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Residents urge Coralville to oppose state bill and affirm support for Johnson County Community ID program
Summary
Public commenters and council members urged Coralville to oppose House File 2296, which would ban local community IDs, and reaffirm support for the Johnson County Community ID program; Councilmembers asked residents to contact Representative Pat Grassley. No formal council vote on the program occurred at the meeting.
Public speakers at the Coralville City Council meeting on March 10 urged the City to publicly support the Johnson County Community ID program and oppose House File 2296, which would prohibit counties and cities from issuing community identification cards.
Amy Hernandez, an intern with the Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County, asked the council to "take immediate action to publicly affirm their support for the Johnson County Community ID program as a tool that strengthens safety, trust, and inclusion in our community" and urged council members and residents to contact Representative Pat Grassley about the proposed state bill. Crystal Gomez Ramirez, whose remarks described how the ID is used in practice, said the card "does not replace state IDs or federal documents" and is limited in scope to help people access local services and interact safely with institutions and emergency responders.
Councilmember Royce Peterson recalled his early involvement with the program and said he has seen firsthand how it "brought people out of the shadows and made people more willing to work with law enforcement," and he encouraged colleagues and constituents to oppose House File 2296. Mayor Laurie Goodrich and other council members heard several public comments that tied the community ID to improved reporting to police and easier access to services for seniors, people who have lost documents, youths, and people experiencing homelessness.
Councilmember Katie Freeman placed the local debate in the context of state actions affecting civil-rights protections. She described a recently enacted state law that removes gender identity as a protected class in Iowa's Civil Rights Act and warned of the implications for local authority, saying the state'level change "may attempt to narrow what cities are allowed to do in law, it cannot dictate our values." Freeman urged Coralville to collaborate with other Iowa cities that maintain local protections for transgender residents.
No formal council vote was recorded on a resolution or ordinance supporting the Community ID program during the meeting. Several public speakers asked the Council to make a formal statement and to contact state lawmakers opposing House File 2296; Councilmembers Peterson and Freeman publicly encouraged such outreach. The issue was left as discussion and public comment at this meeting, with no assigned follow-up motion recorded in the minutes.
The Council adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
