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Rep. Steven Holt

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Rep. Steven Holt

Freedom Watch 04/21/25
A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt
No Obfuscation on Property Rights 
The issue of property rights as it relates to the use of eminent domain for the CO2 pipeline project has become front and center in Iowa politics, because the implications are profound for our citizens. George Washington said it best: “Freedom and Property Rights are inseparable. You can’t have one without the other.”  With the announcement that Governor Kim Reynolds will not seek reelection, it is vital that property rights be front and center in the GOP race for Governor.

The Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution states that the power of eminent domain should be used only for public use projects, with just compensation for impacted landowners. The Iowa Constitution also makes it clear that this power should only be granted for public use projects. Iowa code goes on to require that such projects must be convenient and necessary for the people of Iowa.

The 2024 Iowa Republican Party Platform is unambiguous on the issue of eminent domain for the CO2 pipeline. Under the Property section it states, “We oppose government using eminent domain to take private property away from the owner for the use of another private party, or for-profit entity.” Under the Commerce section it is even more specific as it relates to the current battle to secure property rights. It states, “We firmly oppose the carbon capture initiative, including carbon pipelines, and recognize the importance of carbon to Earth’s ecosystem.”

It is interesting to note who the “We” are in these platform statements. The “We” are the Republicans of Iowa who wrote this platform and approved what was included in it. The “We” are also the majority of voters in Iowa who now register as Republicans.

In the GOP race for Governor in Iowa, Republican candidates cannot make vague statements such as “I support property rights.” There must be no obfuscation on the issue of property rights and the CO2 pipeline projects.

Citizens must demand that candidates for Governor in the GOP primary be specific on exactly where they stand on the fundamental issue of the use of eminent domain for the CO2 pipeline private economic development project. Vague answers, rope-a-dope, or refusal to answer, are not acceptable responses. The pipeline can be built and agriculture supported without trampling on fundamental property rights, and candidates must be clear where they stand.

Thus far, there are three possible candidates for Governor I am aware of that have come out in strong support of property owners in the CO2 pipeline fight.

Speaker of the Iowa House Pat Grassley, who is considering running for Governor, has been a strong supporter of property rights throughout his lengthy legislative career, consistently voting in support of landowners in eminent domain disputes, while being front and center in the current fight to stop what many believe to be the unconstitutional use of eminent domain for the CO2 pipelines.

House Ways & Means Chair Bobby Kaufmann, also considering a run for Governor, has been a strong warrior for property rights, fighting successfully for landowners before I came to the House, and joining with me in the current fight to protect landowners.

Former State Representative Brad Sherman, who has announced he is running for Governor, has made strong statements in support of landowners, and was part of the fight to protect property rights during his time in the Iowa House.

It was made crystal clear in South Dakota, with the ousting of over a dozen Republican lawmakers in the 2024 primaries who did not support property rights, replaced with Republicans who supported this fundamental right, that the people of South Dakota understand what is at stake. I believe a similar viewpoint exists throughout rural Iowa.

I hope Republican candidates for Governor in Iowa also understand what is at stake, both on this issue and in its implications at the polls.

Republican candidates for Governor must be very specific in their position on the use of eminent domain for the CO2 pipelines. As a citizen of Iowa and a Republican voter, I believe it is essential that our nominee stand in support of the constitutional rights of landowners and our party platform. In fact, I insist on it.

I am honored to serve as the State Representative of District 12. You can email me at steven.holt@legis.iowa.gov
Freedom Watch 04/07/25
A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt
CO2 Eminent Domain & the Senate Response 
Over the last several years, the Iowa House has fought to protect landowners from the unconstitutional use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines by sending four strong pieces of legislation to the Senate. In 2023, the first effort requiring at least 90% voluntary easements died in the Senate. In 2024 the second effort requiring a declaratory judgement upfront on the constitutionality of eminent domain requests died in the Senate. This year, we sent the Senate two strong bills to protect landowners from the use of eminent domain for the CO2 pipelines. In this edition of Freedom Watch, a reality check regarding Senate actions on bills sent to them by the House to protect landowners fighting against eminent domain for the CO2 pipeline projects.

A bit of historical background would be helpful in this discussion. Traditionally, eminent domain has been granted to companies, both public and private, for projects that meet the constitutional standard of “public use.” This has been understood to be electric transmission lines and oil and natural gas pipelines that provide power to our homes and businesses and fuel our transportation and infrastructure. It has also been used for projects such as highways and military bases, again things essential for our society and security. All of these fit clearly under the “public use” concept. However, in 2005, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Kelo Vs City of New London held in a 5-4 ruling that the use of eminent domain to take the property of one private owner and give it to another for economic development did not violate the Takings Clause of the 5th Amendment. This now infamous ruling in effect changed the “public use” standard to one of “public benefit,” and as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor stated in her strong dissent, this severely damaged private property protections long held sacred by Americans. This brings us a step closer to where we are today.

The Iowa Constitution also has a requirement of “public use” for eminent domain to be used, and there has been no ruling to water down Iowa’s constitutional protections. In fact, recent Iowa Supreme Court rulings have more closely aligned to Justice O’Connor’s dissent in the Kelo case. This is interesting context, given that the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC), on their website, uses the term “public benefit” instead of the constitutional term “public use.”

