Thread by @LauraRBelin

Iowa House about to debate SF 2338, the bill that would give employers immunity from lawsuits related to workers getting #COVID19. House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl used rare procedural move to limit debate to less than 40 minutes. Final vote will occur at 11 pm. #ialegis

Livestream of #Iowa House debate here: legis.iowa.gov/dashboard?view…
Democrats not happy Rs are limiting debate on this bill. #ialegis

Democratic State Rep Scott Ourth speaking on House floor in favor of his amendment to protect essential workers who didn't have the option to stay home and may subsequently have been exposed to #COVID19. If they got sick they should be eligible for workers' comp. #ialegis

Republicans obviously don't want to vote on this amendment. Q was raised about germaneness and House Speaker @PatGrassley ruled the amendment not germane.
Democratic State Rep Ourth then moved to suspend rules to allow consideration of his amendment. They're voting on that now.

House rejected motion to suspend rules on party-line vote, sparing Republicans from voting against a Democratic amendment to protect essential workers who got sick during #COVID19 pandemic.
Now floor manager Gary Carlson is presenting another amendment. #ialegis

Now Democratic State Rep @brianjmeyer presenting an amendment that would offer liability protection to employers that "did the right thing," meaning they substantially complied with #COVID19 guidance from CDC and other governmental entities. legis.iowa.gov/dashboard?view…

Under @brianjmeyer's amendment, employers would not be subject to lawsuits if they did what they were supposed to do.
He shouted about GOP limiting debate on one of the year's most important bills. "You don't even know what you're voting on!" #ialegis

House rejected Meyer's amendment along party lines. Now Dem State Rep Chris @HallForIowa is presenting an amendment to require state to release names of employers that have workplace outbreaks of #COVID19. #ialegis
They're moving quickly b/c GOP cutting off debate at 11 pm.

.@HallForIowa saying the public needs information about outbreaks so they can protect themselves from #COVID19 infections. In times of health crisis, "it is our duty to be honest with the public."
Floor manager Carlson asked for ruling on germaneness. Speaker ruled not germane.

Republicans are getting out of this debate without directly voting on Democratic proposals to protect workers and the public. Instead they have voted down motions to suspend the rules to allow consideration of amendments ruled not germane. #ialegis

GOP floor manager Gary Carlson said most companies are doing the best they can to follow #COVID19 guidelines but no organization will be 100% in compliance all the time.
@HallForIowa noted that sometimes CDC guidance was in conflict with @IAGovernor's recommendations.

State Rep @brianjmeyer confronted floor manager Gary Carlson about elements of the bill that would prevent recovering damages in various devastating scenarios. He warned Rs that Iowans will ask why they voted for bill & they will say they didn't know they were voting for that.

Democratic State Rep @WesBreckenridge was speaking. His father lives in a long-term care facility and got #COVID19 but pulled through.
Speaker @PatGrassley cut him off in the middle of remarks because it was 11 pm and GOP voted earlier to end debate at "time certain."

The majority rarely uses that procedural maneuver. It's happened a few times in recent years on some of the most controversial bills.
They moved to vote on amendment and now floor manager Gary Carlson is giving final remarks on the bill. #ialegis

As I mentioned earlier, State Rep Carlson (floor manager) is retiring this year. No other Republican has spoken during this rushed debate on bill to shield employers from liability if their practices exposed workers to #COVID19.
Cowardly.

GOP Rep Carlson moved a final vote on the bill. Democrat @brianjmeyer moved to change the bill title to "The #COVID19 bad actor blanket immunity act."
Motion went down along party lines. #ialegis

House voting on bill's final passage.
Every Democratic challenger should make sure voters know the GOP incumbent voted for this bill and to cut off debate on its possibly life-ruining impact on Iowans. There will be plenty of tragic stories to tell in coming months. #ialegis

House approved by 52 votes to 44 the bill giving employers immunity from lawsuits related to employees who got #COVID19 at work.
Majority Leader Windschitl moved to adjourn until Monday afternoon. #ialegis

Democratic State Rep Kirsten Running-Marquardt @Kirsten_RM giving a point of personal privilege now. legis.iowa.gov/dashboard?view…
She's wearing a mask, notes this precaution is recommended by CDC because #Iowa still has substantial community spread of #COVID19. #ialegis

.@Kirsten_RM thanked the Iowans and businesses that have been working hard to make masks, face shields, and other PPE. Referring to GOP @RepShipley without naming him, she said that while some may mock mask wearing, she appreciates people's hard work to make PPE.

.@Kirsten_RM got emotional talking about Iowans working in essential jobs. Thousands of meatpacking plant employees have gotten #COVID19 and some have died.
She wants to address workplace safety. "We have to build confidence in our workplace." Rs only protecting corporations.

.@Kirsten_RM pleading with GOP colleagues to make workplace safety a priority. Without that our economy will not move forward.
Her father worked in a meatpacking plant when she was growing up. He and others were proud of their work. #ialegis needs to appreciate their work.

