Here's what Iowa legislative leaders said on opening day of the 2022 Legislature

The Iowa Legislature kicked off its 2022 session at 10 a.m. Monday, bringing state lawmakers back to the Capitol just a few months after they finalized Iowa's new redistricting maps during a pair of special sessions last fall.

The first day back was marked by speeches from legislative leaders and a rally by an anti-vaccine mandate group as Iowa's COVID-19 numbers rise thanks to the Omicron variant.

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Protestors gather in the Iowa State Capitol rotunda, rallying against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, before the start of the new session, on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, in Des Moines.

Opening day winds down with organizational meetings in the afternoon

Noon With both chambers adjourned for the day, much of the day’s activity is winding down. Lawmakers will hold a few initial organizational committee meetings in the afternoon. They're not expected to take up any legislation.

Both chambers will reconvene Tuesday morning. The House will start its work at 8:30 a.m. The Senate will gavel in at 9 a.m.

However, the highlight of Tuesday is expected to be Gov. Kim Reynolds' 6 p.m. Condition of the State address. Which you can watch on our website. 

This will be the last live blog update for the day. Look for more coverage on the Des Moines Register’s website later this afternoon and in Tuesday morning’s Iowa Politics Newsletter. If you’re not a subscriber to the newsletter, you can sign up here

Senate opens with Republican call for tax cuts, education changes; Democrats call for an end to 'culture war' legislation 

11:30 a.m. Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate each heavily emphasized the state’s workforce issues in their opening remarks to the session but struck different tones on more polarizing issues like the content of books in school libraries. 

Senate President Jake Chapman, who has advocated for legislation that could criminally prosecute school employees who give "obscene" material to students, began his speech by saying some teachers are “disguising sexually obscene material as desired subject matter.” He called for holding accountable those who distribute the objectionable content and for helping families who want to leave schools afford other options.

“When students are subjected to this violating content, we need to ensure parents have the ability to protect their children by removing them from that district," the Adel Republican said. "We can and must tear down the financial barriers that prevented parents from making that decision.” 

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, speaks in the Senate on the first day of the 2022 legislative session, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, at the State Capitol, in Des Moines.

He also said Republicans should set their sights on the "total elimination of the income tax.” 

“Now is the time for action,” he said. “Now is the time to be bold.” 

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, also called for tax cuts, saying Iowa is in a strong financial position thanks to Republicans’ financial leadership over the last several years.  

“When Republicans collect too much of your hard-earned dollars, we will keep our promise to give it back,” he said. “We must return that money to taxpayers in the form of major, permanent pro-growth tax reform.” 

Whitver also said Republicans need to take steps to ease Iowa’s workforce shortage, including reducing regulations on child care centers and easing licensing rules, and continuing Republicans’ push for welfare reform.  

Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, said the blame for Iowa’s workforce issues lies with Republican leadership’s policies. But he said Democrats are willing to work with Republicans on bipartisan solutions to the issue.  

“The good news is that we all agree — Democrats and Republicans alike — that workforce is the most important issue facing our state,” he said.  

He said Iowa needs to “end the divisive culture wars” that he said Republicans appear poised to continue this session.  

"Let’s stop pouring gasoline on the divisive culture war and focus on getting our state back to work,” he said. 

Wahls also pointed to how Republican leaders are no longer allowing journalists to work from the Senate floor, saying Republicans are “continuing Republicans attacks on the First Amendment from last year.” 

The Senate has adjourned until Tuesday.  

House adjourns until Tuesday

10:40 a.m. After hearing speeches from leadership in both parties, the Iowa House adjourned until Tuesday morning.

House Minority Leader Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, gives a speech on the first day of the 2022 legislative session, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, at the State Capitol, in Des Moines.

House Minority leader: ‘Our democracy needs us to uphold the truth’

10:28 a.m. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, gave an opening day speech calling on her colleagues to push back against misinformation. It’s Konfrst’s first regular session as minority leader after her colleagues elected her to the post last year.

“Our kids deserve to know the full truth about our history without interference or threats from lawmakers,” she said. “Our families deserve the truth about how to stay healthy during this pandemic instead of falsehoods promoted by some politicians. Our democracy needs us to uphold the truth so it can endure.”

Konfrst also said the Legislature has the opportunity to work together to support public schools, make sure child care is affordable and accessible, expand housing options, recruit and retain workers and keep young families in Iowa. And she highlighted the role of the minority party in doing so.

“Iowans elected 100 of us to serve them, and each of us has a responsibility and a role in completing the important work of the people this session,” she said. “They didn’t elect some of us to lead, and the others just to respond. They elected 100 of us to serve them fairly, equitably, and fully.”

Speaker Grassley promises tax cuts: 'Iowans deserve to have that money back.'

10:19 a.m. House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, started off the Iowa House’s 2022 session by repeating his promise of tax cuts.

“The state is taking in more tax money than it needs, and Iowans deserve to have that money back,” Grassley said. We must return that money to the Iowa taxpayer.”

Grassley also said the House would tackle Iowa’s worker shortage by taking steps like improving child care access.

“There won’t be one single bill that solves this issue,” he said. “It needs to be a holistic approach.”

Speaker of the Iowa House Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, kicks off the first day of the 2022 legislative session, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, at the State Capitol, in Des Moines.

Grassley also said Iowa needs to “hold the line” against the Biden administration, which he said is infringing on Iowans’ freedoms. Republicans, including Gov. Kim Reynolds earlier today,  have criticized Biden's pandemic mitigation policies as overreaching, including vaccine mandates for workers.

“We cannot let that happen here in Iowa,” he said. “We must push back.”

House, Senate gavel into session

10:05 a.m. Speaker Pat Grassley has gaveled in the Iowa House for the 2022 legislative session.

