Robin Opsahl, Brooklyn Draisey, and Cami Koons collaborated on this article, which was first published by Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Following the second “funnel” deadline of the Iowa legislative session, lawmakers often aim to shift their focus from policy to budgeting. But as lawmakers hit week 10 of the 2026 session, it appears agreements have not been reached on some of the top priorities laid out by Republicans at the beginning of session — primarily, eminent domain and property taxes.
Friday marked the second major deadline of the session, when most bills must be passed by one chamber and approved by a committee in the other chamber to stay eligible for consideration. There are many caveats to this rule — legislation involving spending, taxes or government oversight are not subject to the funnel.
Chamber leadership can also designate bills that have not made it through the committee process required as “unfinished business,” saving the measure from the funnel cutoff – and can also bring back “dead” legislation as leadership-sponsored legislation. Some “dead” bills may be added as amendments to surviving bills in future debate.
Though there are still many avenues for state lawmakers to continue working on policy, the Legislature is just over a month away from the scheduled end date of April 21, when per diem expenses end for state lawmakers. Before they can end the session, the Legislature must approve and send budget bills funding the state government to Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The March Revenue Estimating Conference has given legislators a framework to start crafting appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2027, but no budget plans have yet been released in either chamber.
“We’ll start to work through those, you know, in the next couple of weeks, identify those targets, and then start the process of … winding this show up,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh said Thursday.
The Legislature typically adjourns after a budget is sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds. But House Minority Leader Brian Meyer told reporters “there seems to be a lot of work to be done” before that will happen.
“We’ve got property taxes, which I don’t think they’re close on. You’ve got eminent domain — I know they’re not close on,” Meyer said. “And then you have a budget. We don’t even have targets down for the budgets yet. So I think at some point, something has to give, and they have to start working together to get this done.”
Top GOP priorities remain unresolved
Republican leaders in both the House and Senate brought up both property taxes and eminent domain as top priorities to tackle in 2026.
The House moved early in the session to pass House File 2104, a bill that proposed directly banning the use of eminent domain in carbon capture pipeline projects. But that bill was amended during Senate committee and replaced with language from Klimesh’s proposal, Senate File 2067. His bill would still allow for hazardous liquid pipeline operators to use eminent domain, but only after proving it had “diligently exhausted” possibilities to seek willing landowner easements within a widened corridor.
The last public discussion on the bill was during the January 28 committee meeting. Klimesh said he understood some landowners and advocates believed the Senate was “not moving” on the bill – but he said he and other Republican leaders have been working in private meetings to discuss how to move forward on the issue.“I meet weekly with stakeholders on both sides of the issue, just to be clear, right?” Klimesh said. “And those conversations are looking at the Senate’s proposal, you know, with the conversation at the House proposal they sent over … which was more clearly defined, obviously.”
These conversations are about how to improve the Senate proposal, he said, and to “find middle ground” with Iowans on both sides of the issue.
“I want folks to realize that, you know, the conversations are ongoing on a difficult issue, and we’re moving in the right direction,” Klimesh said. “I really feel that way.”
House Speaker Pat Grassley told reporters on March 19, “my hope and expectation was we were going to get a bill over here from the Senate, so we can kind of see where we each are at” on eminent domain — something that has not happened.
“At this point, it looks like we’re kind of in a stalemate from that standpoint,” Grassley said. “What I would ultimately say is, as far as House Republicans’ perspective, we still feel that the conversation is not done this legislative session.”
Grassley said the House GOP caucus feels “strongly we need to have a further discussion than what we’ve already had this session.”
“We have passed multiple different opportunities out of the House over the last several years with the willingness to try to find a level of solution,” Grassley said. “We would love for there to be something that comes back to us — for at least to work off of. But at the same time, just because a bill doesn’t come back from the Senate, I don’t think that we should also just throw up our hands and say, ‘Well, I guess the issue is dead for the year.’”
Finding ways to lower property taxes was also brought up as a top goal by both legislative leaders and Reynolds heading into 2026. All three parties have released their plans on property taxes, and legislators have received public feedback on each of the proposals through subcommittee meetings.
In a House Ways and Means Committee meeting Wednesday, lawmakers advanced House Study Bill 596, the House proposal with planned amendments to add portions from the governor’s proposal. Both the House GOP and Reynolds’ plans include a 2 percent revenue cap with some exceptions.
