Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

05/25/2022 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/25/2022 05:31

2022 Legislature Adjourns: A string of attacks on working families

Des Moines, Iowa - Iowa lawmakers have officially concluded the 2022 legislative session. Republicans spent the session pushing Corporate Kim Reynolds' harmful agenda and passing bills that attack working families and marginalized communities.

"Once again, Corporate Kim and the Republican-led legislature have failed Iowans," said Matt Sinovic, Executive Director of Progress Iowa. "While we're happy to see the Governor's terrible proposal for private school vouchers fail, this session has been a disaster. Republican legislators spent most of their time this year attacking working families, bullying kids and targeting our public schools and educators. The laws they passed will make the Reynolds Workforce Crisis worse, all in an effort to give massive tax breaks to the rich and wealthy corporations. We need leaders who reward work, not wealth. Iowans deserve a Governor and legislature that prioritize Iowa families and make our state a place people want to live, work and raise a family."

Harmful bills passed in 2022

  • An unfair 4% flat tax that will provide massive tax breaks for corporations and the ultra wealthy, while actually raising taxes on the lowest income earners in Iowa
  • Massive corporate tax cuts
  • Banning transgender girls playing female sports
  • Slashing hard-earned unemployment benefits from 26 to 16 weeks
  • An inadequate, under inflation 2.5% funding increase for Iowa's public schools
  • Making child care centers less safe by allowing 16-year-olds to watch children without supervision
  • Making child care centers less safe by allowing adults to watch more children at one time
  • Allowing law enforcement to search and seize garbage placed outside the home, going against an Iowa Supreme Court ruling
  • Changes to Iowa's judicial selection process, allowing Governor Reynolds to stack the Court as she sees fit
  • Making the penalties for manufacturing, possessing, or delivering heroin the same as methamphetamine, perpetuating a racist war on drugs
  • Making public schools less safe by preventing K-12 public or charter schools from performing health screenings on students without written permission from a parent or guardian.
  • Changes to the state's bottle bill that favor corporate greed, not the need to recycle