10:07 a.m. The Iowa Senate has gaveled in to begin the 2022 session. What to expect this morning: The Iowa Senate will swear in a new member, Republican Dave Rowley of Spirit Lake, who won a special election in December. Party leaders will also give speeches from the floor to preview their agenda and set the stage for the coming days.      

Anti-vaccine mandate protests greets lawmakers at sessions' start

9:30 a.m. Several dozen Iowans rang in the session by protesting vaccine mandates while gathered under the Capitol rotunda, continuing to pressure state lawmakers to fight COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

The rally was similar, though smaller, to other rallies that groups held last year during the beginning of the session and the two special sessions in the fall. 

Rep. Jon Jacobsen, R-Council Bluffs, spoke to the crowd and outlined legislation he is proposing that would widely ban businesses from asking about or maintaining records of a person's medical treatment status, including vaccinations.

"Our state motto is 'Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.' Our motto is not 'our lobby ties we prize and our rights we will bargain,'" he said, drawing applause. One member of the crowd beat a snare drum in agreement. 

The Republican bill would prohibit businesses from hiring or firing someone based on their vaccination status and would additionally ban denying goods and services, providing incentives or discriminating based on that status. It would also widely prohibit mask requirements, its authors said.

How much support the bill has remains unclear. Republican leaders have said they want to wait on pending U.S. Supreme Court cases against the Biden administration's federal vaccine-or-testing mandates. Oral arguments were Friday. 

The crowd cheered when Jacobsen said he appreciated Iowa Labor Commissioner Rod Roberts for declining to enforce the Biden administration's vaccine-or-testing requirement for large employers. Roberts sent notice to the federal government Friday night that the state would not adopt or enforce it, saying that Iowa's existing standards are "at least as effective" as the federal standard, although he did not elaborate on how. 

Iowa is among 21 states that have an individual state plan for workplace safety, which gives the state the option of writing its own workplace rules for public and private sector workers. But those rules can’t be weaker than what the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires.

U.S. Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda said in a statement Saturday that "we fully expect" states with their own workplace safety and health rules to comply with the vaccine mandate. If a state fails to adopt an emergency standard within 30 days, OSHA would have the authority to step in and enforce the federal standard.

Reynolds at pre-session GOP breakfast has fighting words for Biden administration 

8:30 a.m. Gov. Kim Reynolds, speaking the Iowa GOP’s legislative breakfast Monday, emphasized how she’s fighting back against the Biden administration’s pandemic mitigation policies, like vaccine mandates.

“We show Iowans and the country the stark contrast between Republican leadership and the failed policies of the Biden administration and Democrats,” she said.

During her speech, Reynolds repeated the message that “we proved that an effective pandemic response doesn’t have to come a the cost of our most basic civil liberties.”

The breakfast is the party's big pre-legislative session fundraiser. Once the legislature gavels in, certain limitations on political donations kick in.

Reynolds, who is expected to seek reelection this year, also mentioned other Republican priorities like getting students back in classrooms, cutting taxes, supporting law enforcement and changing Iowa’s election laws.

Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann also led the Iowa GOP in a moment of silence Monday morning for the late Rep. John Landon, an Ankeny Republican who died last year at 71.

“I think this is the first time that I’ve stood up here that I have not looked out and seen John Landon,” Kaufmann said at the breakfast. “And we just want he and his family and his wonderful partner, Marvis, to know that we are thinking about John ... he made a difference.”

Landon was first elected in 2012. His wife, Marvis Landon, is running for the Iowa House this year.

Here's what to expect over the next week

The first week of session will provide a preview of the agenda for the rest of the session. It includes speeches from a range of state leaders, as well as initial meetings for a variety of legislative committees. 

Today, party leaders in both chambers will give remarks on their outlook for the session. 

Tuesday evening, Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver her Condition of the State address to lay out her legislative priorities.

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen will give the Condition of the Judiciary address on Wednesday morning, and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Corell will give the Condition of the Guard address Thursday morning. 

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday's speeches will occur in the House chambers.

More:Iowa's legislative session starts on Monday. Here's a look at how it works, and what to expect.

More coverage of the 2022 session:

Here are 5 issues to watch in the 2022 legislative session

Republicans, who control the Iowa Legislature and governor's office, agree on a broad set of issues they want to tackle.

“You can look for a bold and historic agenda that includes, among other things, another round of tax cuts, a comprehensive workforce package and, of course, continued education reform,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said last week.

More:The Iowa Legislature is returning for its 2022 session. Here are 5 issues to watch.

Here's where those issues stand:

Tax cuts: Reynolds has remained tight-lipped about her tax cut plan ahead of her annual Condition of the State address. But top Senate Republicans have been clear their eventual goal is to eliminate the state’s individual income tax completely.

Education: Republicans have a flurry of education-related items on their 2022 agenda, building on laws they passed last year to expand school choice options. These include increasing parental involvement in their children’s education, a proposal to use state money to help Iowans pay for private school options, and addressing the state’s shortage of teachers and support staff.

Workforce shortages: Reynolds has promised a "comprehensive" workforce bill this year, although details are scarce. She may also lead a push to overhaul Iowa's unemployment law to try to get people off the program and back to work.

Vaccine mandates: Some Republican lawmakers are eager to pass a sweeping law that would limit businesses from being able to ask about employees’ vaccination statuses, require vaccines or mandate masks. But leaders, including Reynolds and House Speaker Pat Grassley, have said Iowa should wait for the outcome of court cases challenging the Biden administration’s various vaccine mandates before taking further action. 

Abortion: Democrats and Republicans alike are anxiously awaiting a pair of court cases that will determine the future of abortion access in Iowa. These include a U.S. Supreme Court case that could overturn Roe v. Wade and an Iowa Supreme Court case that could roll back protections in the state's constitution.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.