The House bill, as passed, incorporates certain portions of the governor’s proposal, like creating a $10 million fund of one-time money for local governments to finance consolidation efforts and shared service agreements, and would create a state-sponsored tax-deductible savings account similar to the state’s Iowa 529 Plan for first-time homeowners.
Like House Republicans’ original bill, the measure would reduce taxes on all residential properties, instead of cutting property taxes for seniors specifically. The initial draft would have exempted $25,000 of a home’s value from property taxes; the amendment creates an exemption of 10 percent of the taxable value of a home or a maximum $25,000 exemption — whichever amount is less.
Senate Republicans have put forward Senate File 2472, a bill that takes a substantially different approach when compared to the governor and House Republicans’ bills. This bill proposes eliminating the state’s “rollback” system for calculating property tax, reversing certain 2013 property tax cuts for multiresidential buildings like apartments, and eliminating property taxes altogether for Iowans older than 65 who own their homes free and clear. The bill also seeks to provide local governments access to new revenue streams by seeking voter approval to raise the local option sales tax and indexing the state’s gas tax to inflation.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee advanced the Senate bill March 11 with bipartisan support. Senator Dan Dawson, the committee chair, thanked members of the committee for their work on the bill, saying it showed “there is a high desire to overhaul this entire system on a bipartisan basis.”
Dawson has repeatedly said that a “simple” bill will not meaningfully lower property tax costs for Iowans.
“It should not go unnoticed in this building, that there’s a larger appetite than ‘simple’ and kicking the can down the road to the next year,” Dawson said. “So I thank you all for being part of the process and hopefully getting to a better solution.”
Representative Carter Nordman, the House Ways and Means Committee chair, told reporters March 18 that “obviously, the two bills are very different” between the House and Senate. “Some philosophy differences there, too,” Nordman said. “So all we can do is continue to have those conversations and see if we can get on the same page.”
While lawmakers were moving numerous policy proposals through committee meetings in the week leading up to the funnel deadline, the Iowa House passed a tax bill Thursday which faces its own deadline from the federal government. The House passed House File 2739 on March 19, retroactively raising the premium tax rate for health maintenance organizations from 0.925 percent to 3.5 percent from January 1 to September 30, 2026 to make up for a shortfall in Iowa Medicaid funding.
Republicans said the tax increase was necessary to draw down certain federal funds made available through President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ 2025 tax and spending law. Reynolds said the state has a March 31 federal deadline to make the change.
Though there are still several high-profile issues on the table, the funnel has narrowed the field for bills lawmakers will consider for the rest of session. Here is a rundown on the bills that remain on the table following the second funnel deadline and which bills did not make the cut.
What survived
Agriculture
Emissions lawsuits: House File 2527 would limit the ability to sue farmers for greenhouse gas emissions that have had an “alleged actual or potential effect” on the climate. Supporters of the bill, which advanced from the House, said it protects farmers from “frivolous” lawsuits. The bill and its companion, Senate File 2427, were placed on unfinished business.
Grain indemnity: House File 2596 makes a small adjustment to the state program that helps farmers get paid when their grain buyers fold. The program was revamped in 2025, but HF 2596 corrects a section of the language that required small grain dealers to undergo audits, even if they didn’t allow for credit-sale contracts. The bill passed from the House floor February 26 and later advanced from the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Iowa Farm Act: A comprehensive ag policy from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig was introduced in both chambers, though the Senate’s version of the bill, most recently numbered as Senate File 2465, has advanced from an appropriations committee. The bill calls for increased biosecurity, expansions to the Choose Iowa program and various tax relief measures for farmers.
Raw milk and farm-to-table events: House File 2444 would allow raw milk to be sold at on-farm stores, allow cottage foods to be sold in grocery stores and create a special permit for farm-to-table events. The bill is currently in the House Ways and Means Committee, making it safe from the funnel deadline.
Right to repair: House File 2709 would require manufacturers to sell the mechanisms required to repair agricultural equipment to farmers or independent repair shops. The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Shellfish: A bill would create an individual category for shellfish in Iowa’s animal feeding operation code. House File 2534 advanced from the House and has been placed on unfinished business with its companion, Senate File 2337.
Education
Antisemitism at schools: House File 2544 would require the Iowa Board of Education to publish an annual antisemitism report. The report would have to identify “each complaint or incident of antisemitism,” using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, at regents universities, community colleges and public school districts. The measure was put on the unfinished business calendar in the Senate.
