DES MOINES, Iowa — Lawmakers in the Iowa House are another step closer to delivering on a law banning vaccine passports from being used in Iowa.
House File 889 would ban state and local officials from mandating vaccine passports and would punish businesses or government entities who try to enforce them. It was first introduced last Friday.
During Monday's Judiciary Committee meeting, Iowans were allowed to voice their concerns on the bill.
"Iowans spoke and you listened," said one Iowan. "They are adamantly, adamantly against vaccine passports and, quite frankly, adamantly against vaccine mandates period."
There's a lot of misinformation surrounding vaccine passports, but the bottom line is they prove a person is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
They can be a physical identification card, like a driver's license, or a digital card on a smartphone. They would be used to screen people before allowing them to do certain things such as board an airplane or go to a concert.
Before Monday's meeting, Local 5 counted nearly 100 public comments on the bill on the state legislature's website. The vast majority were in favor of the bill, though some suggested the bill doesn't go far enough.
On April 7, Governor Kim Reynolds announced she was against vaccine passports. During the press conference, she said they would be banned either through executive action or by legislation sent to her desk.
"It's more big government overseeing what's happening and we want to make sure that doesn't move forward in the state of Iowa," Reynolds said.
House File 889 must pass the Iowa Legislature before it can be signed into law by the governor.
Iowa isn't alone in trying to ban vaccine passports.
Governors in Texas, Florida, Montana, Idaho and Arizona have already signed executive orders banning them. Alabama, Michigan and Ohio are still in the process of passing legislation trying to ban them.
The Biden administration announced in late March there was no intention to mandate a federal vaccine passport system. The decision would be left to businesses and local governments.