Under the Golden Dome

By Iowa Public Radio

What's Under the Golden Dome about?

Policymaking can be complicated. Host John Pemble breaks it all down and makes it easier to understand. Under the Golden Dome provides context around the Iowa legislative session and the laws that come out of it. Learn about the elected officials, influencers, issues and bills working their way through the Iowa Statehouse.

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Under the Golden Dome episodes:

05.04.2023
The final 48 hours before sine die 2023
A bill removing work restrictions for teenagers is revised. Democrats still oppose it but say this newly amended version is much better than what was proposed earlier in the session. All the budgets are now passed but many have status...
04.08.2023
Loosening tattoo artist requirements, encouraging biogas pipelines, taxing glass pipes, and a much bigger version of the governor’s education bill
Among the policy bills advancing this year include one adding a 40% tax to glass or metal pipes supporters say are used to smoke dangerous drugs. There is also a bill making it easier for gas pipelines to be built...
04.01.2023
Raw milk, crisis numbers on student IDs, and SNAP and Medicaid verification pass one chamber and advance in the other’s committees
A bill requiring public schools to print on Student ID cards contact information for the crisis service Your Life Iowa passes out of the House, and is also considered by a Senate committee. The sale of raw milk passes in...
03.25.2023
A barrier to eminent domain and the governor’s restrictions on gender identity in schools
In the 11th week of this session a bill that requires more landowners to agree to carbon pipeline construction on their property advances. It would permit the Iowa Utilities Board to allow eminent domain only if pipeline companies first reach...
03.18.2023
Most bills pass with ease but others are more tense, like the bathroom bill
The majority of the legislation during every session is bipartisan and non-controversial. Bills about seizure training, robotic extracurricular activities in the schools and non-prescription birth control pass with ease. But there are the more contentious bills that draw strong responses,...
03.11.2023
Prohibiting medical gender transition for minors passes the House and Senate
A bill prevents Iowa medical-assisted gender transition for minors including the use of hormones or drugs even with parental consent. Senate Republicans say it’s a matter of public health and children are vulnerable and confused. But opponents say this violates...
03.04.2023
New conditions for education concerning gender, sexuality, and books
A bill advances stating a student must use the public school bathroom that conforms to their gender assigned at birth. Subcommittees also listen to testimony about a proposal prohibiting a healthcare professional from performing or referring a patient that is...
02.25.2023
Another push for capital punishment and denying medical services for religious or moral beliefs
This bill expands on current code protecting healthcare workers from being forced to participate in medical procedures involving an abortion and creates a broader protection based on religious beliefs and moral convictions. Opponents say this could be used to easily...
02.18.2023
The long journey of budget appropriations subcommittees.
This is the time of year when many department heads present their budget requests and answer questions from legislators. Property taxes were unintentionally calculated too high, but during an appropriations subcommittee the director for the Department of Revenue says it...
02.11.2023
Public school funding and capping lawsuits
Funding for K-12 public schools will be $107 million more than last year, the same amount private schools are estimated to get for new state funded scholarships. Democrats say public school funding should have a larger increase to match tax...
02.04.2023
Identifying gender identity restrictions in schools and unintended property tax increases
Bills limiting discussion of gender and personal pronouns in schools that differ from a student’s biological gender listed on their birth certificate are advancing. A House proposal requires parents to be notified if public school staff hear a student is...
01.28.2023
Expanding private school funding
A proposal allocating more public money to private schools has its day in both chambers. Gov. Kim Reynolds is placing a high priority on a bill that provides more state funding for students to attend private schools. Democrats say the...
01.21.2023
Looking back at 20th century trailblazing legislator Minnette Doderer
Minnette Doderer began her three and a half decades of public service as a legislator in the mid 1960s. She also ran twice for lieutenant governor. In the 1970s and 1980s, she spoke with reporters in eastern Iowa. These rare...
01.14.2023
The first priorities of the 90th Iowa General Assembly
A new Iowa General Assembly begins with more new members of the majority party in both chambers. In the Senate, there is now a Republican supermajority and a new Senate president, Sen. Amy Sinclair. Republican and Democratic leaders give their...
05.25.2022
Return and adjourn
The 2022 Iowa legislative session ends after many weeks of little to no activity in the House or Senate. During a busy two days, final budget bills are approved. Most come revised from the Senate including the education appropriation that...
04.09.2022
Retiring and waiting for Senate budgets
Around this time, legislators who have announced they aren’t seeking re-election in the Iowa legislature are granted a “retirement” speech from the chamber floor. Between the House and Senate, around 35 legislators are not running for re-election. A few are...
04.02.2022
Disagreement between the House and Senate
Proposals about public schools pass in the Senate and House requiring online publishing of curriculums. Private schools are exempt from doing the same. Unlike the House version, the Senate’s includes millions of dollars in scholarships for students attending private schools....
03.26.2022
Posting curriculum online, surplus vs failure to appropriate, and contentious debate about unemployment benefits
A bill requiring teachers to post everything they use in a classroom online before a semester begins, advances. After a committee, it now has something that may let teachers update that information as they teach. Budgets are now starting to...
03.19.2022
First Department of Corrections budget and striking bills
The Department of Corrections director lays out the condition of the prisons to a committee that determines its annual budget. The House reduces one budget item, makes it up with money from a previous fiscal year, then allocates 7 million...
03.12.2022
Changing confirmation, time, and property tax notifications
A bill removing Senate confirmation for some of the governor’s appointees advances. Confirmation for those exempt appointees is still possible if 26 senators want it, but the 18 Democrats in the Senate say it isn’t fair. A bill that would...
03.05.2022
Private scholarships, drug changes, and a ban becomes law
Two of the governor’s priorities advance at the Capitol. First, a bill creating scholarships for private schools advances from a committee. It also requires teachers to publish online everything that will be used in the classroom. And, the Senate passes...
02.26.2022
Israel, child care, and athletes
There are state requirements for staff levels at child care facilities. A bill comes to the full Senate for debate that increases the ratio of staff for young children. In the House there are bills involving interests with Israel, including...
02.19.2022
Deadlines, taxes, and buying land
The House passes a bill that will gradually lower income tax rates. It requires the state to consistently have a revenue growth of 3.5% for several years. Republicans say last year’s nearly billion dollar surplus should be used to reduce...
