14 February 2018 :

Senate Study Bill 3134 to reinstate capital punishment in Iowa won't advance in the Legislature's 2018 session. The bill had been approved Monday by a Senate subcommittee on a 3-2 vote with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. But Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, chairman of the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters Tuesday the bill won't be debated again this week, which means it will fail to meet a key legislative deadline. "I am going to go on record here on the death penalty: It is not going to be run; I am putting this to rest," Zaun said. "I don't want to say more than that. I have decided it is not going to be on the agenda on Wednesday or Thursday, so it will not be eligible to move on unless someone wants to vote on it and do an amendment, which I can't control. But in Judiciary, it will not be run." Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, an opponent of the bill, said he believes the death penalty proposal is not advancing because it lacked sufficient votes within the Senate GOP caucus and in the Republican-controlled House.