The 2020 Iowa Legislature hasn’t been reconvened for very long, though there’s already been a high-profile bill passed and signed.

Following the COVID-19 related hiatus that lasted more than two months, legislators made a police reform bill their top priority. District 10 State Senator Jake Chapman (R) says in light of everything that happened in Minneapolis with the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, both chambers and the governor felt it necessary to make an immediate statement on the matter. They did so with the unanimous passage of House File 2647, which brings several levels of accountability for law enforcement in Iowa.

Chapman says the key aspects of the bill include: a near prohibition on the use of choke holds; strengthening the process for certifying and decertifying officers to ensure an individual fired for misconduct can’t jump to another department; and establishing requirements for annual anti-bias and de-escalation training. Chapman adds, he’s proud of the bill and how quickly it was enacted, and he believes it successfully navigated a delicate issue. “I think it was a very reasonable bill that balances making sure that the general public is protected, and making sure that our law enforcement knows we support them and we are grateful for what they do to protect us every day. And so I think it was a very reasonable approach of what we got passed. It went through the process very quickly and was signed very quickly, so I think we wanted to send a clear message on that.”

To learn more about this and other legislative topics, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.