DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Legislature saw many bills that generated a lot of talk in the 2024 session, but not every bill was passed or signed into law.
Here are some bills that failed.
House File 2389, a bill that would define sex based on how someone was biologically identified at birth, made a lot of headlines but never made it to Governor Kim Reynolds' desk.
The bill would require people who go through gender-affirming procedures and get a new birth certificate to include both their current identity as well as what they were assigned at birth on the new certificate.
The bill also stated that spaces like prisons, domestic violence shelters and restrooms can be separated based on sex assigned at birth.
The bill’s definition of sex would also impact how certain data is reported to the state. For instance, state and local governments as well as school districts would have to follow that definition when reporting on data about public health, crime, economics and more.
Birth control was another subject of debate at the capitol. Legislation that would make birth control available over the counter for adults didn’t make the cut.
Legislation banning employers from knowingly hiring immigrants who have not been authorized to work in the US didn’t pass either. The bill would have required employers to check through E-Verify. It would also give county attorneys, local law enforcement and community members the power to file complaints about violations.
Legislators duked it out over pesticide labels, too. A bill that would have made it harder for people to file lawsuits against pesticide manufacturers failed. EPA warning labels would be considered a sufficient warning of health hazards under this legislation.
House File 2617, which would enforce school curriculum requirements related to teaching about pregnancy and fetal development, won't see Reynolds' desk either. The bill would require teachers to use a video comparable to the "Meet Baby Olivia" video in all Iowa middle and high schools. Live Action, an anti-abortion organization, made the video.
The bill would have also required schools to incorporate the biology of pregnancy and fetal development in general into the curriculum for certain grades.