Iowa would join a handful of states that ban companies from requiring employees to get microchip implants if a bill that passed through a state House subcommittee Wednesday becomes law.

Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said he introduced House File 580 over concerns about the increased use of microchip implants across the country. He said he's not aware of any businesses in Iowa that use them, but he sees the proposed legislation as a preventative measure to ensure workers' rights aren't breached.

"I believe it's coming," he said. "With technology the way it is, it's a matter of time."

If signed into law, Iowa would allow employees to voluntarily agree to the implants, which can be used like a company badge. But it would ban employers from offering special privileges or incentives to those who opt in to such a security measure.

"I wanted to start the discussion because it's concerning to me," Holt said. "You have a constitutional right to decide whether a microchip is put into your body or not."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved microchips implants for humans in 2004. Since then, several states have voted to ban mandatory chipping in some form, among them California, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

In 2017, Wisconsin technology company Three Square Market garnered attention when officials announced they were offering optional microchip implants to employees to scan them into their building and buy food at work. The optional implants were the size of a grain of rice and embedded into employees' hands between their thumbs and index fingers.

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The three-person Iowa House subcommittee voted unanimously Wednesday to send Holt's bill to the full House Judiciary Committee, which Holt chairs.

While those who discussed the bill weren't aware of issues in Iowa, they said they supported the idea of the legislation.

“I think it’s creepy,” Rep. Joe Mitchell, R-Mount Pleasant, said of implant requirements.

Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-West Des Moines, said she wasn’t sure that mandatory microchips are a problem, but she supports the bill.

“I do like the idea that people have the right to do what they want to do with their own bodies,” she said. “Body autonomy is really important, and I hope we extend this concept to other legislation this session.”

The bill has support from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and a handful of labor groups. No one has registered in opposition.

Daniel Zeno, director of policy and advocacy with the ACLU of Iowa, said the group likes that the legislation will also cover the government as an employer.

"We think this is a good way to make sure that the government, in particular, doesn't require people to have a chip implanted," he said.

Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.

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