Preceded by Albert Sorensen Name Jerry Behn Children 4 children Role Political leader | Occupation Farmer/Agribusiness Spouse Denise Behn Website Behn's website | |
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Born January 31, 1954 (age 70)
Boone County, Iowa ( 1954-01-31 ) Residence Boone, Iowa, United States | ||
Political party Republican Party of Iowa | ||
Jerry behn polk county republicans 10 11 09
Jerry Behn (born January 31, 1954) is the Iowa State Senator from the 24th District and minority leader in the Iowa Senate. A Republican, he has served in the Iowa Senate since 1997, and served as a Boone County Supervisor from 1995 to 1996.
Contents
- Jerry behn polk county republicans 10 11 09
- Voters rights
- Healthcare
- Workers Rights
- Immigration
- References
Behn currently serves on several committees in the Iowa Senate - the Appropriations committee; the Commerce committee; the State Government committee; the Environment & Energy Independence committee, where he is the ranking member, and the Ethics committee, where he is the ranking member. He also serves on the Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee.
Behn was last re-elected in 2008 with 22,970 votes (57%), defeating Democratic opponent, former Iowa Senator Albert Sorensen.
Behn was a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010 but withdrew, endorsing Terry Branstad. His platform included promoting fiscal restraint, preserving right-to-work laws, and allowing Iowans to vote on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He called for voters to vote against retention for those Iowa Supreme Court justices who decided that Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional in Varnum v. Brien.
Voters' rights
During the 2017 legislative session, Behn voted to shorten both the amount of time one may cast an absentee ballot and the number of days one can vote at satellite polling sites, and he voted to require all voters to present a state-issued ID. Though he voted for the measure, the bill was opposed by the Iowa State Association of Counties, an advocacy group for Iowa's disabled, and Iowa's Department on Aging opposed the bill.
Healthcare
Behn voted in support of House File 625, which eliminated the requirement that parents report on their state taxes whether or not they have healthcare for their children. In this bill, Behn also voted to eliminate the requirement that parents apply for public healthcare coverage, Hawk-i or Medicaid, for their children.
Workers' Rights
Behn voted for House File 295 which eliminates local control in municipalities that voted to increase their own minimum wage locally. Behn's vote will cause the minimum wage to be lowered in four counties which had already voted to raise their minimum wage (Johnson, Linn, Wapello, and Polk). Estimates show that at least 64,300 residents of Iowa will have their wages effectively lowered, including 35,800 to 36,000 in Polk County, 10,100 in Johnson County, and 18,400 in Linn County.
Immigration
Behn also voted for an amended form of Senate File 481. This bill eliminated elements of local control by requiring a local officer to comply and detain an immigrant who is guilty of three misdemeanors, non-violent felonies, and felonies until ICE arrives. This bill was opposed by a number of organizations in Iowa, including the Iowa Police Chief Association, the Iowa Catholic Conference, the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, the Iowa Coalition against Sexual Assault, and the Iowa State Bar Association.