Diane Rosenberg is executive director of Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors, where this commentary first appeared.
With the passage of Senate File 2370 (a version of legislation introduced by the governor’s office), Governor Kim Reynolds’ Executive Order No. 10, issued in January 2023, is now Iowa law. It will have a substantial impact on the state’s ability to protect waterways and communities from factory farms.
State agencies across Iowa will be prevented from strengthening rules and regulations, but will have the ability to weaken them. It’s now a race to the bottom that will adversely affect factory farming’s impact on water quality and public health.
The Iowa Senate approved SF 2370 by 32 votes to 14, with all Democrats present opposing the bill.
In the House it passed by 91 votes to 3. It was expected that the GOP caucus would fully support this bill, as they have with most of the Reynolds administration’s priorities.
But nearly all House Democrats voted for SF 2370, too.
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