Following the strict and traditional understanding of the definition of “public use,” which is not the same as “public benefit,” I joined a group of 41 Republican intervenors in suing the Iowa Utilities Commission on behalf of landowners, believing that the IUC did not have the constitutional or statutory authority to grant eminent domain for a private economic development project. Those legal cases are moving through the court system, even as House Republicans have continued to fight for landowners by advancing legislation to try and reinforce the constitutional standard of “public use.”

HF943 passed the House this session and was sent to the Senate. The bill provides that the construction of hazardous liquid pipelines for the transportation or transmission of liquefied carbon dioxide is not a public use, public purpose, or public improvement for purposes of condemnation of agricultural land by a utility unless the owner of the agricultural land consents to the condemnation. This is in keeping with the traditional standards of public use and common carrier, identifying this CO2 project for what it is – a private economic development project. The Senate did not hold a subcommittee and let this important legislation die at the end of last week, when the second funnel deadline passed.

HF639, also passed by the House this session, became an omnibus bill to protect landowners in the fight against eminent domain for the CO2 pipelines. We had a total of six bills combined into this one bill through the amendment process, which passed the House with strong support and was sent to the Senate. Last week, the Senate amended the bill, and not for the better if the objective is to protect landowners in the current fight against eminent domain.

In a strike after amendment, the Senate removed almost everything from the original House bill except the requirement that Iowa Utilities Commission commissioners attend informational meetings and hearings.

The original House bill applied only to CO2 pipelines, due to the reality that they are profoundly different both in purpose and safety considerations from other projects for which eminent domain could be considered. The Senate amendment applies to any project seeking eminent domain approval before the IUC, including oil and natural gas pipelines, transmission lines, and power generation. This is unnecessary and does not provide additional landowner protection as has been suggested. On the contrary, this is not needed for other projects that are actually public use by accepted definition, and many with a knowledge of politics would consider this a poison pill effort to invite additional opposition from those common carriers not originally in the House bill.

The amended Senate version would allow projects to go outside their registered corridor, with the stated objective being to avoid having to use eminent domain. However, the devil is in the details. This change would allow projects to seek easements outside the notification corridor without starting the process over. This would appear to help CO2 pipeline and other projects by allowing them to avoid proper notification and to make major reroutes without starting over, with the potential of impacting landowners outside the corridor without their input.

The amended Senate version requires the IUC to make a decision within one year on projects seeking eminent domain taking, with the argument being this will help landowners with a speedier process. However, careful consideration of this change reveals that it would disadvantage landowners by giving them less time to understand the project and how it impacts them, organize, and fundraise if necessary to support and prepare a legal defense. Meanwhile, advantage to the company with vast resources using the heavy hand of government to take the land of others.

Deeply concerning, the amended Senate version strikes our common carrier definition, leaving CO2 pipeline companies to request eminent domain for private economic development projects that are not for public use.

The House version expanded the list of those who could intervene on behalf of landowners before the IUC, because the IUC overly restricted who could intervene during the hearings on the CO2 pipelines. The Senate version strikes this provision.

The amended Senate version waters down the insurance requirements we put in place on CO2 pipeline companies in order to protect landowners and counties struggling with liability issues. On the positive side, the Senate did add lifetime repair and replacement costs for drainage tile, crop loss, and soil degradation, which appears to be a good step in protecting against loss, and they added the ability for landowners to request and be granted a new land representative.

The failure of the Senate to advance HF943, combined with the changes made to HF639, gives us this reality: eminent domain abuse for CO2 pipeline projects is not addressed in their amended version, which does not in any way help landowners in their current struggle.

I am grateful that in the House we have a grassroots approach to our priorities and positions. From the pesticide bill to the fight for landowner rights against the use of eminent domain for the CO2 pipeline projects, and everything in between, we do not get our marching orders from the top. Rather, we have detailed discussions based upon the concerns we are hearing at home, and decisions and priorities of the elected members of the House Republican caucus are delivered to leadership in a way that honors the voices of the people. This grassroots approach is why we did not advance the pesticide bill, and although we welcome further discussions with the Senate, we will not accept pretense when it comes to protecting the fundamental private property rights of the citizens of Iowa.

I am honored to serve as the State Representative of District 12. You can email me at steven.holt@legis.iowa.gov
Freedom Watch 03/30/25
A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt
Elections, Property Rights & Access to Healthcare
Week 11 was a busy one in the Iowa House, with lots of floor debate. In this edition of Freedom Watch, I will highlight key pieces of legislation that were passed.

Election Security (HF928 & HF954):
House Republicans have worked hard for the last few years to ensure that in Iowa elections are efficient, and that it is easy to vote but hard to cheat. HF928 continues that tradition.

One area we have known needs improvement in our election system is the way we conduct recounts. HF928 establishes a uniform, fair, and common-sense system for conducting recounts in Iowa elections.

The second bill we passed this week regarding election security was HF954.
In the 2024 election cycle, Iowa’s Secretary of State (SOS) was stonewalled by the Biden Administration in his attempts to verify that Iowans registered to vote in the upcoming election were citizens of the United States and were eligible to vote. Recently, the SOS announced that he had found 277 noncitizens on Iowa’s voter rolls. Of those, 40 attempted to cast ballots in the 2024 election and 35 successfully had their vote counted, despite being an ineligible voter.

