A bill to make it illegal for any government entity in Iowa to issue a vaccine passport is scheduled for debate this afternoon in a House committee.
Earlier this month, Governor Reynolds said she would issue an executive order to ban vaccine passports if the legislature didn’t pass a law to do so. The bill that will be considered by the House Judiciary Committee bans all political subdivisions in Iowa — the state, cities, counties and school districts — from producing identification cards that include vaccination information.
The bill also would ban businesses and non-profits from requiring customers or guests to prove they’ve been vaccinated. State funding would be withdrawn from any business, school or other government entity that requires vaccine passports.
Iowa health care facilities, including hospitals, are not included in the proposed ban on vaccine passports.
Democrats in the legislature say the debate over vaccine passports is a “red herring” since neither congress nor the Biden Administration are planning to issue them.