(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s state and local governments, public and private schools and public universities would have to check two federal databases to ensure all new employees are authorized to work in the United States under a bill on its way to the governor. That part of the bill was drafted in response last September’s arrest of Des Moines superintendent, who has pleaded guilty to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen.
The bill also makes it a crime to use someone else’s Social Security number to get a job and an Iowa employer that hires a person they know is using someone else’s Social Security number could be fined 10-thousand dollars. Representative Brooke Boden, a Republican from Indianola, says those are important guardrails.”It verifies employment eligibility, protects legal workers and honest employees and ensures integrity in our voting process,” Boden said, “and protects our voice as lawful voters.”
The bill requires Iowa’s Secretary of State to check the federal government’s SAVE system to verify people who register to vote in Iowa are U.S. citizens. Representative Heather Matson, a Democrat from Ankeny, says the SAVE database is not error-proof and some eligible Iowa voters will be falsely flagged as non-citizens. “We have not seen an overwhelming number of criminal complaints to back up any kind of argument that massive voter fraud exists,” Matson said.
Representative Charley Thomson, a Republican from Clear Lake who’s a lawyer, says it’s clear there will be lawsuits filed to try to overturn parts of the legislation, so there’s a special clause in the bill. “Basically an effort to save the substance of the bill should any court decide that any one particular provision is unenforceable,” Thomson said.
The 2026 legislative COULD be wrapping up soon. However, the House and Senate have produced vastly different property tax plans and private negotiations have not yet yielded a final bill.