This bill will help ensure that every voter in Iowa’s elections are US citizens. It does this by outlining efforts to clean the current voter rolls and verify the citizenship status of voters in advance of Election Day.

Eminent Domain Abuse (HF943 & 639):
The citizens of Iowa have made it clear that they expect their private property rights to be protected from eminent domain abuse by the CO2 pipeline projects. This week the House passed two bills containing provisions designed to protect landowners. This is not about opposing the CO2 pipelines, but rather about opposing using the heavy hand of government through eminent domain to construct the pipelines.

HF943 prohibits the taking of agricultural land for a pipeline transporting liquified carbon dioxide.

HF639, which I floor-managed, contains a number of policies designed to protect landowners. These include:

  • Requires hazardous liquid pipelines to have insurance to cover potential damage.
  • States that if individuals face increased insurance, or are unable to get insurance due to the pipeline, the pipeline owner must provide insurance or reimburse the individual for additional costs.
  • Provides stronger safeguards to ensure that only legitimate public uses are recognized for eminent domain.
  • Mandates that all members of the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) must be present during hearings.
  • Allows Iowans who are impacted by IUC action to intervene. Many Iowans have been prohibited from speaking at hearings even though they will be impacted.

Health Care (HF972, HF887, HF919, HF970, SF615):
This session, as in past sessions, one of the priorities of House Republicans has been improving access to quality health care for Iowans. This week we passed a number of health care bills worth highlighting.

HF972 was a bill proposed by Governor Reynolds focused on expanding health care access in rural Iowa. It requires the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) to request federal approval for a health care hub-and-spoke partnership funding model to establish regional collaboration between health care providers and improve health care delivery in rural areas. It requests $150 million in federal dollars to create 115 new medical residency spots in Iowa each year for the next four years.

HF887 removes the requirement that birth centers must obtain a certificate of need prior to opening or expanding their services. With birthing centers closing in rural Iowa hospitals, this bill removes regulatory obstacles.

HF919 establishes a children’s specialty hospital designation for ChildServe. This change allows them to be federally certified and participate in federal reimbursement programs. This will help ChildServe’s sustainability and growth, allowing them to provide care to more Iowa kids with special healthcare needs.

HF970 changes what foods are eligible to be bought with SNAP dollars. SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and is funded with the tax dollars of Iowans. However, right now taxpayer dollars are being spent on items that are far from nutritious and do little to alleviate hunger.

This legislation incentivizes better eating habits. It doesn’t ban anyone from purchasing pop, candy or chips with their own money, but it does limit their ability to purchase those items with taxpayer dollars.

This bill also allocates $1 million to the Double Up Food Bucks program once the SNAP waiver is approved at the federal level.

SF615 creates work requirements for Medicaid Expansion participants. Iowa House Republicans believe that able-bodied Iowans on Medicaid who are able to work should do so. Unfortunately, without work requirements as a condition of Medicaid benefits, there are more than 100,000 able-bodied Iowans receiving benefits who are either not working or working limited hours.

This bill allows DHHS the flexibility to determine what qualifies as work to include education, job skills training, or caregiving services. It also contains many exemptions to ensure those who can’t work for legitimate reasons don’t lose their benefits. These exemptions include:

  • Those under 19 years old and over 64 years old
  • Disabled individuals as determined by Social Security
  • Medically frail or medically exempt individuals
  • Caretakers of dependent children under 6 years old
  • High risk pregnant women
  • Those receiving unemployment
  • Participants in substance abuse treatment
  • Good cause, as determined by the director of DHHS, ensuring there is room for additional common-sense exemptions

Iowa House Republicans do not believe in trapping Iowans on government assistance. We prefer to help individuals transition off of government and into self-sufficiency whenever possible. There is great personal and societal benefit to work, and these requirements will help incentivize independence instead of dependence on government.

I am honored to serve as the State Representative of District 12. You can email me at steven.holt@legis.iowa.gov
Meeting with landowners following the passage of legislation to protect them from the use of eminent domain for the CO2 pipeline projects.

Freedom Watch 03/22/25

A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt

Out of Many, One

It has been a busy two weeks since my last newsletter. In this edition of Freedom Watch, I will highlight the important legislation of Weeks 9 & 10, including legislation to unite us once again so that out of many, we become one.

Week 9
Helping Families & Children:
This session, House Republicans set out to prioritize supporting Iowa families, most importantly making sure we are doing all we can to support children born into tough situations. In Week 9, we passed several bills relating to adoption that we believe are common sense policies to improve the lives and ease the burden on adopting families.

HF248 requires employers to treat employees who have adopted a child 6 years old or younger the same way as those who have had a biological child when it comes to their parental leave policies. We believe that parents who have adopted a child deserve to be treated the same as parents who have had a biological child.

HF314 allows the court to waive a home study requirement in an adoption case if the person applying is the current legal guardian for the adoptee, has been the legal guardian for the proceeding 3 years, and additionally has complied with the duties and responsibilities of a guardian for those 3 years. Waiving the adoption home study in cases where it makes sense and is deemed safe to do so can speed up delays in the process and lower costs for adoptive parents. An adoption home study can range in cost from $1,000 to $3,000.