Board of Educational Examiners citizenship checks: As passed by the Senate, Senate File 2218 would direct the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to have education professionals seeking new and renewing licenses to provide information about their legal U.S. work authorization, and to submit proof of their eligibility every five years to remain licensed. This measure was introduced after the immigration arrest of former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Roberts.
The House amended the bill to include other provisions that were implemented via an executive order from Reynolds on citizenship status verification for other professional licensing and public jobs, which was discussed previously as a separate measure, Senate File 2412. The language added to the BOEE bill would require the state government and state licensing boards to use the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database and E-Verify system to verify citizenship and legal status of people seeking state government jobs or professional and occupational licenses.
Cardiac emergency response: Senate File 2390, which is funnel-exempt because it involves funding, would establish a pilot competitive grant program through the Iowa Department of Education for school districts to develop cardiac emergency response plans focused on athletic events and physical education.
Charter schools: Senate File 2425 and House File 2699 propose adding costs for the teacher salary supplement cost per pupil to payments for charter schools, in addition to making other funding changes related to charter schools including a Senate proposal to add charter school teachers to the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System. It also would require public school districts’ athletic and other extracurricular activities to be available to charter school students who live within the district’s boundaries.
The governor’s proposal on charter schools which also includes much of the similar language, Senate File 2406, was placed on unfinished business. Because the measures involve funding components, they are not subject to the funnel deadline.
Civics education: Bills to expand civics education in public higher education have passed out of chamber committees and were placed on unfinished business. House File 2361, passed by the House, and Senate File 2232, approved by the Senate Education Committee, would require state universities to include three-credit-hour courses in U.S. history and government in general education standards, with centers for civic education at each institution responsible for designating courses.
Classroom removal: Senate File 2428 would require school attendance centers to form review committees to determine whether a student removed from the classroom should be returned to it, with the ability to override teacher consent if a student’s disruptive behavior was nonviolent. Students removed from the classroom would be placed with the principal or other designated person, and teacher consent would be required to return the student to the classroom if the incident that led to the removal was violent. The bill unanimously passed through Senate debate and saw approval by the House Education Committee just before the funnel deadline March 19.
Credit transfers, performance-based funding: House File 2547 passed the House and was recommended for amendment and passage by the Iowa Senate Education Committee. It would expand credit transfers for career and technical education, change career academy rules and establish a fund for students taking summer community college credit courses in areas relating to high-demand jobs.
An amendment approved by the House added language from House File 2243, which would require the Iowa Board of Regents to study potential implementation of a performance-based funding model, to the legislation.
Education reporting: Senate File 2407, and its House companion bill House File 2725, would consolidate reports on online learning, achievement gaps and other topics into an “annual condition of education report” and change other reporting requirements for Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa College Student Aid Commission. Both bills passed through the Senate and House education committees, respectively, and Senate File 2407 was placed on the calendar as unfinished business.
Endowment tax: House File 2240, as amended by the Iowa House Higher Education Committee, would impose a tax on university endowments holding more than $500 million, at a rate equaling the highest corporate income tax rate, identified in the bill as currently 7.1 percent. Institutions that would be impacted by the bill if it is signed into law include Grinnell College, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. After passage by the higher education committee, the legislation was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Free speech: Senate File 2300 and its companion House File 2336, ban schools from penalizing students or discriminating against them for expressing viewpoints through religious, political or ideological speech where “similarly situated students” are not punished.
The measure passed the House and was placed on the “unfinished business” calendar in the Senate. During House debate, Democrats said the measure was duplicative of students’ rights already guaranteed by the First Amendment, and would add new legal liabilities alongside increased costs through training and compliance requirements.
General education review: House File 2487, attached to Senate File 2303 and placed on the Senate calendar as unfinished business, would require the Iowa Board of Regents to review all general education requirements and core curricula at state universities for diversity, equity and inclusion or critical race theory-related content. The board “in its discretion” would then direct institutions to eliminate courses or course requirements, the bill stated. Senate File 2303 was approved by the Iowa Senate Education Committee February 12.
H-1B visas: House File 2513 would prohibit public universities from entering employment contracts with federal H-1B visaholders who are citizens of China or other “federally designated foreign adversaries,” the bill stated, including Syria, Russia, Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela. Having passed the House, the legislation saw support from an Iowa Senate subcommittee and the chamber’s workforce committee March 11, and has been placed on the Senate debate calendar.
