Following our first legislative deadline, the seventh week of session in the Iowa Senate focused on debate and sending bills to the House of Representatives for their consideration.

One bill that passed the Senate is Senate File 2161, which raises the penalties for swatting. Additionally, the Senate passed Senate File 2096, ensuring Iowa can have the most qualified applicants considered for appointments to a board, commission, committee or council, regardless of their gender. Senate File 2251 also passed the Senate, expanding Medicaid benefits to pregnant women and preserving these benefits for those who truly need them.

Recently, Iowans for Tax Relief released a poll showing Iowans overwhelmingly support the constitutional amendment proposed earlier this legislative session. According to the poll, over 67 percent of Iowans support requiring a supermajority vote by the Legislature to raise income tax rates in Iowa. Iowans also overwhelmingly support putting the flat tax into the Iowa Constitution, ensuring a single tax rate for all taxpayers in Iowa.

Tax reform for hard-working Iowa families has been a priority for Senate Republicans since 2017. By requiring a supermajority to raise income tax rates in Iowa, we can protect all these reforms we have worked hard on, further protect the dollars of hard-working Iowans, and make sure that if there was ever a need to raise taxes in the future, it would likely require bipartisan support.

The Senate also passed Senate File 2204, giving Iowans more information about who owns Iowa’s farmland and helping us protect one of our greatest resources. Senate File 2204 requires nonresident aliens, foreign businesses, and foreign governments to register their farmland with the Secretary of State. It also requires them to include their legal name, address, nationality, and authority to purchase agricultural land. If a foreign entity fails to register in a timely manner, they would be subject to a penalty of up to 25 percent of the assessed value of the land, and they must register land within 60 days of acquisition. The bill also requires this registration to be updated twice a year, and if a foreign entity fails to file the biennial report or provides false information, they will be subject to a fine of no more than $10K per offense. As an agricultural state, Iowans have a strong and vested interest in protecting our land and knowing who owns it.

Additionally, the Iowa Senate passed SF 2095, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It does not pick a winning religion or a losing religion, and it does not legalize discrimination. The bill says the state must have a compelling state interest, the highest legal burden, to intrude on an Iowan’s religious expression. Further, if the state does have a compelling interest, the impact on someone’s free exercise of religion must be in the least restrictive manner possible. Ultimately, this bill simply gives people who believe their free exercise of religion has been impeded a day in court.

Sen. Lynn Evans (R-Aurelia) represents all of O’Brien, Osceola and Buena Vista counties, and parts of Cherokee and Clay counties, in Senate District 3.