Iowa lawmakers open session focused on taxes, unemployment

By DAVID PITT
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature begins the 2022 session with talk of approving tax cuts, rewriting unemployment laws to push people back to work and creating a parents bill of rights that could determine how schools decide which books are appropriate for libraries. The 150 lawmakers and staff return to the Capitol on Monday with no mask, vaccine or test requirements as COVID-19 continues rapid spread throughout the state. Lawmakers could decide how to deal with potential federal vaccine mandates, which now are tied up in the courts. A group of people opposed to vaccine requirements rallied inside the Capitol on Monday morning before lawmakers began the session.