Iowa lawmakers address immigration, religious freedom and taxes in 2024 session

By HANNAH FINGERHUT
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers have wrapped up the General Assembly’s four-month session that focused on reforming the way special education is managed and speeding up tax cuts. The Republican-led body also waded into issues like immigration and religious freedom that are core to the party’s campaign message this year. Iowa Republicans followed Texas’ footsteps by passing a bill making it a state crime for a person to be in Iowa if previously denied admission to or removed from the United States. Lawmakers also enacted an echo of a 1993 federal law that said government cannot “substantially burden” someone’s constitutional right to freedom of religion.