Law student loan repayment: House File 2331, passed by the Iowa House Higher Education Committee February 4 and approved by an Appropriations subcommittee in the chamber, would establish a loan repayment program for University of Iowa College of Law graduates who practice in the state. Eligible graduates would receive up to $10,000 per year for six years, not to exceed the total balance of their loans. Priority would be given to graduates practicing in rural areas of the state.
A previous version of the legislation would have placed an 80 percent residency requirement in the college of law, but was amended to its current form by the higher education committee.
Pediatric cancer research: House File 2310 would provide a standing appropriation of either $1 per Iowa resident or $3 million to the Iowa Board of Regents for pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa. Having passed unanimously in subcommittee and the Iowa House Higher Education Committee, the bill has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee.
Presidential searches: House File 2245, passed out of the Iowa House March 12, would require the Iowa Board of Regents to use a presidential search committee when selecting a new university president. The legislation would also keep candidates’ identities confidential unless a written agreement is made. The bill was met with approval by the Iowa Senate Education Committee, with Senate File 2359 attached to it and both placed on the calendar as unfinished business.
Social studies: House File 2244 and Senate File 2413, are companion bills requiring seventh and eighth grade students to receive instruction on U.S. government for at least one-half of a semester. The measure was passed by the House and placed on unfinished business in the Senate.
Tuition guarantee: Senate File 2227 and House File 2362 would require universities to keep resident undergraduate tuition at the same level as the amount they paid in their first year of attendance, with certain exceptions, starting in 2027. The Iowa Senate moved both bills to unfinished business ahead of the second funnel of the legislative session.
Health care
Conversion therapy: House File 2557 would create exemptions within the state’s definitions of “child abuse” and “child endangerment” related to a parent or guardian choosing not to affirm their child’s gender identity if it differs from their sex assigned at birth, saying these cannot be considered during foster parent licensing, adoption or custody proceedings. These exceptions involve a parent’s “intent to raise, guide or instruct a child in a manner consistent with the child’s sex,” stating actions like refusing to call a child by a name or pronouns that differ from their legal sex, or not consenting to a child receiving gender-affirming medical care, could not be considered endangerment or abuse.
However, Democrats and LGBTQ+ advocates said they were concerned with the language in the bill stating “seeking and consenting to a mental health service for a child for the purpose of helping the child live a life consistent with the child’s sex” could not be considered abuse or endangerment. Speakers at subcommittee meetings on the bill said this would allow the disavowed practice of “conversion therapy” – treatments seeking to change a person’s gender or sexual orientation – to be exempt from the state’s oversight of child abuse.
Governor’s “MAHA” bill: House File 2676 was proposed by Reynolds to codify restrictions on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligible food items, make ivermectin accessible over the counter and prohibit food dyes in school meals. The bill passed from the House with several amendments, including one to limit screen time in elementary schools, another asking to waive school lunch nutrition guidelines to instead include more regional foods like beef, pork and dairy and another that sets extracurricular requirements in schools. The bill was attached to Senate File 2367 and placed on unfinished business.
HPV vaccine: Under current Iowa law, parental consent is required for vaccinating minors in almost all cases. But there’s an exception in Iowa law, letting minors consent to vaccines without their parent’s permission for vaccinations related to the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of sexually transmitted diseases or infections. Senate File 304 proposes repealing this exception, meaning minors would need parental approval to receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and the hepatitis B vaccine.
Kratom: House File 2133 would designate kratom products – a substance currently legal for sale and possession in Iowa which produces a stimulant effect at low doses, and acts as a sedative at high doses – as a Schedule I hallucinogenic substance. People found in possession of kratom would be subject to a serious misdemeanor charge for their first offense, an aggravated misdemeanor for their second and a Class D felony charge for subsequent offenses. The bill passed the House and was placed on the unfinished business calendar in the Senate.
Psilocybin: The Senate Health and Human Services Committee amended and passed House File 978 Thursday, a bill that would allow for the legal, medical use of psilocybin in clinical environments with psychiatric support that have been approved by the state. Products with psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in “magic mushrooms,” and operators providing treatment involving psilocybin, would be regulated by the state through the Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board, which would be expanded to include four members with expertise in psilocybin treatment. The program created through this legislation would be limited to individuals seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, but the board could seek legislative approval for using psilocybin in treatment for other mental health issues as more research becomes available.
