Start United States USA — Political Iowa lawmakers return to Capitol — some wearing masks, others shunning them...

Iowa lawmakers return to Capitol — some wearing masks, others shunning them — to get back to state business

263
0
TEILEN

From the opening gavel, the first day of Iowa’s resumed legislative session showed several signs of the difficulties the state is facing with civil …
From the opening gavel, the first day of Iowa’s resumed legislative session showed several signs of the difficulties the state is facing with civil unrest and the coronavirus pandemic.
Legislators returned Wednesday morning from their more than two-month break during the initial spread of the coronavirus. Over the coming days, they will work to finish passing several policy bills and craft the state budget.
The session restarted as the state continues to be in what Gov. Kim Reynolds calls „substantial spread“ of the virus and in the midst of a week where protests have broken out nationwide, including in Des Moines, over the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a now-former Minneapolis police officer. The officer has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
As the Republican-led House gaveled in, Des Moines Democrat Ako Abdul-Samad, who has worked as a mediator between police and protesters over the past several days, led a prayer asking for strength to bridge racial and political divides.
“We come to you in trying times,” he said. “We come to you when our nation is in turmoil, when our state is in turmoil.”
Abdul-Samad prayed for the families of those who have lost their lives to the coronavirus, as well as for the nation’s first responders.
Visitors to the Capitol were required to undergo a temperature check before entering. A staff member offered face masks to those who wanted them. Signs encouraged people to maintain 6 feet of social distancing, and several hand sanitizer stations could be found around the building.
During subcommittee meetings, chairs were set up a few feet apart, rather than in the traditional side-by-side rows, to encourage social distancing. The subcommittee meetings were live-streamed to a television outside the room, and submission of comments online was encouraged.
Mask-wearing was common but far from universal among both legislators and lobbyists Wednesday.

Continue reading...