Iowa Stymied in Effort To Bar Welfare Expenditures at Strip Clubs, Liquor Stores

Federal regulations run up against federal regulations

DES MOINES – New legislation introduced by the Iowa Department of Human Services would bar welfare recipients from using the taxpayer money they receive at strip clubs, bars and casinos and make the misuse a fraudulent act.

But it fails to address how the department plans to enforce the proposed law or the consequences violators would face.

Instead, the legislation gives the department broad discretion in deciding how best to comply with the new federal regulations that prompted the proposal.