The Iowa Catholic Conference is encouraging contacts to legislators in support of a bill to regulate “black market” abortions, a community solar program, and opposing the exclusion of certain groups from the WIC nutrition program. To send a message you can go to our ICC Action Center.
Last week at the Statehouse
About 200 people visited the State Capitol on Tuesday for the annual “Education Celebration” in support of nonpublic schools. It’s been about 20 years since the Iowa School Tuition Organization tax credit program was enacted. Since then, more than 200,000 scholarships have been awarded to students in nonpublic schools, totaling more than $273 million. The STO tax credit laid the groundwork for today’s Education Savings Accounts in Iowa. It proved school choice works – and that families value having options!
SF 2231 passed the Senate and was sent to the House. It requires public schools to allow community-based private providers to participate in the state preschool program. The bill also follows recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court by removing exclusions in state law based on religious content for aid for textbooks, tuition and early childhood development.
Two bills opposed by the ICC passed the House and were sent to the Senate:
- HF 2542 requires certain habitual offenders to serve a minimum sentence of at least 20 years in prison. An amendment provides that the bill shall only apply to convictions occurring on or after July 1, 2026. Requiring mandatory sentences will not allow judges to consider individual circumstances, which may lead to unjust outcomes. Opponents stated that there may be a rise in corrections costs without a long-term drop in crime.
- HF 2711 repeals state affirmative action programs and anti-bias training requirements for law enforcement. An amendment improved the bill slightly by restoring a provision in Iowa law that prevents applicants for certain licenses from being ineligible due to a lack of citizenship.
Legislation supported by the ICC, HF 2557, was advanced by the House to the Senate. It would protect a parent’s right to raise their child according to the child’s biological sex.
We were also pleased that SF 2279, creating a tax credit for donations to maternity homes, passed out of a Senate subcommittee. There’s a subcommittee hearing scheduled for the House version (HF 2323) of the bill on Tuesday.
Subcommittee hearings are also scheduled next week for:
- HF 2296, outlaw Community IDs (oppose)
- HF 2308, requiring state participation in the new federal “Education Freedom Tax Credit” (support). This will provide a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 per taxpayer for donations to K-12 scholarship funds for public or private school, or home school. Those funds can be made available by scholarship granting organizations to students from a household with an income not greater than 300% of the area’s median gross income.
Save the date
The Iowa Faith and Climate Network is sponsoring “Called to Climate Action 2026” on Saturday, March 21 at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids. Participants will engage topics including clean water, the state of cancer in Iowa, clean energy and more. Click here to sign up.
Tuesday, April 14 is the annual Iowa Religious Freedom Day event from 7:30 – 9 a.m. at the Iowa State Capitol. This informal, interfaith breakfast brings together leaders from across the state. This year’s breakfast will be headlined by Micah Fries of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, with a discussion on how we build friendships without compromising our own beliefs. Join us in advocating for and exercising our collective right to freedom of religion. The Iowa Catholic Conference is one of the co-sponsors along with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and DMARC.
St. Ambrose University in Davenport is hosting “From A(mbrose) to (Gen.) Z: Resourcing the Tradition in Response to Contemporary Concerns in the Church,” a conference exploring how the Catholic Church can respond to the world’s most pressing social challenges of our time through wisdom, courage, and faith. It’s set for April 24-26 and the keynote speaker is Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, OP. A session on “AI and the Church’s Public Witness” will be presented by Iowa Catholic Conference Executive Director Tom Chapman.
Bishops call on Congress to ensure that immigration enforcement respects human dignity
While Congress continues to negotiate on Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the chairmen of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty and Committee on Migration sent a letter articulating the bishops’ concerns and requests regarding issues at the intersection of immigration enforcement and religious freedom.
The bishops urged Congress to demonstrate its support for religious liberty on a bipartisan basis by (1) ensuring respect for what are commonly referred to as sensitive locations, especially houses of worship, and (2) mandating consistent access to religious and pastoral services for all immigration detainees.
Contact your member of Congress now in support of the bishops’ letter.
And finally,
Bishop William Joensen of Des Moines has issued a statement on Iran, saying “At this critical moment, I invite Catholics and all people of goodwill to continue our ardent prayers for peace in the Middle East, for the safety of our troops and the innocent, that leaders may seek dialogue over destruction, and pursue the common good over the tragedy of war.” Bishop Joensen is also the chair of the Iowa Catholic Conference.
