Government : Hello, Iowa House District 84 from the State Capitol!

The Iowa House and Senate completed another busy week as members of both chambers conducted as many subcommittee and committee meetings as possible. Friday, February 16th will be the last day of the second funnel, which is the last week to get most of the bills passed out of their respective committees.

I conducted two subcommittees this last week, House File 654 and HF 586. HF 654 makes the law clearer on the conveyance of firearms for snowmobile and ATV operators or passengers, and also removes several paragraphs of code that are confusing. It's helpful to remove code clutter whenever possible to make our laws clearer. HF 586 is a bill that I led last year which will require all motorists to yield to bicyclists, skateboards, or any devices used by pedestrian conveyance in marked and unmarked crosswalks at intersections.

A bill subcommittee scheduled to be held on Feb. 12th is HSB 675, which relates to school safety. The bill intends to require schools with student enrollment over 8,000 to have at least one school resource officer or private security officer, and a grant program will be created to help fund these positions. The bill also allows a school employee to carry a weapon, but absolutely requires these people to have extensive training beforehand. This bill intends to reduce any potential school shootings as much as possible.

HF 2255 is making its way through the committee process, which I also cosponsored. This bill addresses the negative effects that social media has on kids, such as cyberbullying and inappropriate content. It would require social media apps to get parental permission before anyone under the age of 18 could create an account on their platform. The bill would make it illegal for social media companies to gather data on kids without permission from the parents. It has passed the subcommittee unanimously and goes on to the full committee for consideration.

Also on the agenda in the Iowa House are HF 2197 and 2330. HF 2197 would require teaching age-appropriate history on the holocaust to middle and high school students. Recent studies have shown a very disappointing lack of awareness about the holocaust in Iowa and across the country, which contributes to antisemitism nationwide. HF2330 would require certain history and civics requirements in all public, private, and charter schools across the state. This bill is still going through conversations on what these standards will be.

Here is a little factoid from www.history.com. Valentine's Day probably started around A.D. 270. Also, Feb. 14th is Ash Wednesday and starts the Lenten season. Lent started probably around the same time as Valentine's Day, about A.D. 313, according to www.christianity.com.

Have a safe week and be careful out there!