Meeting Public Comments

Subcommittee meeting and times are as follows:

A bill for an act relating to citizenship or immigration status for purposes of a driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card, and including applicability provisions.(See HF 439.)

Subcommittee members: Wheeler-CH, James, Williams

Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Time: 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Location: RM 304

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

Comments Submitted:

01-24-2025

Stella Armstrong

This is an abhorrent bill that should have been killed before it ever made it to any kind of committee or subcommittee. The people of this state have told you time and time again that trying to demarcate entire swaths of people with ID markers is 1) a waste of time and resources and 2) entirely against our values as Iowans. The hate and vitriol that has taken over the people who are supposed to be leading this state is absolutely repulsive. No wonder our young people are currently in a mass exodus of the state. Shame on anyone who supports this.

01-24-2025

emma denney

vote NO on HSB 37. this bill opens immigrants, and all people, to intense and unjust scrutiny from the state and discrimination from anyone they might have to show an ID. This kind of special designation is cruel, and harkens back to the special symbols the nazi's used to designate jewish people, lgbt people, and other "undesirables." this kind of hate has no place in Iowa. Vote NO

01-24-2025

Jessica Kraemer

Incredible waste of taxpayer money / bureaucratic nonsense to include unnecessary information on an ID. Citizenship status changes often for people going through these passages of applying to citizenship, and have such an incredible burden of paperwork and legal hoops to jump through adding that information to drivers licenses is unnecessary and just makes the whole process more arduous and less efficient.Frankly ? What a waste of time so obviously politically motivated

01-28-2025

Lori Stiles [Iowa Canvassing Volunteers]

This bill was born out of the need for more security with our elections. This is not about singling out anyone for discrimination. Drivers' Licenses and nonoperator IDs are used by the overwhelming majority of voters as the form of photo ID required to vote in Iowa. Recent headlines about Iowa residents who had selfattested to being noncitizens, yet were registered to vote heightened the concern from legitimate US citizens who feared their vote could be negated by noncitizens who would cast votes. As a poll worker, without some distinguishing characteristic on the DL/nonop ID handed to me by a resident coming to vote, I have no way of knowing if that resident is truly a US Citizen vs. a person who has not attained citizenship. I urge you to support HSB 37 which would add a designation on Iowa DL/nonop IDs which signifies the holder has produced DOCUMENTARY PROOF of citizenship prior to its issuance, which in turn will serve the purpose of proving them eligible to vote in Iowa and US federal elections. Thank you.

01-29-2025

Fred Haskins [Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice]

Very frequently undocumented migrants have no drivers license . They may be given an employer ID but that is all. This bill stigmatizes them and the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice opposes it as unnecessary.