(Radio Iowa) - The Iowa Senate has passed bills to strengthen immigration and citizenship checks for voting, for getting an Iowa driver's license and for working in Iowa schools or in the public sector.
Bills that passed unanimously would require all Iowa schools and the state licensing board for educators to verify school staff are legally authorized to work in the U.S. -- and the same clearance would be required for all newly-hired employees in state and local governments as well as for anyone who applies for a professional license issued by the state. Another bill that passed with wide bipartisan support would have the Iowa D-O-T check federal databases to verify someone's a citizen or legal resident before issuing a driver's license.
Another piece of legislation that cleared the Senate on Tuesday calls on Iowa's secretary of state to verify registered voters in Iowa are U-S citizens. And the Senate unanimously passed another bill that would require passage of an English proficiency test before someone could get a commercial driver's license in Iowa.