Michael Breitbach

Michael Breitbach is the Iowa State Senator from the 28th District. A Republican, he has served in the Iowa Senate since 2013. Breitbach was born in Manchester, Iowa, and currently resides in Strawberry Point, Iowa.

As of May 2016, Breitbach serves on the following committees in the Iowa Senate: Commerce, Natural Resources and Environment, and Transportation. He also serves on the Commission on Tobacco Use Prevention and Control, as well as the following interim study committees: Cannabidiol Implementation Study Committee, and Emergency Medical Services Study Committee

Voting Accessibility

During the 2017 legislative session, Breitbach 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 the Iowa State Association of Counties, an advocacy group for Iowa's disabled, and Iowa's Department on Aging opposed the bill.

Workers' rights

Michael Breitbach voted to end collective bargaining for municipal state employees and teachers after a week and a half of public deliberation. Breitbach voted for House File 295 which eliminates local control in municipalities that voted to increase their own minimum wage locally. Breitbach'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.

Birth control and personhood

Breitbach cosponsored Senate File 253 that established by statute that personhood begins at conception. This bill would have made a number of forms of birth control and frozen embryos illegal. This bill did not move past the first legislative funnel on March 3, 2017.

Healthcare

Breitbach voted in support of House File 625, which eliminated the requirement that parents report whether or not they have healthcare for their children. In this bill, Breitbach also eliminated the requirement that parents apply for public healthcare coverage for their children.

Use of force

Breitbach cosponsored Senate File 262 that would allow Iowans to use force that they consider to be reasonable, even if their judgement is later deemed to be wrong.

Punishment for protesting

Michael Breitbach cosponsored Senate File 111 in 2017 that would make it a felony to block a highway while protesting. A protester would be charged with a fine of at least $750 and up to $7,500. They could be placed in prison for no more than five years.

Immigration

Michael Breitbach cosponsored Senate File 172 which would require all employers with over 25 employees to e-verify through the Department of Homeland Security that their employees are U.S. citizens. Many farms of a smaller size and owners of smaller dairies, who are constituents of Breitbach, would be exempt from following this law.

Breitbach 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.