After two Iowa GOP lawmakers asked regents to block a University of Iowa proposal combining cultural programming into a new school, Democratic legislative leaders contended Thursday that Iowa’s public universities are best governed without legislative interference.
Democratic House Leader Jennifer Konfrst and Senate Leader Janice Weiner were the only legislative leaders to participate in a forum held at the Capitol by the Iowa Capitol Press Association, which is made up of reporters who cover Iowa state government and the Legislature.
Republican leaders declined to attend the annual forum intended to preview the coming legislative session. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver and Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley were invited.
Lawmakers convene for the 2025 session Monday. Here’s what the Democratic leaders had to say ahead of the session starting.
More: Inside the 2025 Iowa Legislature New leaders and bigger Republican majorities
Republicans criticize UI’s proposed ‘School of Social and Cultural Analysis’
The University of Iowa is making a pitch to the Iowa Board of Regents to create a new School of Social and Cultural Analysis housed within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. It would combine areas such as Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies and American Studies.
That comes after the UI said it would close its 50-year-old Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies Department and the liberal arts college will drop its American Studies and Social Justice majors. Such programming has come under fire from Republican lawmakers targeting diversity and inclusion initiatives at Iowa’s public universities.
Sen. Lynn Evans of Aurelia and Rep. Taylor Collins of Mediapolis, both Republicans, penned a letter Wednesday to the regents asking them to reject the proposal for a new school.
When lawmakers gavel in Monday for the 2025 session, Collins will chair the new House Higher Education Committee that Grassley established to take a comprehensive look at Iowa’s higher education system. Evans will chair the Senate Education Committee.
“Iowans expect our institutions of higher education to be focused on providing for the workforce needs of the state, not programs that are focused on peddling ideological agendas,” the lawmakers wrote.
Konfrst said the governor-appointed regents and experts at Iowa’s universities know best.
A Drake University professor, Konfrst said she appointed herself to sit on the new Higher Education Committee, where she will focus on “whether or not it’s going to be political games, or whether they’re going to actually try to pass legislation.”
“It sounds to me like a letter to the Board of Regents is the start of political games,” Konfrst said.
Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, speaks during the Iowa Capitol Press Association’s pre-legislative forum on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the Iowa State Capitol.
Weiner, an Iowa City Democrat whose district includes the University of Iowa campus, said the universities are best positioned to decide what programs need to be in place for students.
“They know where the demand is,” Weiner said. “They know what the career paths are that young people coming in want to take.”
No new casinos? Gaming moratorium likely to come up early
A moratorium blocking the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission from awarding new gaming licenses may be unveiled as soon as next week, Konfrst said, which would put a wrinkle in Cedar Rapids casino backers’ plans for a new $275 million facility.
On the last night of the 2024 legislative session in April, the House swiftly passed a moratorium that would have halted state regulators from approving any new casino licenses for five years. The Senate declined to take it up.
In doing so, Iowa lawmakers allowed a two-year moratorium to expire that they passed in 2022, which had thwarted Cedar Rapids’ third try for a casino since 2014.
Weiner and Konfrst said lawmakers are likely to vary in their votes based on their district. Konfrst did not support the latest moratorium that Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, proposed in 2024.
“I think there are arguments on both sides to be made, and I know our caucus won’t be in the same spot on that,” Konfrst said.
Lawmakers would have to move fast to pass a legislative pause and get Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature. The five-member gaming commission is slated to vote on awarding a license for a Linn County casino Feb. 6.
Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, the proposed operator, and the nonprofit Linn County Gaming Association are seeking the license.
What bipartisan legislation is on Democrats’ wish list?
Konfrst said she would like to see the House advance the hands-free driving bill that has previously stalled in the chamber but passed in the Senate. It would ban the use of handheld phones while driving.
“This is a bill that is a no-brainer from my perspective, and really helps people who are both working on the roads, driving on the roads, bicycling on the roads,” Konfrst said. “It’s a safety issue.”
Iowa Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, speaks during the Iowa Capitol Press Association’s pre-legislative forum on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the Iowa State Capitol.
Weiner said she hopes to see action to address Iowa’s cancer rates, which are the second highest in the U.S.
She also said it is “past time” for lawmakers to decide how to spend the millions of dollars Iowa received through national settlements with drug manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.
“It should not be a partisan issue,” Weiner said. “It should be an all-Iowans issue so that we can help save Iowans’ lives.”
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @marissajpayne.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 3 takeaways from forum with Iowa’s Democratic legislative leaders