HF367 also passed the House in week 9, putting children and families front and center. This legislation mandates that during a Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) proceeding, the family interaction shall continue unless it poses harm to the child. The purpose of maintaining family interactions is to support the child’s emotional well-being and familial bonds. We want to support family connections while also ensuring the safety of the child. This bill passed unanimously through the Iowa House.

Week 10
Reforming Higher Education & Human Trafficking:
This Session, Speaker Pat Grassley created the Higher Education Committee, and tasked it with taking a comprehensive look at how we do business in higher education. Our higher education system is facing critical issues, from out-of-control costs for students, to a lack of intellectual diversity on campus and an embrace of destructive policies rooted in identity politics. In Week 10, we passed a number of bills through the Iowa House to refocus our institutions of higher education on providing quality education, lowering costs for students, and replacing identity politics with intellectual diversity.

HF269 is also known as the Freedom from Indoctrination Act. I was tasked with floor managing this legislation. It ensures that no student is forced to take courses promoting ideological activism, such as Critical Race Theory or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ideology as a condition of obtaining a degree. It also protects the academic freedom of faculty from mandatory infusions of DEI-related course content. Make no mistake about it, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is a great name that hides the fact that these concepts are racist to the core, teaching our young people to judge everything through the prism of race. These concepts teach to judge on skin color instead of character and scapegoat entire groups of people, teaching divisive ideas that include if you are white, you are automatically the oppressor and if you are a minority, you are automatically oppressed. They also often include the ridiculous notion that meritocracy is a part of white supremacy. This legislation was supported by the regent universities. Teaching these concepts that divide us as opposed to uniting us must end in Iowa, and I hope that the Senate will pass this legislation and send it to the Governor. Let us once again strive for e pluribus unum – Out of Many, One. This is the only way our diverse nation can thrive.

HF 401 is the Core Curriculum Act, which I also floor managed. It establishes undergraduate general education requirements across Iowa’s regent universities, requiring specific credit hours in English, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Western Heritage, and American Heritage. This legislation will bring consistency across all regent universities and place greater emphasis on fundamental knowledge we know that many of today’s students are lacking. The regent universities supported this legislation, which now awaits action in the Senate.

HF856 replaces Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) with Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence (MEI). It seeks to end DEI in our community colleges, as well as private institutions that accept taxpayer funding through the Iowa Tuition Grant. Taxpayer investment should be met with taxpayer return. The state has a vested interest in ensuring state dollars are being used to address workforce shortages rather than enforce ideological agendas.

HF572 creates the crime of Human Smuggling in Iowa. This legislation will help law enforcement catch and prosecute those taking advantage of individuals not in the country legally by making it a crime when someone, for pay or other benefit, seeks to conceal them or flee from law enforcement. This will allow law enforcement not only to go after the mules smuggling individuals into the state, but also those employers who are engaging in sex and labor trafficking of vulnerable individuals afraid to speak up because of their immigration status. I helped write and floor manage this legislation, which passed the House with bipartisan support and now awaits action in the Senate.

Weeks 9 & 10 were filled with consequential pieces of legislation. This entire legislative session has been historic, as Republicans take a stand for truth and foundational principles essential to the future of our Republic. I am grateful for the opportunity to be front and center in this fight.

I am honored to serve as the State Representative of District 12. You can email me at [email protected]
Freedom Watch 03/08/25
A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt
Survival of the Fittest
We just completed Week 8 of the 2025 Legislative Session, the halfway point, which is also known as the deadly Funnel Week. Funnel is a self-imposed deadline in which all bills must get through a policy committee in each chamber, or they are dead for the year.  While a number of pieces of legislation made it through Funnel, many did not. In this edition of Freedom Watch I will highlight just a few important pieces of legislation that made it through the deadly legislative funnel – the Survival of the Fittest.

  • Sex & Gender Clarity Act – I am grateful that every Republican in the Senate, and 60 Republicans in the House courageously stood against an onslaught of name-calling and disinformation to pass this legislation that restores equality for the rights of all Iowans, especially women, with the removal of the elevated status of Gender Identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Code. Iowa joins 28 other states and the federal government in not having Gender Identity as a protected class. Because of the nature of what Gender Theory demands, the rights of women to be secure in their private spaces and sports made for them were under assault. No more. Transgender citizens will have the same rights as everyone else, and immutable characteristics at birth will be the standard of determination in Iowa.
  • Protecting landowners – Numerous pieces of legislation passed through the House Judiciary Committee to protect landowners and stop the unconstitutional use of eminent domain for the Summit CO2 pipeline. The project does not meet the constitutional requirement for public use, which is why I joined a group of 30 other legislators in a lawsuit against the Iowa Utilities Commission. With the passage of legislation in South Dakota that denies the use of eminent domain for the project, its future is unclear, but we must not stop fighting to secure the rights of landowners.
  • Property Tax Relief – At the end of Funnel Week, comprehensive property tax reform legislation was introduced by the Ways & Means Chairs in the Iowa House and Senate. They made very clear this is the beginning of the process and are looking for input from everyone, including locally elected officials and property taxpayers. In a major overhaul of property taxes, the proposals would transfer the school funding portion of property taxes to the state. All in all, the proposals are estimated to provide $426 million in property tax relief. Stay tuned.
  • The Right To Keep & Bear Arms – Recent court decisions have found unconstitutional laws that prevent young adults ages 18-20 from possessing handguns. They have rejected the “dangerousness” argument that young adults are not mature enough to own a handgun, citing the reality that they too have a constitutional right of self-defense. I am floor-managing legislation to reduce the legal age to own a handgun to 18, because it is the right thing to do, and because courts, including in our federal circuit, have made clear that this fundamental right must be protected for young adults ages 18 to 20, just as it is for those 21 and over. I am also advancing legislation to make our “Stand Your Ground” laws stronger and more functional.
  • Medicaid Expansion Work Requirements – The House Health & Human Services Committee passed legislation to add work requirements as a condition of maintaining eligibility for Medicaid expansion for able-bodied Iowans. The bill specifies that at least 80 hours of work each month is required to maintain eligibility. There are a number of important exceptions to this work requirement, including those under 19 and over 64 years of age; disabled individuals; medically frail or exempt individuals; caretakers of dependent children under 6 years old; high risk pregnant women and others based on common-sense. The goal is to help low-income Iowans live their best and most fulfilling lives by encouraging a return to independence and off of taxpayer-funded government assistance. Incentivizing work is not only good for the soul; it will also allow for better financial outcomes.
  • There are a number of other bills, including legislation supporting robotic extracurricular activities in schools by allowing high school athletic associations to sponsor interscholastic robotic contests and competitions. This one sounds like great fun as well as a fantastic way to support STEM initiatives in our schools.

