Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s “really close” to a decision on a bill that would limit carbon pipeline developers ability to use eminent domain to seize land along the pipeline route.
Governor Reynolds has until Saturday to sign or veto all the bills that cleared the 2025 Iowa legislature. She signed two dozen bills into law on Friday.
Reynolds approved the bill to require some able-bodied adults who get insurance through the government’s Medicaid program to work at least 80 hours a month. If the federal government gives the State of Iowa a waiver to enforce the policy, it would apply to Iowans with incomes up to 136% of the poverty level under an expansion of Medicaid approved a decade ago. Reynolds issued a written statement after signing the bill, saying government programs should foster a culture of work and adults who can work should work. Critics of the policy say most Medicaid recipients work and bureaucratic hurdles may force thousands of eligible Iowans out of the program.
The governor also approved a policy that requires public schools to let private school students who live in the district participate in extracurricular activities, like sports. Another state law that goes into effect for the next school year requires public, private and charter schools to start teaching about fetal development in the fifth grade, and show a students video that depicts the humanity of the unborn child. And the governor approved higher penalties for violations of open meetings and open records law. The bill was sponsored by a Bettendorf lawmaker concerned about actions in the City of Davenport after the collapse of an apartment building.
Firefighters and police officers in a state-run retirement system may now receive disability and death benefits if they’re diagnosed with any form of cancer. Governor Reynolds signed a bill Friday that expands state policy that had previously limited those benefits to just 14 types of cancer. Emily Broderick’s late husband was diagnosed with a type of liver cancer that wasn’t on the list, so his co-workers covered his shifts during his cancer treatment.
“Without them and their support and their willingness to show up for him, his job could have been on the line,” she said. “He wouldn’t have been getting paychecks and he could have been ultimately terminated from his position during his cancer fight.”
Joe Van Haalen, president of the Des Moines Association of Professional Firefighters, said because of the previous policy, firefighters in the Des Moines department covered an average of 120 shifts for each colleague getting treatment for a type of cancer that wasn’t covered. “It’s something that we wanted to do, that we wanted to take care of them, but it’s also a significant burden on our members,” he said. “And so with this legislation, we won’t have to worry about that and their families won’t have to worry about that anymore. That’ll all be covered.”
Governor Reynolds said the new policy recognizes the selfless service of firefighters and ensures they get the care they deserve.
(Isabella Lu, Iowa Public Radio contributed to this story.)