We need legislation to protect workers and not just the corporations they work for, @Kirsten_RM said on #Iowa House floor. Wants families who have lost loved ones in meatpacking plants to know "I see you, and I will not give up" until #ialegis does something to make it better.

.@Kirsten_RM asked for moment of silence to honor the lives of 592 Iowans known to have died of #COVID19. She mentioned the name of constituent who was one of them, Kathy Everett. thegazette.com/obituaries/kat…

Democratic State Rep @marymascher speaking now on #Iowa House floor. She is wearing a face shield. Democratic lawmakers are largely wearing them at #ialegis but most GOP lawmakers are not.
Mascher said she hoped legislature would work on racial justice bills this month.

State Rep @marymascher said some companies are doing the right thing, but "we know when we see these enormous outbreaks" that some corporations are not doing everything they can to protect their workers. We know asymptomatic spread is part of this disease. #ialegis

State Rep @marymascher wants #ialegis to send a message to Iowans that we care about their health and safety. Giving companies blanket immunity wasn't the right way.

Now Democratic State Rep @ross_wilburn is giving a point of personal privilege. It seems that #Iowa House Ds are saying a lot of the things they would have said during the debate on the employer immunity bill if the GOP majority hadn't cut off debate at 11 pm. #ialegis

State Rep @ross_wilburn is one of five African Americans currently serving in #ialegis. He's talking about racial justice issues now. He noted that many people haven't experienced being treated differently but some of us have.

.@ross_wilburn speculated that some people may be wondering what all the protests of the last week are about. People die tragically every day. He is explaining his experience of being racially profiled while shopping or during traffic stops. #ialegis

.@ross_wilburn says there are times to rise to a moment in history. He understands that #ialegis has rules but they have voted to suspend rules several times this week. People are looking for action and he is asking colleagues to consider proposals of Black legislative caucus.

Those 3 proposals:
-ban law enforcement from using chokeholds in Iowa
-make it illegal to rehire police officers who were fired for misconduct
-allow #Iowa's attorney general to investigate police misconduct.
@ross_wilburn described ideas as a starting point for action. #ialegis

#Iowa House Minority Leader @RepPrichard is asking Majority Leader Windschitl about plans for last week. Rs hope #ialegis will be ready to adjourn at the end of next week but they haven't even announced budget targets yet.

Windschitl deferred some questions to House Appropriations Chair Gary Mohr. He just told @RepPrichard that he didn't have any state budget targets to disclose. He hopes to have those early next week but he can't promise when it will happen. He's in talks with Senate GOP & gov.

House Appropriations Chair Gary Mohr can't say yet whether Republicans will propose using rainy day funds to help fill budget holes.
If the current economic meltdown doesn't prompt use of rainy day funds, hard to understand when that money could ever be used.

Democratic State Rep @WesBreckenridge giving point of personal privilege now, continuing the speech he was trying to give earlier when GOP cut off debate on liability bill at 11 pm.
Disappointed lawmakers didn't have time to discuss the unintended consequences more. #ialegis

.@WesBreckenridge also addressed the "ag gag" bill #Iowa House approved earlier this evening. He was a career police officer & made trespassing arrests. Explained some problems he saw in the bill and how it might operate.
Disappointed lawmakers haven't had time to do more work.

Democratic State Rep Bruce Hunter giving point of personal privilege on #Iowa House floor now. Quoting from Rev. Dr. MLK Jr's letter from Birmingham jail on how his white colleagues would tell him to wait, which meant "never."

Hunter said it seems like House GOP leaders are not planning to do anything to address racial justice issues this session. Speaker @PatGrassley hasn't been talking to anyone in the Democratic caucus.

State Rep Bruce Hunter read a long list of statistics pointing to racial disparities in many areas of life. #Iowa is notorious for having some of the worst disparities in the country. Background: bleedingheartland.com/2019/10/13/iow…

Bruce Hunter also mentioned the racial disparities in #Iowa's #COVID19 cases. bleedingheartland.com/2020/05/17/lat…

Hunter called for action to address racial disparities and injustice this session. Some lawmakers have said they aren't racist. He believes them but that's not good enough. This body needs to "start to mend the divide that we have."
#ialegis

House Speaker @PatGrassley now giving a point of personal privilege, which he says he has never done in 14 years in #Iowa House.
He said he's seen proposals to address police violence toward people of color.

Grassley said he has committed to State Rep @akoabdulsamad that he will address some of these issues.
Objected to Bruce Hunter's accusations and "grandstanding." Grassley said he has been having conversations with @IAGovernor and Senate majority leader @jackwhitver.

#Iowa House now adjourned until Monday afternoon.
I will be surprised if GOP leaders move forward any bill to address racial disparities or police violence next week, but I sincerely hope they will prove me wrong.