    Many important pieces of legislation will continue through the process as we work for and on behalf of the people of Iowa.

    I am honored to serve as the State Representative of District 12. You can email me at [email protected]
Four members of the 3rd Grade Denison Tech Club, Thiago, Finley, Milany, and Croix, expertly shared what they learned about the Engineering Design Process with their rubber band racers at STEM Day at the Capitol on March 3.

I had great fun watching these wonderful students race their rubber-band powered cars that they made in school. This brought back great memories of my childhood, of rubber-band powered wooden planes soaring in the air.
Thanks so much to the Denison Community School District for bringing them up!

 

Freedom Watch 02/28/25
A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt
The Collapse of Values in the Democrat Party
It was obvious in debate this week that the values of the Democrat Party have collapsed, replaced by a radical worldview rooted in emotion and void of common sense. This is the case in numerous policy positions, but the one I will focus on in this edition of Freedom Watch is their embracing of radical Gender Ideology that demeans and erases women and embraces a world view that demands that the rights of others must bow at the altar of transgenderism.

In 2007, Democrats in full control of Iowa government passed legislation to add Gender Identity, a condition based not on an immutable characteristic but rather on feelings, to the Iowa Civil Rights Code as a protected class. Fast forward eighteen years and Republicans are playing Wack-A-Mole to try and protect non-transgender members of our society from being discriminated against. This has particularly impacted women, as their private spaces and sports have been invaded by biological males who have decided they are females, denying privacy, security and fairness to those directly impacted.

After passing bills to protect girls’ sports, changing facilities and bathrooms, stopping Iowa taxpayers from being forced to pay for sex change procedures for Medicaid patients and prisoners in our correctional facilities, and prohibiting minor children from receiving irreversible gender mutilation procedures, it became clear that these efforts could not coexist with Gender Identity’s protected class status in code. A lawsuit resulted in the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that the so-called sex change procedures had to be paid for by taxpayers because of the protected class status, and lawsuits have now been filed against our bathroom bill. Recognizing that all of the protections we put in place the last few years were in jeopardy because of the status of Gender Identity in the Civil Rights Code, Republicans acted.

As Chair of House Judiciary, it became my responsibility to address this problem, and I began collaborating with legal experts to create the Sex & Gender Clarity Act. This legislation creates honest definitions based on science for Sex, Male, Female, Woman, Girl, Man, Boy, Mother, and Father, and states that the term Gender is a synonym for sex and not shorthand for Gender Identity. It also provides an honest definition of Gender Identity and Gender Theory. It does not allow for the issuance of a new birth certificate for sex reassignment surgeries, because the biology has not changed and the issuance of a new birth certificate in such cases could be used to circumvent our laws requiring biology at birth as the standard for facility use and participation in sports. To finally end the ever-growing intrusion on the rights of non-transgender citizens, most especially women, the legislation ended Gender Identity’s protected status in Iowa code, creating a level playing field for all based on biological truth.

It is sad that this was necessary, but the radical gender ideology that has overtaken the Left, the Democrat Party and much of pop culture made it necessary, because to do otherwise meant the assault on truth and women in their private spaces and sports would only get worse. Transgender rights will be protected as are the rights of all Iowans, by the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Iowa Constitution and laws, but they will not be elevated in a way that prioritizes their rights over the rights of others.

During debate on the House floor, Democrats resorted to hyperbolic emotional remarks not based in reality and refused to address or even attempt to discuss the reality that the elevation of transgender rights assaults the rights of others, especially women.

Democrats rejected the reality of a female Des Moines Community College student forced to leave the college by a middle-aged biological male identifying as a female, naked in her bathroom and changing facility, his ability to do so protected by the elevated status of Gender Identity in code. They disregarded the pleas of parents in Iowa whose female children were afraid to go into their bathrooms and changing facilities because biological males were invading their spaces with impunity. They disregarded the fairness and safety concerns for female students forced to compete against males, even though there are now numerous instances of trophies and medals being taken away from females by biologically male competitors and serious injuries of female students at the hands of transgender opponents. What happened to elected Democrats that they now religiously support a transgender agenda that profoundly discriminates against women they previously fought for?

