Capitol Notebook: Bill to require porn sites to verify users’ ages advances in Iowa Capitol

DES MOINES — Websites and apps that host significant amounts of material deemed pornographic would be required to verify users’ ages before granting access under legislation advancing in the Iowa House.

House File 2274 would prohibit companies from operating websites, apps or social media sections — where at least one-third of content is deemed pornographic and harmful for minors under standards defined in the bill — unless they use age verification to block underage access.

Acceptable verification methods include requiring an individual to provide digital identification, using commercially reasonable systems that rely on transactional data to confirm age, or another method approved by the attorney general. Companies — including third-party verification providers — would be barred from retaining identifying information unless required by law or court order, and would have to use reasonable safeguards to secure any data collected or transmitted.

The legislation includes exemptions for bona fide news and public interest content, news-gathering organizations, and internet service providers or search engines that merely provide access to content they did not create.

Bill sponsor Rep. Bill Gustoff, R-Des Moines, said the proposal is modeled after laws adopted in Texas and Missouri aimed at restricting minors’ access to online pornography. Gustoff said similar measures have survived court scrutiny and are designed to focus on commercial adult sites while avoiding broader impacts on mainstream social media platforms or internet providers.

Jacob Schrader, speaking for the Technology Association of Iowa, said the group is registered undecided but supports clear legal standards to help businesses comply and reduce litigation risk. He said aligning the bill with legal frameworks upheld in court could provide that clarity.

Tom Chapman of the Iowa Catholic Conference voiced support, saying the measure could help parents protect children from exposure to harmful content. He cited research linking exposure to violent adult material with increased risks of exploitation, and suggested lawmakers consider lowering the bill’s content threshold for triggering age verification.

Lawmakers also discussed balancing child protection with privacy and data security concerns. Rep. Blaine Watkins, R-Donnellson, said any verification system must include strong safeguards to prevent misuse or data breaches.

Enforcement authority would rest with the Iowa Attorney General, who could seek injunctions and civil penalties. Each instance of non-compliance would count as a separate violation, carrying fines of up to $1,000 per violation, capped at $10,000 per day.

If enacted, the bill would direct the attorney general to adopt rules governing how the law is implemented.

The bill advanced Wednesday out of a House subcommittee and now heads to the full House Judiciary Committee for further discussion.

Bill would require licenses for massage parlor owners

Iowa House lawmakers advanced legislation Wednesday that would require massage parlor owners in the state to be licensed.

The bill comes as massage therapists across the state are sounding alarms on an influx of parlors serving as fronts for sex trafficking and labor trafficking, as government oversight of the businesses remains slim.

House Study Bill 671 would require the owners of massage parlors to obtain licenses and undergo criminal background checks in the process. It would also allow the State Board of Massage Therapy to deny a license to criminals or people who've had disciplinary action taken against a previous establishment license.

Cassie Sampson, who owns the East Village Spa in Des Moines, said the bill would create more regulation around these parlors and make it more difficult for individuals to evade investigations and complaints.

“I can't tell you how frustrating it is to know that illicit activities are happening at a business, but the only disciplinary action available to the board of massage is against the individual licensee, many of whom we know are probably victims of the business owners, especially those who are not licensed massage therapists,” Sampson said.

The three-member subcommittee, including state Reps. Hans Wilz, R-Ottumwa, Jeff Cooling, D-Cedar Rapids, and Derek Wulf, R-Hudson, unanimously signed off to advance it.

Reynolds’ charter school bill advances

  Buy Photo

Disagreement over whether state funds dedicated for teacher hires should follow students to public charter schools was among the concerns expressed regarding Gov. Kim Reynolds’ charter school legislation, which was advanced by a subcommittee.

House Study Bill 676 would enable all state per pupil funding to flow from the public school district in which a public charter school student lives to the charter school. The measure is similar to the state-funded private school financial assistance program.

Reynolds’ charter school legislation also would require public school districts to accommodate charter school students within the district to participate in concurrent enrollment courses and athletics, and makes charter schools an option for student teaching assignment.

Some who spoke during a legislative hearing on the proposal expressed concern that allowing the portion of state funding that goes to teachers to follow a charter school student will hurt the public school’s ability to pay teachers, especially in larger districts where larger numbers of students may attend a charter school.

Charter school officials and advocates praised the proposal and said it will enable them to offer more programs to more students.

Republican Reps. Dan Gehbach, R-Urbandale, and Samantha Fett, R-Carlisle, approved advancing the bill to the full House Education Committee. Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport, declined to support the bill.

Judicial safety bill advances

Legislation backed by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird that would increase criminal penalties for threats against judges advanced unanimously this week out of both the House and Senate Judiciary committees, ahead of a legislative funnel deadline.

The proposal would make threatening a judge or a judge’s immediate family a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. It also would create a serious misdemeanor charge for doxing — publicly releasing personal information — targeting judges or their family members.

In addition, the bill would allow judges and attorneys in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to obtain professional permits to carry firearms for protection in court. An amendment would extend additional protections to other public officials threatened with physical harm.

Bird, in a statement, said the legislation responds to a rise in violence and threats against judges nationwide.

The bills — Senate Study Bill 3087 and House Study Bill 564 — are now eligible for debate in both the House and Senate.

Reynolds order addresses potential Chinese government threats

The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will conduct an annual state risk assessment that includes vulnerability to cybersecurity attacks, economic security and public health under an executive order issued this week by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Reynolds’ 18th executive order also charges the department with annually assessing the state’s critical infrastructure.

In a press release, Reynolds said the annual reviews are needed to protect Iowa and Iowans from foreign actors with malicious intent.

“As foreign adversaries like the communist regime in China continue seeking ways to penetrate American markets — putting U.S. citizens at risk — I will make certain our systems are fortified to protect Iowans from these threats,” Reynolds said in the press release. “We must ensure our state operations are resilient against any hostile actions aimed at undermining our state and nation.”

Reynolds’ order also directs that no state equipment, supplies, services or information technology can be purchased from a “prohibited company” as defined in state law, and requires the Board of Regents to compile a report of all gifts, contracts, agreements, arrangements and other exchanges between Iowa’s public universities and Chinese educational institutions over the past five years.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau

Get the latest Iowa politics and government coverage each morning in the On Iowa Politics newsletter.