(Des Moines, Iowa) – Gov. Kim Reynolds, today (Friday), signed a bipartisan vaccine mandate bill (HF902). The bill that outlines how workers may claim a religious or medical exemption from a private employer’s Covid vaccination mandate, without a doctor or cleric signing off on the document. Afterward, she said “I am proud to sign this bipartisan piece of legislation today. This is a major step forward in protecting Iowans’ freedoms and their abilities to make healthcare decisions based on what’s best for themselves and their families. This legislation also gives employees the assurance that they will still receive unemployment benefits despite being fired for standing up for their beliefs.   

Reynolds said also, “As I’ve stated publicly numerous times, I believe the vaccine is the best defense against COVID-19 and we’ve provided Iowans with the information they need to determine what’s best for themselves and their families, but no Iowan should be forced to lose their job or livelihood over the COVID-19 vaccine.  This is only the first step. We will be taking other legal actions against the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate.” 

The bill that passed the House and Senate Thursday says workers are eligible for unemployment if they’re fired for failing to get vaccinated. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, says it’s a partial answer to looming federal vaccination mandates. “I don’t want to have to do this. Nobody does,” he said. “We’re reacting to authoritarianism.” Representative Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City, says there are fast-approaching deadlines for Iowans faced with taking a vaccination they don’t agree with or getting fired. “We needed to take this action now,” Stone says. “January will be too late for Iowans. That’s why we have to act today.”

Democrats who voted for the bill said they did so to ensure Iowans who lose their jobs get unemployment. But Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, voted for the bill, but accused Republicans of trying to buy off Iowans who don’t want to get a Covid shot. “All this bill says if you lose your job — which you’re going to, because you’re not dealing with the mandate,” Bisignano said, “you’re going to give them their measly weekly unemployment check.”

Business groups say the bill puts Iowa businesses in the terrible position of trying to figure out if they must follow state or federal regulations when it comes to Covid vaccinations among employees. Representative Steve Hanson, a Democrat from Sioux City, says Republicans had months to craft a bill and would up with a bill that creates too many unanswered questions. “Rather sloppy legislation,” he says. “…It’s very loosey goosey.”

Opponents of vaccine mandates who rallied at the Capitol yesterday called the bill unacceptable. Representative Jeff Shipley, a Republican from Fairfield, says while there is more work to do on the issue, the bill is a good first step. “There are people in Illinois, in New York and in every other Democratic cesspool in the United States that would love to have these legal protections,” Shipley says. Governor Reynolds says she’s committed to doing more on the topic. Last week the governor said she may join a lawsuit challenging federal Covid vaccine mandates.

(Parts of this story are courtesy Radio Iowa)