All of the crying on the floor of the House by Democrat legislators was reserved for the transgender community, who in reality will have the same legal protections as every other Iowan but now will no longer be able to infringe on the rights of others. The concern for women, by Democrats who once fought for their equal rights, was non-existent. Instead, Democrats received applause from transgender activists in the House Gallery, individuals who violated the rules of the House numerous times during the debate.

When the debate ended and the bill passed, with not one Democrat in support, the transgender activists began screaming obscenities, many of them directed at me be name. I am perfectly OK with that, because the legislation I supported stops the women in our lives from being marginalized and erased, while also protecting the rights of transgender citizens.

Democrats cried in regret as women’s rights were restored, while several young female pages and clerks in our chamber came up to me after the vote with tears in their eyes to express appreciation that someone was finally standing up for them. What a stark about face for a party that once contained in its ranks the leading feminists of their time.

The traditional values of elected Democrats are no longer recognizable in the agendas they support. What a shame for our state, nation, and citizens that the party of JFK no longer exists.

I am honored to serve as the State Representative of District 12. You can email me at [email protected]
Republicans stood up for equal rights for all, marking the end of an historic week of political drama, protests and heated debate.

 
Week 5: Elections & School Funding
We have just completed Week 5 of the 2025 Legislative Session, and we are advancing on many important initiatives. In this week’s edition of Freedom Watch, Election Integrity & School Funding.

House Study Bill 37 – Protecting the Integrity of our Election System:
On Thursday, the House Judiciary committee approved House Study Bill 37, which will require drivers and non-drivers’ identification cards to indicate the citizenship status of the holder. While opponents will try to muddy the waters with ridiculous claims, the fact is it is a straightforward bill to ensure citizens, and noncitizens who are here legally, have identification that they can use in many situations, but not use to break the law and attempt to vote.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Application Requirements: When someone applies for a driver’s license or ID card, they will need to indicate whether they are a U.S. citizen or a noncitizen who is legally allowed to be in the U.S., say for example, on a Green Card.
  2. Information on the License/ID: The driver’s license or ID card will have the citizenship status printed on the back if this legislation becomes law. This is to ensure that anyone looking at the card can see the holder’s legal status in the U.S.
  3. Renewals Included: The new rules will apply not just to new applications but also to renewals of existing driver’s licenses and ID cards.
  4. Integrity of our Elections: Illegal aliens are not allowed to have a driver’s license in the state of Iowa. This legislation will help ensure that an individual here legally and allowed to have a driver’s license cannot use it to illegally try and register to vote. In Iowa, it is easy to vote and hard to cheat, and House Republicans will continue to look for ways to keep our elections secure.

House Study Bill 138- House Republicans’ Supplemental State Aid for Schools:
Our K-12 schools receive funding from a variety of sources. From the state, schools receive much of their funding in the form of Supplemental State Aid (SSA). This week, the Senate passed a bill to increase the SSA Funding for schools for the next fiscal year by 2%. This is in alignment with what the Governor proposed in her budget.

Iowa House Republicans are interested in getting more funding to public schools, and have a proposal of our own, which passed the House on Thursday afternoon.

  • Here’s what it entails:
    • An increase of 2.25% in SSA funding. This increase, plus the second phase of the teacher salary increase, passed last session results in $114.5 million more for public schools.
    • A one-time increase of 0.6% SSA payment which equates to $22.6 million more for schools.
    • A $10 increase in per pupil equity, which equates to a $5.8 million increase.
    • An increase in the Operational Sharing Budget from 21 to 25, providing an additional $1 million to schools.
    • Increasing School Transportation inequity funding to help and get each school district to the statewide average of $430, resulting in $5.8 million in additional funds.
  • Altogether, these increases equate to a 3.93% increase in state funding to public schools.
  • The new state cost per pupil under this proposal would be $8,039 per pupil, per year.
  • In FY 2025, we allocated $3.7876 billion to public education. This proposal would allocate $3.9368 billion.
  • These increases represent the many specific funding issues we hear from our school districts. While each line item may not affect each individual school district equally, one line item may have a big impact on addressing the issue a specific district is facing.
  • House Republicans are working in a responsible manner to respond to the specific concerns we are hearing from our schools.
  • House Republicans recognize that our 30-day deadline to settle the Supplemental State Aid funding has passed. We are hopeful that this delay will be worth it as we work to secure additional dollars for our public schools. We will continue to work to reach resolution on this issue in a timely manner so that our school districts have adequate time to set their budgets.

How does this compare to ESA Funding?
Democrats have circulated the misleading claim that we are increasing Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs School Choice) funding by 44% while increasing public school funding by 2.25%. They say this to make it sound as if we are spending more on private schools than on public schools. This is not accurate.

