The Register's editorial

A thistle to GOP state lawmakers for seeking to impose restrictions on the Iowa attorney general.

Republicans want to prevent Democrat Tom Miller from joining lawsuits that target President Donald Trump’s administration. The legislative proposal, tacked onto a budget bill, would require the attorney general's office to get permission to join out-of-state lawsuits.

The provision has passed both houses of the Legislature. We urge Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto it.

Miller joined six lawsuits in 2018 that were initiated in other states seeking to block federal policies. These rightly included those that separated families at the southern border and sought citizenship information in the 2020 census.

The attorney general was placed in the judicial branch in the Iowa Constitution, so this proposal raises significant constitutional separation of powers questions. It's also one more example of how little many Republicans in the Iowa Legislature seem to understand about the concept of divided government.

They now control the governor's office and both houses of the General Assembly, but apparently don't want any dissenting voices in state government that would act as a check on their unfettered power or question their values. Of course they may change their tune if voters at some point revoke that power.

A rose to the Iowa Department of Public Health and law enforcement agencies for sponsoring a new initiative to provide every interested officer with a naloxone (Narcan) kit to respond to suspected opioid overdoses.

The ability of first responders to immediately administer this medication could mean the difference between life and death for Iowans.

Such efforts, as well as making the medication available without a prescription and training anyone who might need to administer it, appear to be making a difference in Iowa. In 2017, there were 206 opioid-involved deaths, but preliminary data for 2018 shows that number dropped to 137.

A rose to Des Moines residents who are taking advantage of the city’s Tiny Trees program.

They have broken the record for the number of trees ordered in a year. More than 7,000 trees of eight species have been ordered so far, surpassing last year’s record of 6,654. The program, launched in 2016, encourages property owners to plant new trees to help reduce storm water run-off, save on heating and cooling costs, provide habitat for wildlife and invest in improving neighborhoods.

A rose to the Des Moines City Council for imposing a ban on standing in medians at 200 intersections in the capital city. The vote came six months after the city, fearing a lawsuit, rescinded an ordinance banning panhandling without a city license.

The median ordinance is a good compromise and a win for the safety of pedestrians and drivers. Though panhandlers have as much right to beg for money as politicians, the proliferation of median dwellers in recent years is unsafe and disruptive to traffic.

So it is welcome news that pedestrians will be banned "from standing, sitting or staying on a median for any purpose other than to cross the street.”

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