From our inbox yesterday afternoon – Blue Statehouse Alert from Iowa House Dems

STATE BUDGET STALLS ADJOURNMENT

Every year, the last thing that must be passed before lawmakers can adjourn is setting the state’s budget. There are seven budgets that must be approved before legislators can go home for the year. We have yet to see the final details on all seven budgets and, as usual, Democrats are being left out of the budgeting process.

As we head into the 1st week of overtime, House Democrats are dedicated to putting people over politics to invest in our schools, lower costs for Iowans, and provide expanded access to reproductive care. We are committed to transparency of our tax dollars and public awareness of the legislative process.

Be sure to contact legislators with your priorities on how our tax dollars should be spent. As we begin to see the budget details unfold, we will continue to keep Iowans updated on important pieces in each bill.

CHILD LABOR ROLLBACKS STILL ON THE DOCKET

A proposal by Iowa Republicans drastically weakens Iowa’s current child labor protections, which could jeopardize Iowa businesses with federal labor regulations.

Rather than address our state’s labor shortage by offering fair wages and comprehensive benefits, Iowa Republicans are relaxing child labor laws so younger Iowans may fill the employment gap. HF 647 would:

– Allow 14-and-15-year-olds to work six-hour nightly shifts in industrial laundries, meat freezers, or on light manufacturing production lines;

– Allow 16-and-17-year-olds to serve alcohol at establishments unsupervised;

– Employers can now recruit 14-18-year-olds for a “work-based learning program” that may require hazardous job duties.

– Some of the most extreme proposed changes to Iowa’s child labor laws include eliminating the Iowa Labor Commissioner’s authority to require work permits for minors in certain occupations and allowing the state new discretion to waive, reduce, or delay civil penalties if an employer violates any child labor law.

Rather than addressing Iowa’s persisting labor shortage by offering fair wages and a safe working environment, the House Majority is relaxing child labor laws for younger Iowans to fill the state’s employment gap. These proposed policies skirt federal labor requirements, which protect minors from being exploited, injured, or killed.

BLUE STATEHOUSE ALERT LIVE SCHEDULED FOR AFTER SESSION

As we head toward adjournment with late-night debates expected most of this week, we’re going to cancel the Blue Statehouse Alert LIVE again this week. Apologies for the short notice on cancellation last week!

While we miss our chats every week, we will be hosting another after we adjourn. We plan to continue our LIVE events on Facebook monthly through the summer and fall. We will continue to keep you informed via email and on our Facebook page at: facebook.com/iowahousedemocrats.