  • The cost of Educational Savings Accounts increases each year at the same rate as the number we set for Supplemental State Aid for our public schools. This year is the final year of expansion in the ESA program that allows all families to qualify, which is why the increase looks greater this year.
  • The increase to the ESA program under the House proposal would be $97.4 million. To be clear, this is on top of the $149.2 million increase outlined above that is just for public schools.
  • Even with this expansion, the cost of the ESA program does not even come remotely close to the amount we spend each year on public schools. Check out the graph below for a side by side comparison.
  • In the FY 2025 budget, state aid to public schools accounts for 43.62% of the entire state budget. That’s the biggest piece of the pie by far. ESAs, meanwhile, account for 2.01% of the total state budget. This clearly demonstrates that public school funding is a top priority for Republicans.

In the coming weeks you will hear about strong legislation I am advancing that will mandate cooperation with federal immigration authorities, with strong penalties for non-compliance. We will insist that local law enforcement authorities and elected officials cooperate with our federal partners to restore the rule of law and make our communities safer. We will also stand strong for truth on profoundly important issues that impact our society and the future of our children.
Freedom Watch 02/05/25
A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt
Week 4: Standing Strong Has Never Been More Important
The best way for me to talk about week four of the 2025 Iowa Legislative Session is to describe my experiences earlier today (Thursday February 5th). The Capitol was full of law enforcement officers, rallies, protesters inside and outside of the building, and meetings to restore love of country. In this edition of Freedom Watch, what does it all mean?

A pivotal moment in my day came during a subcommittee I was serving on to require a course in American history and civic government for completion of a baccalaureate program at our regent universities. There are a number of content requirements listed in the bill, including teaching the basic principles of the United States’ republican form of government, comparing our republican form of government to other forms of government to include dictatorships and communism, and studying the Constitution and our founding documents, among other things. This legislation is made necessary because many of our young people are woefully lacking knowledge about our history and our form of government, and many do not have allegiance to our country. This was made clear in a recent national survey in which almost half the young people participating said they would flee the country and not fight if we were invaded.

One of the provisions of the bill was “the study and devotion to American institutions and ideals.” The Democrat on the subcommittee stated that she opposed the bill, citing this provision and saying that devotion had to be earned. My response was forceful, because I believe that devotion to our nation has been profoundly earned since 1776 by the blood of millions of Americans who have given their all to preserve our freedom. I was thinking of the over 6,000 Marine casualties just on Iwo Jima alone in 1945, and of the many Marines I saw fall in peacetime during my time of service. Devotion to our country has been earned in blood and it is inexplicable to me why some Democrats are so opposed to teaching devotion to our institutions and ideals.

I left this committee and observed hundreds of protestors outside the Capitol angry that deportations of criminal illegal aliens are taking place. Some protestors were holding our American Flag upside down and I was reminded of watching similar protests in Los Angeles a few days ago, only they were burning our flag. Having just talked about devotion to country, I could not help but wonder how these protestors could believe that disrespecting our flag could somehow help their cause with Iowans.

From there I went out into the open area of our Capitol where Moms For Liberty supporters were holding a rally in support of families and Godly values. They had scheduled this rally in advance, and those who oppose them decided to hold a counter rally to try and silence them. I observed the stark differences between these two groups. Moms For Liberty supporters were respectful people of faith working to protect our children and improve our schools. They began with prayer and were respectful to everyone. They were not there to attack, but rather to build. The counter protestors were angry, held hateful signs, screamed unkind things, and did their best to silence those they disagreed with. Our great State Troopers kept the peace and did their best to respect the free speech rights of all but ultimately had to make arrests when the counter protestors got out-of-control. What a stark contrast.

All of these experiences reminded me that we live in a great state where free speech and diverse views are respected. It also reminded me that we must stand strong on principle and truth as we work to restore love of country and civility in our state and nation. We must fight, fight, fight.

I am honored to serve as the State Representative of District 12. You can email me at [email protected]
Freedom Watch 01/31/25
A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt
Week 3: Education & Accountability
We have just completed week three of the 2025 Legislative Session, and it was a productive week on behalf of the people of Iowa. In this edition of Freedom Watch I will highlight several important pieces of legislation moving in the Iowa House.

HSB 47: School Safety Enhancement:

This week, the Education committee passed House Study Bill 47 to build upon Iowa House Republicans’ efforts to make our schools as safe as possible.

  •  It requires schools to create a multidisciplinary threat assessment team to intervene when a student is exhibiting threatening behaviors.
  • This bill encourages collaboration between schools, law enforcement and mental health professionals to ensure the safest environment possible for our students and staff in schools.
  • A key part of this legislation is to allow schools and government to share information on students struggling with mental illness. It also provides immunity from civil liability for individuals who report credible threats.

House File 117 and 118: National Guard Scholarships:

We had our first debates on the floor of the Iowa House at the end of the week. Two of the bills we passed were to honor and improve the lives of our National Guard members.

  • House File 117 creates the National Guard Service Professional Qualification Scholarship Program. This scholarship would cover the cost of certain educational programs approved by the Adjutant General and administered by a community college, regent university, or private institution. This could include programs leading to certifications in Cyber Security, IT, Emergency Medical Services, or others relevant to their service in the National Guard. The legislation requires the Adjutant General to publish a list of approved programs for this scholarship.
  • House File 118 makes improvements to the National Guard Service Scholarship Program by allowing the amount to be calculated on the actual tuition costs and the financial aid received. This will improve efficiency in the distribution of funds and potentially free up dollars for more recipients.