Subacute mental health care: Passed unanimously by the House, House File 2543 proposes several changes that were brought up as suggestions during a January Subacute Mental Health Care Services Interim Study Committee to improve Iowa’s treatment options, coverage and availability for subacute mental health care – programs for people who require in-person, intensive mental health care, but do not need to be kept in emergency hospitalization. The bill is on the unfinished business calendar in the Senate.
The measure strikes a current provision in Iowa law limiting subacute mental health care to a period of ten days – unless a longer stay is approved by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services – and bans preauthorization requirements for being admitted to a subacute mental health care facility for fifteen days of treatment. It also restricts Managed Care Organizations’ (MCOs) review of “medical necessity” of this treatment to once per month, as well as preventing MCOs from requiring the discharge of patients from a subacute program without approval from a mental health professional supervising their treatment.
Tobacco tax: Several measures aimed at raising excise taxes on tobacco and other nicotine products have failed to advance this session, being removed from the governor’s “MAHA” bill as it moved through the House and Senate Study Bill 3145 failing to advance through the Senate Health and Human Services Committee earlier this session.
However, some lawmakers are hoping to revive the conversation before the end of session. Representative Brett Barker introduced House File 2406 in February – a bill raising taxes on cigarettes by $1.50, as well as other nicotine and vape products – which is not subject to the funnel deadline. At a news conference on a study showing support from voters for raising the tax, he said he hoped the measure would come back up as lawmakers look for ways to address Medicaid funding shortfalls.
State government
Affirmative action: House File 2711 removes several affirmative action requirements for state and educational institutions, including the Iowa departments of Education and Administration, judicial branch, Board of Regents, community colleges and local school districts. The bill also makes changes to a police oversight law passed with bipartisan support in 2020, removing racial and cultural awareness training requirements at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and annual bias prevention training for law enforcement agencies. The House amended the bill when passing it to add back training requirements for deescalation techniques, and to remove certain references to policies involving citizenship. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended the bill further on March 19, striking the police provisions and leaving only the elimination of references to affirmative action in the law.
Budget shutdowns, governor’s powers: Many Democratic lawmakers already had concerns about House File 2694, a bill passed by the Iowa House that restricts governor’s abilities during disasters, including the ability of governors to restrict private businesses’ operations during public health disasters or to order changes to election laws and regulations without legislative approval. The measure also prevents a governor from ordering places of worship to close during disaster emergency situations, in addition to regulating conduct within private residences or requiring vaccines.
But Senate Democrats on the State Government Committee further criticized the measure when it was brought before the committee with an amendment Wednesday that added language from Senate File 2388 to the bill. The additional language states that in years where the Legislature fails to pass or present a budget before the beginning of the next fiscal year – July 1 – the state will provide a continuing appropriation based on funding levels from the previous year. This measure would prevent state government shutdowns. While Republicans supporting the bill said the proposal is meant to prevent shutdowns similar to those happening in Washington, D.C., Democrats said the measure would give an avenue for Republican majorities in the Legislature to avoid negotiating with a potential future Democratic governor.
The bill, as amended, passed 10-8. Some Republicans have also expressed concerns about the proposal potentially preventing lawmakers from being able to use budget negotiations to bring issues to the floor, as an eminent domain bill was brought to Senate vote in 2025.
Commercial volumes: Senate File 2294 proposes restricting the volume of commercial advertisements on video streaming services, saying these ads cannot be transmitted “at an audio volume louder than the audio volume of the video programming or video content the advertisement accompanies” to Iowa consumers. The measure was referred to the Senate Ways and Means committee, keeping it eligible for debate through the funnel.
CDL English tests: Senate File 2426 would require applicants for Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDL) to meet English proficiency standards, assessed using a computer-based exam, which only needs to be passed once. Trucking and bus companies would be prohibited from employing or contracting the services of a driver who does not meet language proficiency standards. The bill passed the Senate and was placed on the unfinished business calendar in the House.
Child care assistance: Iowa’s Child Care Assistance (CCA) program has been available to parents of child care workers outside of existing income restrictions through a state pilot program since 2023 – but House File 2514 would make this program permanent. It passed the House in February and is eligible for Senate debate. Language codifying the pilot program has also moved forward as a part of other child care legislation.
