Government : Hello, Iowa House District 84 from the State Capitol!

The Iowa House of Representatives continued debating bills every day last week with the goal to finish by the 100th day of session. We started voting on bills later than usual this year due to the tremendous amount of work involved with the AEA bill that the House passed recently.

Some of the highlights for bills passed for March 4th was the passage of House File 2576. This bill addresses the growing crisis of fentanyl overdoses, which are up over 34%. In 2021, illicit fentanyl was connected with 83% of all of Iowa's opioid-related deaths, compared to just 31% five years ago. Criminal drug networks are mass-producing fake pills containing fentanyl, then market them as prescription pills, killing unsuspecting Iowans. Too many times, people consuming or selling these pills do not know they are laced with fentanyl. HF 2576 makes it a class A felony to anyone providing illegal fentanyl products that result in death.

An article from Senator Joni Ernst (https://www.rpc.senate.gov/policy-papers/a-surge-of-drugs-adds-to-bidens-border-crisis) states U.S. Customs & Border Protection seized an average of 321 pounds of fentanyl per month between 2018 - 2020. In 2021, the monthly average went up 258% to 830 pounds per month. This is one of the direct results of the illegal open border policies of the Biden Administration. According to the CDC, the period of August 2021-August 2022 resulted in over 107,000 deaths nationwide from fentanyl. This would be comparable to over 300 people dying in a plane crash every day for a year. If this would happen for just one week, the airlines would be immediately shut down.

We also passed HF 2598, which addresses the problems of mob looting occurring across the country. It lays out a tiered system of punishment depending on the value of the stolen goods. Retail theft has increased in Iowa, and this bill is tough on "smash and grab" mobs intends to protect Iowans' businesses and property.

The Iowa Legislature continues to ensure safe and secure elections, and HF 2610 accomplishes this. It creates an affidavit envelope for absentee voters to affix their signature and verification number, and requires Voter ID, even if you vote absentee. It also bans ranked choice voting and removes the use of ballot drop boxes. These were started due to COVID-19, which is no longer needed.

I unfortunately was unable to be at the Capitol on March 6th & 7th due to a norovirus or something with very similar symptoms. It sounds like there are a lot of viruses going around, so please practice good handwashing frequently so you or others don't catch or spread these viruses.

Have a safe week, be careful out there, and hope you are healthy!