Watching the Iowa Legislature, 2024

By Robert Cook

It’s that time of year again. The second session of Iowa’s 90th General Assembly gaveled in on January 8, 2024. I’m busy reading bills, unravelling the details, declaring for or against them, and passing on that critical information to my fellow heathen freethinkers.

But this year, it’s not just me. IAF President Jason Bennell has registered as a lobbyist with the Iowa Legislature and will be helping me monitor bills and events at the Capitol Building. I appreciate his assistance. Keeping track of the legislature during session is a huge job for three people, let alone just me.

I have created a spreadsheet of all the bills that I have responded to — for, against, and undecided. I check the Legislative website every day and we will do our best to keep this list up to date. Feel free to check out the bill and share the link far and wide.

There are three criteria that I use to decide which bills to respond to on behalf of IAF. These three categories often overlap.

1) Secular government and separation of church and state. These bill are the easy ones. that deal with the core issues of IAFs activism.

2) Christian Nationalism. IAF opposes Christian Nationalism. It is related to, but not the same as #1. Christian Nationalists love their culture war hot button issues, I see many Christian Nationalist bills that have nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus or Christianity in general. But if groups like the Family Leader or Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values weighs in on a bill to virtue signal their base or persuade legislators to vote for religious privilege, then that makes it IAF business.

3) IAF is a community of atheists and freethinkers. We are also a community of humanists. That humanism broadens our activist interest beyond strict just church/state separation. We support human rights for everyone. We also support the LGBTQ community, reproductive healthcare, public education, science, voting rights, and democratic principles. We will examine any bills that touch on these issues (and probably others that I didn't think of just now).

Please check out the spreadsheet and let me know if you have any comments, concerns, or if I missed any bills that you think IAF should respond to.

Update on the Iowa Legislature

By Robert Cook

The first funnel in the Iowa Legislature is past. That means that any bill (except spending and tax related bills) that didn’t make it out of a standing committee in either the House or Senate is dead for the session*. The funnel killed a huge swath of bills both good and bad. But many of the worst did survive so we still have to remain vigilant and active.

As I said in my last post, I am now a registered lobbyist in the Iowa Legislature. I have updated my Lobbyist Declaration List to include links to the bills, brief legislative descriptions, and whether they are alive or dead. Please check it out. I think you will find it a useful reference to help IAF members keep track of the relevant bills. I will continue to update it as needed.

*”Dead” is a relative term. There are several ways to resurrect a dead bill. Leaders of the House or Senate can jointly reintroduce a dead bill. Dead bills can also be added to other bills as amendments. The leaders of the House and Senate are sneaky, Machiavellian bastards. I expect to see multiple shenanigans before the session is done.

Iowa Legislature Day 1: The Obligatory Magic Spell

It is opening day of the 2023 Iowa Legislature. It starts with a flurry of activity. Our legislators have a lot to do and only 110 days to get it all done. One of the first and most important items of business is to resolve that each daily session begins with a magic spell to appease Big Daddy Who Lives In the Sky.

If you don’t cast the magic spell, Big Daddy Who Lives in the Sky gets very, very angry and donors threaten to stop sending money.

And there it is, House Resolution 2, filed by Siegrist:

A Resolution to arrange for opening the sessions with prayer.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That a committee of one be appointed to arrange for opening the sessions with prayer.

Theocracy Is UnAmerican: A Rally for Secular Government 2023

The red wave fizzled in the midterm elections across the country — everywhere except here. In Iowa, Christian Nationalists actually gained seats, achieving a supermajority in both legislative houses. They have the numbers to pass any bills they feel like and no reason to hold back. I expect this year to be so much worse than last year, and 2022 was a bad year for secular-minded Iowans.

Yeah, I know, I’ve said that every year since 2017. Unfortunately,  I’ve been proven right every single year. But there are some things atheists and humanists can do to push back against the theocratic agenda; to make our voices heard at the Capitol and express our frustration and disapproval.

One of those things is Theocracy Is UnAmerican: A Rally for Secular Government. 

Sponsored by Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers in the Capitol Rotunda, this event will take place 1:00 PM Thursday, March 23, 2023.

Our speakers will defend secular government, protect church/state separation, and push back against the Christian Nationalists who seek to tear down our democratic republic. 

I plan to give the opening remarks. Other speakers include our Press Officer Jason Bennell, Connie Ryan of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, and FFRF constitutional attorney Ryan Jayne. As we confirm more speakers I will update the list accordingly.

Prior to the rally, Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers and other like-minded groups will host outreach tables for legislators, staff, and visitors to the Capitol (set up at 9:00 AM).

Please attend if you can. There is power in numbers.  Ask for the day off now, put it in your calendar, and come to this rally. We need a crowd so large that Legislators and the Media cannot ignore us.

Christian Nationalists control the Iowa House and Senate but a third our our legislators still support secular government and our Constitutional rights. Let’s add our voices to theirs and inspire all the other secular citizens of Iowa to join us.

Reason On the Hill 2023

Reason on the Hill is back! Mark your calendars, folks: Monday Feb. 13 from 9:00 AM to about 3:00 PM in the Rotunda of the Iowa Capitol Building. Cosponsored by our friends  in Humanists of Linn County, Reason on the Hill is our secular lobby day. Please join us if you can to speak to your legislators, promote church/state separation, and encourage reason/science based public policy. 

We need your help with this. We need people to host our outreach table in the morning and then speak to legislators in the afternoon. If you can make it, please let us know. Clear your calendar and ask for the day off now. 

We will set up the outreach tables at 8:30 AM and spend the morning talking to legislators, staffers, lobbyists, and visitors to the Capitol Building. 

Okay, I have a confession. Feb. 13 is a Monday. Legislators spend Monday mornings driving back to the Capitol from their homes after the weekend so most won’t be there until later. They gavel in at 1:00 PM.  I am embarrassed to admit that when I reserved this time slot last Spring, I did not realize this. But there will still be a crowd of staffers, lobbyists, and probably a few early bird legislators there for us to talk to.

On the other hand, it was also the only unclaimed time left during the Session. There were no other options. 

We will tear down our outreach tables a little before Noon and go to lunch. 

After 1:00 PM, we will return to lobby our legislators in person.

In the midterm elections, Christian Nationalists gained seats in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature and the Executive Branch. They have the numbers to pass any bill they like. Our political climate is more polarized than ever. Because of that, theocrats have little reason to restrain themselves and every reason to keep their base riled up. 

Secular voices have to make themselves heard and Reason on the Hill is one of our most effective ways to do that.

We will partner with other like-minded groups to host outreach tables and meet with legislators. Reason on the Hill is open to any organization that supports our goals of science-based legislation, secular government, and the separation of church and state.

Find out more about Reason on the Hill at this link or on FaceBook.

You can reach me at Activism@Iowaatheists.org