Iowa Senate defeats rules amendment that would have allowed petitions to force floor debate on pipeline and other bills

The Iowa Senate defeated Senate amendment 3029, a proposed change to chamber rules that would have allowed a petition process to bring bills to the floor for debate, by a roll-call vote of 18 ayes to 30 nays.

Senate amendment 3029 would have altered the chamber’s operating rules to permit a petition—signed by senators—to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor for debate. Proponents repeatedly said the change was designed to ensure topics such as a pipeline eminent-domain bill would receive full debate in the Senate rather than being blocked in committee.

The amendment’s sponsor and several senators argued the measure responded to repeated constituent requests. "It's time to have the debate," said Senator Visignano. In a floor statement urging adoption, a senator described farmers and landowners who had "come to this capital...day after day,…