The Real Story Behind Our Recent Civil Rights Bill

Posted on April 30, 2007 by bfiasamgarchik

The Real Story Behind Our Recent Civil Rights Bill


By Christina Butts

Being an ex-intern for the Iowa Senate Democrats and their team cheerleader/critic 🙂 ,
it sort of annoys me the inference that the Senate was the last to get
this bill and finally approve when it was the first and consistent
legislative house that has introduced this bill and got the votes to
pass it but it died repeatedly in the House. It has been the House that
was the stick in the mud, even with the new Democratic majority and
needed the final prodding and concession to the extremely conservative
Republican Leaders to include the amendment not undermine the
DOMA(Defense of Marriage Act) laws on Iowa's books. The public
announcement of this as being a wonderful Iowa House bill misconstrues
of the facts of history in my mind and somewhat annoys me.  True, once
it finally passed the House's amendments to the Senate file/bill,
the Senate had to re-vote to concur, but most people don't know these
legislative steps in getting a bill passed. The second Senate approval
concurrence INCREASED in the AYE votes.

I've just been reading
national press releases on the announcements and congratulations all
around to Iowa. I know I worked hard on my end of the spectrum to make
sure this was one of the KEY issues in the state's Democratic party's
platform to be made into public policy, as Co-Chair on the '06 IDP
Platform's Government Subcommittee, with Andrew Keiffert of Dubuque,
which was overwhelmingly approved during the last state convention by
the party delegates/members from around the state. It was a puzzle that
needed many pieces(people) to fit into place to make it happen.

But so goes life. 😦 😛   K' Plagh!! Enough with my sour grapes, And celebrate our victories this year!! 😎 🙂
——————————————-

Here's THE TRUE HISTORY –

Bill History for SF 427
By State Government.
A
bill for an act relating to the Iowa civil rights Act and
discrimination based upon a person's sexual orientation or gender
identity. (Formerly SF 224.)
March 8, 2007 Introduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 629.
March 8, 2007 Committee report, approving bill. S.J. 641.
March 13, 2007 Fiscal note. SCS.
March 21, 2007 Deferred. S.J. 873.
March 26, 2007 Deferred. S.J. 889.
March 26, 2007 Amendment S-3168 filed. S.J. 901.
March 26, 2007 Point of order raised on S-3168, ruled out of order. S.J. 901.
March 26, 2007 Amendment S-3166 filed, lost. S.J. 902.
March 26, 2007 Amendment S-3167 filed, lost. S.J. 902.
March 26, 2007 Amendment S-3171 filed, lost. S.J. 903.
March 26, 2007 Amendment S-3172 filed, lost. S.J. 904.
March 26, 2007 Amendment S-3169 filed, withdrawn. S.J. 904.
March 26, 2007 Passed Senate, ayes 32, nays 17. S.J. 905.
March 26, 2007 Immediate message. S.J. 905.
March 27, 2007 Message from Senate. H.J. 1026.
March 27, 2007 Read first time, referred to Human Resources. H.J. 1033.
March 29, 2007 Subcommittee, Wessel-Kroeschell, Grassley, and Hunter. H.J. 1163.
April 5, 2007 Committee report, recommending passage. H.J. 1268.
April 9, 2007 Amendment H-1626 filed. H.J. 1287.
April 12, 2007 Placed on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 1369.
April 25, 2007 Amendment H-1626 adopted. H.J. 1745.
April 25, 2007 Call of the House. H.J. 1745.
April 25, 2007 Passed House, ayes 59, nays 37. H.J. 1746.
April 25, 2007 Immediate message. H.J. 1747.
April 25, 2007 Call of the House lifted. H.J. 1747.
April 25, 2007 Message from House, with amendment S-3487. S.J. 1453.
April 25, 2007 Senate concurred with S-3487. S.J. 1454.
April 25, 2007 Passed Senate, ayes 34, nays 16. S.J. 1454.
April 25, 2007 Immediate message. S.J. 1459.
April 25, 2007 Message from Senate. H.J. 1811.

Now Going to the Chetster (the Guv) to sign into updated Law!

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