Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a set of rules limiting local governments from having broader civil rights protections than what is already written in state code.
The law mandates that local governments must limit their civil rights protections to those enacted in the Iowa Civil Rights Act. It also removes a requirement on cities of over 29,000 people to have an independent, local civil rights agency or commission.
Last year, the Iowa Legislature removed gender identity as a protected class from state code. In response, several cities both publicly affirmed their existing protections against gender identity-based discrimination and added new ones.
But now, instead of providing a floor for civil rights protections, state law establishes a ceiling. The new law is causing some leaders in the 18 local governments impacted by the change to question the future of civil rights protections in Iowa as a whole.
“The state can now take away any civil rights, and no city has a recourse for that,” said Coralville City Council member Katie Freeman. “And unfortunately, I think there are too many people that still believe it will never happen to them, and we don’t have the luxury to believe that any longer.”
Freeman said the local governments that include gender identity as a protected class are no longer able to enforce those protections, even if the ordinances remain in place.
“Somebody could still make a complaint to our city attorney about discrimination on the basis of gender identity, but he wouldn’t be able to take it anywhere else,” they said.
The new law states: “Any complaint filed with a local agency or local commission where a party is a political subdivision shall be referred to the Iowa office of civil rights for processing.”
Freeman said they are working with the Johnson County Trans Advisory — a group that raises awareness of issues impacting transgender, gender nonconforming and non-binary people — to gather information in hopes of reaching out to the local governments that are affected.
“I think the plan is, right now, gather information, reach out and start seeing what we can collaborate on and start moving forward,” Freeman said.
Reynolds says the law protects girls' sports
According to the Legislature’s website, Reynolds signed the bill into law Tuesday, though she said it was on the way to her desk at a news conference she held Wednesday.
“We just believe that locals should follow the state laws, especially when it comes to civil rights,” Reynolds said. “Otherwise, we have a mismatch of rights out there, and we felt that it was the right thing to do.”
She said the law will impact transgender Iowans’ ability to enter certain spaces that align with their gender identity.
“One of the reasons that we did that is it does have an impact on protecting girls' sports and making sure that we’re protecting girls in safe spaces, in restrooms and in lockers,” Reynolds said. “So, that was at jeopardy if we have a hodgepodge of mixed laws within our state. We thought that it was important that they be consistent, and so did the Legislature.”
When the bill passed in the Iowa House, Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, also said the proposal would bring consistency to civil rights protections across the state.
"When it comes to these things, we're not going to have everybody and their mom [deciding] they're going to have this civil rights code, [saying], 'We're going to throw everything in it,' or 'We're going to take everything out of it,'" Wheeler said. "That's absolutely insane. It's unworkable for businesses, and it's just a crazy idea."
“It’s clear that this is targeted. It’s clear that this is for the purpose of harming transgender Iowans, and it shouldn’t stand.”Iowa City Councilor Laura Bergus
Iowa City Councilor Laura Bergus said the new law goes against longstanding conservative beliefs about limited government intervention and home rule, which allows local governments to manage their area’s affairs.
“Every city, every county can have vastly different regulations when it comes to land use, and that has not been a problem,” she said. “It’s clear that this is targeted. It’s clear that this is for the purpose of harming transgender Iowans, and it shouldn’t stand.”
Bergus said an immediate next step would be for the Iowa City City Council to hold a special meeting to discuss possible legal options, but it is not clear when that might happen.
“When you combine the removal of a protected class with the reversal in that part of the law that now says we do not have the ability to protect those folks, that’s what’s really unprecedented here,” Bergus said.
Des Moines city code also lists gender identity as a protected class. City Manager Scott Sanders said the state law undermines local decision making.
“The city is opposed to SF 579 because of its broad preemption of local control," Sanders said in a statement. "For many decades, local governments have had the option to enhance the protected classifications to its residents. Eliminating local decision making for any new classification, including among others, gender identity, neuters the provisions of the statute that 'nothing' in the chapter shall be construed as indicating an intent to prohibit an agency or commission of local government from developing procedures to insure the protection of rights and the requirement that the statute is to be ‘construed broadly to effectuate its purposes.'"
Sanders added that the Iowa Civil Rights Acts serves as a way to protect Iowans from discrimination across the state. He said the Des Moines will work quickly to evaluate the new law and comply with it.
Since last year’s removal of gender identity as a protected class from state code, transgender and non-binary Iowans have been leaving Iowa, according to reporting by IPR News.
Freeman added that transgender people in their circle have left the state, and the ones who remain face a difficult and uncertain future.
“We’ve got a rough time ahead of us,” Freeman said.
