full investigative and arrest authority.

This week, I was able to get some of my personally filed bills passed through the House. House File 2618 is a bill that eliminates section 18B of the Iowa Code that imposes “Smart Planning Principles” on our cities and counties. This bill was suggested by our Tama County Supervisors. These principles may well be great guidelines for land use planning, but they have no place in the Iowa Code. Removing this code section will reduce costs in our cities and counties, which is consistent with our efforts to reduce the growth in property taxes. House File 917 is a bill that provides greater liability protection to Motocross tracks in Iowa, such as Oak Ridge MX here in Tama County. There have been many instances where long-standing historic tracks have been driven out of business by frivolous lawsuits in other states. Motocross is a great family sport, but it does have inherent risks like any other sport. That risk burden should be on those who choose to participate, not on the owners of the track. These protections will not only help these small businesses survive and thrive, it will also help ensure that families can continue to enjoy this sport.

Also this week, Iowa House Republicans passed a slate of tough-on-crime bills to ensure Iowa does not become a haven for career criminals. House File 2542 implements a “Three-and-Done” Strike System. This legislation creates a cumulative strike system for repeat offenders, triggering a mandatory minimum 20-year sentence without parole once a career criminal reaches three full strikes. A criminal receives one full strike for any felony and specific violent aggravated misdemeanors (e.g., sexual abuse, domestic abuse, assault with the intent to cause serious injury or with a weapon and organized retail theft). A half strike for all other aggravated misdemeanors and some serious misdemeanors, including those involving assault causing injury, domestic abuse causing injury, and criminal mischief third degree. Crimes must be accumulated within 20 years and in separate incidents for them to count. They can’t accumulate all three points at once. This point system will only be applied to crimes that occur after July 1, 2026. Under current law, repeat violent offenders are released back onto the streets where they become a risk to our children and loved ones. By using “half-strikes” and clear warnings, we give individuals every opportunity to change their path. This isn’t about one mistake; it’s about a proven pattern of dangerous behavior. We hope that the threat of 20 years in prison will prevent future crimes from ever being committed. The tiered-strike system outlined in this bill is a common-sense, fair system that ensures that once an individual chooses a pattern of dangerous criminal behavior, they are removed from society and unable to continue to wreak havoc on our communities.

Another significant bill this week was HF 2711, which removed the Affirmative Action requirements from the Iowa Code, ending preferential treatment based on race. This legislation ensures that all Iowans are treated equally and that decisions for hiring and licensing are not based on an individual’s race. This change is consistent with recent Supreme Court rulings.

And finally, we passed House File 2649, which creates a pilot program for Bachelor’s degrees to be offered at our community colleges. This pilot program will be limited to community colleges that are more than 50 miles from a Regents or private college and will be limited to specific degrees in high-demand jobs. This legislation will bring greater choice to Iowans seeking a four-year degree and bring those choices closer to home.

As always, I look forward to seeing you at the Capitol or in the district.

——-

Contact Dean Fisher at dean.fisher@legis.iowa.gov.