02.12.2022
Curriculum and state standards
There are two versions of a bill about equal treatment for religious and secular organizations. The Senate version contains language some say could invite discrimination and evasion of Iowa laws, but the House version does not. A Senate bill advances...
02.05.2022
Moving to the chambers
There are still in excess of 100 bills a week being considered by subcommittees and some have also passed a full committee. That makes them eligible for a chamber to consider passage. The first bill to do so expands biofuels...
01.29.2022
Returning bills
Every year bills that didn’t pass in previous legislative sessions get another shot through the subcommittee process. In 2022 bills that would restrict or further regulate traffic enforcement cameras advance through Senate subcommittees. Governor Reynolds has written a bill that...
01.22.2022
Subcommittees lay session groundwork
It’s the first of several full weeks of subcommittees. Not all bills advance from their first subcommittee hearing. Last year a large bill passed in the Senate about eligibility requirements for many public assistance programs. It did not advance in...
01.15.2022
Opening priorities: taxes, workforce and school libraries
The first week of the second half of the 89th Iowa General Assembly is mostly filled with legislators announcing their priorities for this planned 100-day session. With a billion dollar surplus from the last fiscal year, Republicans have suggested various...
05.20.2021
Taxes, Masks, & Sine Die
Last day of the 2021 legislative session featured a surprise amendment to a bill prohibiting schools and cities from implementing mask mandates stricter than state policies and code.
04.23.2021
Bottle Redemption, More Budgets And A Large Law Enforcement Bill
As the 2021 session comes to a close, changing Iowa’s bottle redemption system received a public hearing. Another large department budget passed out of an appropriations committee, and includes a controversial income verification qualification for public assistance programs. And a...
04.16.2021
Counter Proposal
A week after House committees presented appropriations budgets, the Senate followed. There are a few differences between the two chambers and they must be resolved for the budget bills to pass. Two of the governor’s appointees are in danger of...
04.09.2021
Booze, Broadband And Budgets
This week, the Iowa House of Representatives passed a bill allowing third-party services to deliver beer, wine, or liquor to a customer’s home. Grants to increase faster internet service received unanimous support in the Senate and House, and the House...
04.02.2021
Robot Delivery And Trespassing Penalties
Autonomous personal delivery devices may start operating in residential areas of Iowa communities. The House has passed a bill allowing for these robot deliveries and now a Senate committee has modified the bill. The House has also passed a bill...
03.26.2021
First Signs Of New Budget And Tax Changes
Legislators are beginning the sprint to the end of the legislative session. Budgets are starting to form in the Senate and House. So are more tax reduction proposals, including one that would change funding for mental health to come from...
03.19.2021
Diversity Training Restrictions and Expanding Vaccination
With demand for a COVID-19 shot expected to be high this year, the House has passed a bill allowing dentists to administer these vaccines. The House also passed a bill placing restrictions on what concepts can be included in diversity...
03.12.2021
Penalties and Questions
A bill in the Iowa Senate passes that would add penalties for protesters who cause damage or interfere with police trying to break up a disorderly protest. Another passes prohibiting a city or county from reducing the budget for law...
03.05.2021
Funnel Deadline
The legislative season is around the halfway mark, where there is a deadline for most bills to pass out of one full committee. Bills with a financial impact are not subject to this “funnel.” On this episode we walk through...
02.26.2021
Election Changes and School Boards
A controversial bill proposes changing Iowa’s election laws and increasing penalties. It receives a public hearing, then two days later it passes in the House and Senate. Also, a bill from a Senate Education subcommittee advances that would make it...
02.19.2021
Fuels and Elections
A bill about fuel would require gas stations to greatly expand renewable fuel pumps for gasoline and diesel. Opponents of the bill mostly say they aren’t against biofuels but implementing the quantity of these pumps especially in rural areas isn’t...
02.12.2021
Education Appropriations & Appropriateness
The Senate and House pass an increase of 2.4% funding of state supplemental aid for K-12 public schools. The House Education subcommittee advances a bill that would remove some funding from a school that uses material from The 1619 Project...
02.06.2021
Asking for Funds
The three state universities are asking for $26 million more for the next fiscal year. A House subcommittee advances a bill that would not allow public or private colleges to implement a mask or social distancing rule for students and...
01.30.2021
Vaccine Supply and Demand
States decide how to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines. In Iowa, there are two phases that involve nearly one million Iowans. The will be around 50,000 doses per week in February. While it’s expected to increase, it will be awhile until the...
01.22.2021
Accessing Subcommittees
The Iowa House and Senate committees and subcommittees are available to the public using video conference systems but both have different rules. There are also changes to the House rules for this new Iowa General Assembly, but those changes do...
01.22.2021
The Conditions Of The 2021 Legislative Session
As the 89th Iowa General Assembly begins, House Republicans have more seats from the November election and the party maintains a majority status in the Senate. With a Republican governor, this is the fifth year for the party’s trifecta. As...
06.15.2020
Last-Minute Legislation
During the last week of the 2020 legislative session a series of changes about absentee voting passes in the Senate, but the House changes the bill dramatically. A proposal titled "More Perfect Union" is drafted and passes unanimously in both...
06.07.2020
Resuming Session Amid Pandemic And Protests
While the session was suspended for 12 weeks, 564 Iowans died from COVID-19 complications. Before returning, the legislative council met to discuss how to come back to the Capitol with new health and safety measures. The Revenue Estimating Conference also...
03.17.2020
Suspending Session
With the coronavirus reaching community spread, Gov. Kim Reynolds and legislative leaders are suspending the 2020 legislative session. In order to do this, first the House and Senate must meet to pass some spending measures and a resolution. In this...
03.13.2020
Estimates - Coronavirus Impact - Expanding Cannabidiol Act
The Revenue Estimating Conference meets to share a forecast of how much revenue the state will take in. For Fiscal Year 2020, things are on track from previous estimates, but FY 2021 is revised downward a bit over concerns about...
03.06.2020
Making Compromises
Three weeks ago the Senate and House passed different funding levels for K-12 public education. This week the chambers announced a compromise and now schools know where to set the budgets they will be submitting in April. A bill to...
02.28.2020
Glass Pipe Tax - Confirmation - Income Verification - Abortion Testimony
The governor appoints hundreds of people to positions requiring Senate confirmation. This week some of the individuals making it through the required two-thirds majority vote are Department of Natural Resources director Kayla Lyon and Department of Human Services director Kelly...