Transparency & Accountability in Higher Education:
This session, the Iowa House created a new committee, called the Higher Education Committee, to take a comprehensive look at our higher education system.

Transparency and accountability in higher education are critical. This week, the Higher Education Committee passed three bills out of subcommittee to address these important priorities.

  • House Study Bill 59 requires Iowa’s three regent universities to publish detailed financial information on their websites. This includes budgets, expenditures, and vendor contracts. This will allow for more accountability for the Regents, ensuring that they are budgeting in ways that truly benefit their students.
  • House Study Bill 55 requires all institutions of higher learning in Iowa to make the syllabus for each undergraduate course publicly available online. The syllabus must include the instructor’s name, course requirements, required or recommended reading materials, and a general description of the subject matter. This legislation also creates greater accountability.
  • House Study Bill 53 prohibits regent universities from requiring or incentivizing DEI and Critical Race Theory as a condition of graduation or employment. There is an exception if the academic degree program’s title clearly establishes that the course of study is primarily focused on these issues. The American people and the people of Iowa are done tolerating that which divides us. These program’s names conceal that in reality they are indoctrinating young people to see everything through the prism of race and identity politics, which is incredibly destructive for our society. We must return to the principles of e pluribus unum – out of many, one. I am honored to floor-manage this important legislation and was excited to learn that the Regents registered in favor of the legislation, in recognition of the reality that this will no longer be tolerated.

Legislation to Support Federal Immigration Authorities:
I am having legislation drafted that will mandate cooperation by state and local authorities and elected officials with federal immigration officers as they work to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from our communities. We will not allow local officials to refuse to cooperate in these efforts, because this puts our federal immigration officers in greater danger, as well as our communities. Stay tuned.

 

Freedom Watch 01/16/25
A legislative update from Representative Steven Holt
What’s In A Picture?
As I sit to write my first newsletter of the 91st General Assembly, I do so with an incredible sense of anticipation. The bitterly cold temperatures this week have not tempered the optimism that Republicans feel as we near the end of Week one of the 2025 legislative session. In this edition of Freedom Watch: What’s in a Picture?

The 2025 session of the 91st General Assembly began this past Monday, January 13th. The morning began with our traditional GOP Breakfast at the newly renovated Hotel Fort Des Moines where we heard from state GOP leaders on our historic gains in the November election. Then legislators hurried to the Capitol where we gaveled in shortly after 10am and took our oath of office. This oath of allegiance to our Constitution is always a sober reminder of the responsibilities the people have entrusted us with.

I got busy very quickly. As Chair of the Judiciary Committee, this week has been full of meetings squeezed between the Governor’s Condition of the State address on Tuesday and the Chief Justice’s Condition of the Judiciary address today (Wednesday). I held my first Judiciary Committee meeting today and have already assigned numerous important pieces of legislation to sub-committees for consideration, even as I myself have bills that I will be moving through the legislative process. As I am writing this newsletter to you, it is close to midnight, and I have just completed reviewing a number of bills that have been assigned to my committee.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we will hear the Condition of the Iowa National Guard address from the Adjutant General. All of the speeches this week are extremely important to the operation and function of our state government, but the growing anticipation comes as a result of what will take place this coming Monday January 20th, when the picture of Joe Biden will come off the wall in the well of the House Chamber and the picture of Donald Trump, the disruptor, will replace it.

The American people and the good citizens of Iowa wanted the status quo disrupted in Washington DC because the status quo was not working for them. Our federal government is full of political elites and bureaucrats corrupted by the desire for power. They have totally lost touch with the American people and the values that have sustained us since 1776, even as the Biden Administration advanced the most destructive agenda I have seen in my lifetime.

The Leftists pulling the strings of the mentally incompetent Joe Biden unleashed an invasion on our southern border, making every community in our country less safe; weakened our military with the woke mind virus; oversaw horrific foreign policy failures that have left the world on fire; sacrificed American vitality on the altar of climate change; responded weakly to our enemies; created out-of-control inflation and economic instability through massive spending and the assault on fossil fuels; abandoned common sense for an agenda that seeks to erase the difference between male and female; and engaged in identity politics to divide and weaken us. The American people have had enough and in the November election, elected the disruptor Donald Trump, rejecting the radical insanity and giving control of Washington to Republicans.

In Iowa, Republicans have been busy for quite some time disrupting the Leftist agenda by rejecting the woke mind virus and replacing it with common sense; by saying no to radical gender ideology; no to deficit spending; no to identity politics; and no to the indoctrination of our children. We gave parents school choice, taxpayers massive tax cuts, and to the citizens of Iowa we gave smaller, smarter government, all in stark contrast to what was happening in Washington DC.

In November, Iowans spoke with a loud and clear voice, and in massive numbers voted for the disruption and destruction of the Leftist agenda to begin in Washington DC, while also voting resoundingly to stay the course of common sense and bold conservative leadership in Iowa.

On Tuesday when we arrive in the House Chamber for Week two of the legislative session, Donald Trump’s picture will be hanging on the wall before us. We will once again have an ally in the White House who loves our nation, will always put America first and will fight to restore the values that made us who we are. Yes indeed, we can’t wait to see that picture, because it means that the disruption of the insanity and the return of common sense and American values has begun in Washington DC.

I am honored to serve as the State Representative of District 12. You can email me at [email protected]
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