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House amends workforce bill with procurement, apprenticeship and child-labor recapture language; passes 62-34
Summary
Senate File 603, a broad workforce and Department of Workforce Development bill, was amended on the House floor to add procurement and apprenticeship-related provisions and passed after extended debate. Opponents said late non-germane amendments altered a previously unanimous committee bill.
The Iowa House passed Senate File 603 on Wednesday after a lengthy floor process that added several amendments to the workforce and Department of Workforce Development bill.
The floor manager, Representative Moore, described the bill as a package of Department of Workforce Development updates: it removes a statewide employment skills assessment requirement, revises programs including a conservation corps and workforce investment programs, transfers certain reporting duties to the College Student Aid Commission, and modifies definitions tied to unemployment insurance.
On the floor, Representative Kaufman offered an amendment (H1106) addressing bidding and procurement language; Representative Cooley and others offered secondary amendments that provoked extensive debate. Representative Cooley—s amendment H1116 would have exempted federally funded projects from a proposed apprenticeship requirement; Representative Cooling offered amendments (H1115, H1117) addressing "Buy American" steel requirements and recapture of state tax expenditures from employers who violate child-labor laws.
Floor debate focused on whether amendments were germane, whether they would discourage federal funding or local bidding flexibility, and whether the changes targeted unions or protected American jobs. Supporters of the procurement and apprenticeship changes said they protect Iowa workers and increase apprenticeship opportunities; opponents said the amendments were late, non-germane and threatened to penalize local governments and schools that must use federal funds tied to apprenticeship rules.
After multiple roll calls on motions to immediately consider amendments and on the amendments themselves, a core procurement amendment (H1106) was adopted (vote recorded as 64-34 on the amendment); the House then passed the amended Senate File 603 by a recorded vote of 62-34.
The bill, as amended, moves on for messaging to the Senate.
