As Trump Unfurls Infrastructure Plan, Iowa Bill Seeks to Criminalize Pipeline Protests

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The Iowa Senate has advanced a bill which critics say could lead to theย criminalization of pipeline protests, which are being cast as โ€œterrorist activities.โ€ย Dakota Access pipeline owner Energy Transfer Partners and other companies have lobbied forย the bill,ย Senate Study Bill 3062, which opensย up the possibility ofย prison time and a hefty fine for those who commit โ€œsabotageโ€ of critical infrastructure, such as oil and gasย pipelines.

Thisย bill, carrying a criminal punishment of up toย 25 years in prison andย $100,000 in fines, resembles theย Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, a โ€œmodelโ€ billย recently passed by theย American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). That ALEC bill, intended as a template for state and federal legislation,ย was based onย Oklahoma’s HB 1123, whichย calls for citizens to receive a felony sentencing, $100,000 fine, and/or 10 years in prison if their actions โ€œwillfully damage, destroy, vandalize, deface, or tamper with equipment in a critical infrastructureย facility.โ€

According to disclosure records, corporations lobbying for the Iowa bill include not only Energy Transfer Partners, but alsoย Koch Industries, the American Petroleum Institute,ย Valero Energy,ย Magellan Midstream, and others. The Iowa State Police Association has also come out in support of the bill, while the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa is against it. The bill has passed out of subcommittee and nextย goes in front of the state Senate Judiciaryย Committee.

The bill’s introduction comes as President Donald Trumpย called for Congress to pass a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill in his State of the Union Address, which according to a leaked outline of his proposal published by The Washington Post, includes pipelines and would expediteย the federal regulatory permitting process for them, largely by simply removingย environmentalย requirements.

State Sen. Jack Shipley (R), one of the Judiciary Subcommitteeย โ€œyesโ€ votes, told the Des Moines Register that the bill was necessary โ€œas evidenced by terrorist activities on pipelines and threats โ€” many, many threats โ€” onย pipelines.โ€

Sen. Charles Schneider, who also voted to advanceย the bill out ofย subcommittee, is one of two Iowa ALEC stateย chairs.ย The other โ€œyesโ€ vote came from Sen. Rich Taylor, aย Democrat.

ALEC is a corporate-funded group which brings together primarily Republican Party state legislators and lobbyists at annual meetings to vote on proposed โ€œmodelโ€ legislation, generally drafted by corporate lobbyists and attorneys. Theย Critical Infrastructure Protection Actย passedย through ALEC‘sย Energy, Environment,ย and Agriculture Task Force at its States & Nation Policy Summit in December held in Nashville,ย Tennessee.

Energy Transfer Partners’ Iowa lobbyist, Jeff Boeyink, formerly served as chief of staff for Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who now serves as U.S. Ambassador to China.ย Branstad was one of ALEC‘s key foundingย members in the 1970s. Energy Transfer in the past has funded ALEC meetings, though it is not clear if they are a current donor, as ALEC does not list funders on its website, nor does it make public who sponsors itsย meetings.

Boeyink told the Des Moines Register that he believes Energy Transfer Partners is the โ€œposter childโ€ showing the bill’s necessity, alluding to the months-long protests which erupted against the Dakota Access pipeline in both North Dakota and Iowa. But one of the leading opponents of the bill, Bold Iowa, has come out against the legislation and sees it asย overreach.

โ€œThis latest attempt by Big Oil to silence dissent is no surprise,โ€ย Ed Fallon, director of Bold Iowa, said in a press release about the bill. โ€œThis is legislative extremism at its worst. The billโ€™s backers want you to believe this is about cracking down on arson and vandalism. But the hundreds of pipeline protesters who were peaceful, nonviolent and didnโ€™t engage in property destruction could be accused of interrupting service under this bill and subject to insaneย consequences.โ€

The director of ALEC‘s Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force, Grant Kidwell, told DeSmog that he expects the model bill could be introduced in other states in the weeks ahead. He also pointed out that it is not only an ALEC model bill, but also one passed at the corporate-funded Council of State Governments (CSG).

Before coming to ALEC, Kidwellย worked as a senior policy analystย for Americans for Prosperity, the lobbying, advocacy, and electioneering group fundedย and founded by moneyย from the Koch Family Foundations and Koch Industries.

โ€œStates are recognizing the importance of critical infrastructure and the threats to it,โ€ย Kidwell told DeSmog. โ€œOklahoma enacted legislation in 2017 protecting critical infrastructure before ALEC began its consideration of model policy on the issue. Iowa is currently considering legislation to protect critical infrastructure and likely many more states will asย well.โ€

Members of the Iowa-based lobbying teamsย for the bill, representing Koch Industries and Energy Transfer Partners, did not respond to a request forย comment.

Main image: People opposing the Dakota Access pipeline gather at Standing Rock in Northย Dakota, December 4, 2016.ย Credit:ย Joe Brusky,ย CC BYNCย 2.0

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Steve Horn is the owner of the consultancy Horn Communications & Research Services, which provides public relations, content writing, and investigative research work products to a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit clients across the world. He is an investigative reporter on the climate beat for over a decade and former Research Fellow for DeSmog.

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