DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa lawmakers are extending the 2019 legislative session into Saturday. The Iowa Senate has gone home for the night but the House was expected to debate the final few remaining bills into the night.
Senators called it a night at around 6:30 and plan to return Saturday at 9 a.m.
The House was considering the state Health and Human Services budget bill which was expected to bring significant debate due to a last-minute Senate Republican amendment which sought to prohibit the use of Medicaid funding to pay for sex-reassignment surgery.
It also would prohibit government money from paying for sex education programs by Planned Parenthood.
The bill drew lengthy Senate debate from Democrats who said the state wasn’t doing enough to fix the privatized Medicaid program.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.