This legislative session in Iowa, I have found that the Iowa Legislature is taking up some important issues. Issues ranging from updating sexual assault policies to raising the minimum wage. Iowans are faced with many important decisions to weigh in on this session. Nevertheless, there are harmful bills that have been introduced that would harm families and strip people of their civil rights.

The following are bills that I support:

Senate File 79 – Introduced by Bolkcom and Dvorsky

• This bill would update and strengthen college sexual assault policies.
• It would include an affirmative consent standard, meaning that consent is an act that must be affirmative, conscious, and voluntary, in terms of sexual acts. 
• It would also update policies to include domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

Senate File 31 – Introduced by McCoy

• This bill prohibits mental health providers to engage in sexual orientation and gender expression so called “reparative” therapy for any person under the age of 18 years old.
• It also provides disciplinary action for those mental health providers who violate this section.
• Please sign my petition urging for the ban of Anti-LGBT reparative or conversion therapy in Iowa!

Senate File 18 – Introduced by Base

• The bill would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee based on medical conditions related to employee’s pregnancy or childbirth.
• It also provides penalties for discriminatory actions.

House File 71 – Introduced by Hunter, co-sponsored by Kelly, Staed, McConkey, Gaskill, Keams, T. Taylor, Smith, Lensing, Anderson, Abdul-Samad, Winckler, Wessel-Kroeschell, Oldson, Dawson, and Steckman

• The bill would raise the minimum wage to $8.20 by January 1, 2016, $9.15 as of July 1, 2016, and $10.10 as of January 1, 2017.
• The wage would be indexed to the same percentage as the cost-of-living increase in federal social security benefits.

House File 76 – Introduced by Hunter, co-sponsored by Anderson, Abdul-Samad, and Oldson

• The bill would prohibit the sale or transfer of semiautomatic assault weapons

House File 65 – Introduced by Meyer, co-sponsored by Winkler, Stutsman, Mascher, Brown-Powers, Wolfe, anderson, and Wessel-Kroeschell.

• The bill would create the Iowa Death with Dignity law, for persons who qualify.
• The bill would only apply to an adult of legal age of 18 years old and resident of the State of Iowa.

The following are bills that I am opposed to:

House File 101 – Introduced by Heartstill, co-sponsored by Holt, Salmon, Gassman, Fisher, Sheets, Kooiker, and Watts

• The bill would prohibit county registrars from granting civil marriages licenses where both persons are the same-sex until an amendment to the Iowa Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman is submitted to the electorate for ratification.
• It would also establish that the Iowa Supreme Court has no appellate jurisdiction over any civil marriage licenses in the state. 

House Joint Resolution 4 – Introduced by Heartstill, co-sponsored by Holt, Wills, Baulder, Salmon, Gassman, Fisher, Sheets, Windshilt, Baxter, Kooiker, and Watts.

• The bill would add an amendment to the Iowa State Constitution redefining civil marriage as being only between one man and one woman. 

In addition, Republican Senators and Representatives have introduced several anti-family and anti-reproductive health bills, all of which I am opposed to.

Please be sure to visit the Iowa Legislature website to tell your Senator and Representative how you feel about these bills. Visit: Iowa Legislature

*Don’t forget to sign the petition demanding the ban on Anti-LGBT conversion therapy in Iowa: petition*!