What's Under the Golden Dome about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Under the Golden Dome episodes:

The final 48 hours before sine die 2023

Loosening tattoo artist requirements, encouraging biogas pipelines, taxing glass pipes, and a much bigger version of the governor’s education bill

Raw milk, crisis numbers on student IDs, and SNAP and Medicaid verification pass one chamber and advance in the other’s committees

A barrier to eminent domain and the governor’s restrictions on gender identity in schools

Most bills pass with ease but others are more tense, like the bathroom bill

Prohibiting medical gender transition for minors passes the House and Senate

New conditions for education concerning gender, sexuality, and books

Another push for capital punishment and denying medical services for religious or moral beliefs

The long journey of budget appropriations subcommittees.

Public school funding and capping lawsuits

Identifying gender identity restrictions in schools and unintended property tax increases

Expanding private school funding

Looking back at 20th century trailblazing legislator Minnette Doderer

The first priorities of the 90th Iowa General Assembly

Return and adjourn

Retiring and waiting for Senate budgets

Disagreement between the House and Senate

Posting curriculum online, surplus vs failure to appropriate, and contentious debate about unemployment benefits

First Department of Corrections budget and striking bills

Changing confirmation, time, and property tax notifications

Private scholarships, drug changes, and a ban becomes law

Israel, child care, and athletes

Deadlines, taxes, and buying land

Curriculum and state standards

Moving to the chambers

Returning bills

Subcommittees lay session groundwork

Opening priorities: taxes, workforce and school libraries

Taxes, Masks, & Sine Die

Bottle Redemption, More Budgets And A Large Law Enforcement Bill

Counter Proposal

Booze, Broadband And Budgets

Robot Delivery And Trespassing Penalties

First Signs Of New Budget And Tax Changes

Diversity Training Restrictions and Expanding Vaccination

Penalties and Questions

Funnel Deadline

Election Changes and School Boards

Fuels and Elections

Education Appropriations & Appropriateness

Asking for Funds

Vaccine Supply and Demand

Accessing Subcommittees

The Conditions Of The 2021 Legislative Session

Last-Minute Legislation

Resuming Session Amid Pandemic And Protests

Suspending Session

Estimates - Coronavirus Impact - Expanding Cannabidiol Act

Making Compromises

Glass Pipe Tax - Confirmation - Income Verification - Abortion Testimony