Driver’s license citizenship checks: Senate File 2187 is one of several measures that would require state entities to use the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to verify people’s citizenship status. The Iowa Department of Transportation would be required to check the citizenship status through SAVE of each person applying for or renewing a driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card who does not provide proof of citizenship, and the DOT could not issue IDs to people whose citizenship or immigration status cannot be verified. Democrats spoke in opposition to requiring the use of SAVE in this process, as there have been instances where SAVE erroneously listed some individuals as noncitizens.
Early Childhood Iowa: House File 2712 and Senate File 2462 are companion bills making changes to the Early Childhood Iowa system and funding. The measure, which has been significantly changed from initial proposals, would move funding through the existing ECI “School Ready Fund” for family support services and parent education programs to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services in order to draw down federal money, according to HHS officials. Other ECI funding streams would remain as-is. The measure is not subject to the funnel deadline, because it involves appropriations.
E-Verify, SAVE: While some components of Reynolds’ executive order requiring state agencies use the SAVE database and E-Verify system to verify citizenship and work eligibility of state job and licensee applicants moved forward as an amendment to another bill, House File 2608 and Senate File 2412 also survived the funnel deadline by being placed on the unfinished business calendar. In addition to the federal verification requirements, the bill proposed by the governor would also make other changes related to law enforcement for immigrants.
Local identification cards: House File 2296 would ban local governments from issuing community ID cards – specifically impacting the Johnson County community ID program. The measure would still authorize counties to issue forms of identification like driver’s licenses, nonoperator’s identification cards and identification devices for persons with disabilities, and local governments could still use employee IDs.
Local ordinance cost analysis: Senate File 2434 would ban departments, offices or other subunits of a county or city government from making internal policies or rules without approval through an ordinance passed by the county board or city council respectively. The measure would also require ordinances adopted by these local government bodies to include a cost analysis, accessible via the government entity’s official website. The measure initially included language striking a current requirement in Iowa law for public notices to be published in newspapers, allow these notices to be posted on the government entity’s official website, and a “statewide public notice internet site.” This change was removed from the bill as it passed the Senate, but similar language remains alive in an appropriations bill.
NFL stadiums: Senate File 2373 would offer Major Economic Growth Attraction (MEGA) program incentives – typically aimed at bringing projects with $1 billion in capital investment to Iowa – to projects building a professional sports stadium by a National Football League franchise in Iowa. The bill was brought up as the Chicago Bears are considering building a new stadium, potentially outside of Illinois. The last action on the bill was in February, but it remains eligible for discussion as a Ways and Means bill in the Senate.
Radon mitigation: House File 2297, which has passed the House and is eligible for debate in the Senate, would require new single- and two-family residences to be constructed with passive radon mitigation systems. Lawmakers introduced the bill as an effort to help reduce the prevalence of lung cancer in the state since radon exposure is the second leading cause of the disease.
Rulesmaking approval: Agencies within a future state administration would have to seek legislative approval for major administrative rule changes under House File 2717 and Senate File 2395, which were placed on the unfinished business calendar. This proposal – one of several Democrats say are the majority party’s attempts to restrict a potential future Democratic governor – would also reduce gubernatorial appointees’ terms from six to four years.
Labor and the workforce
Skilled workforce training: House File 2466 would increase funding for the 84E Apprenticeship Act, which goes toward state Registered Apprenticeship programs, from $3 million to $4.5 million. It would also create a “career training physical expansion program fund” to fund new facilities at community colleges, as well as in private sector programs, for in-person training in high demand fields, though the funding amount for this component was not specified.
The bill also makes changes on who can provide apprenticeship training for intermediate sponsors – defined as “entity that provides apprenticeship training to multiple employers and serves as the sponsor of the apprentices” – stating they would not be penalized for partner employers’ actions, and would be eligible for Iowa Workforce Development aid. Additionally, it would encourage school districts to expand pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs at high schools.
The legislation saw passage with amendment from the Iowa House Higher Education Committee February 11 and was referred to Appropriations, where a subcommittee has recommended passage.
Justice and public safety
Age verification: House File 864 would require online entities containing obscene materials to implement “reasonable” methods to verify users’ ages, such as checking government-issued ID and financial documents. The bill, which the House passed in 2025, remains eligible for debate in the Senate following February approval from the Senate Technology committee. A similar measure brought forward this session, House File 2606, advanced through the committee process in the House but did not receive floor debate.
Bail restrictions: House lawmakers substituted language from Senate File 2399 – a bill passed by the Senate unanimously setting pretrial bond amounts for Class A and forcible felonies – with the language from House File 2505, one the proposals included in House Republicans’ “tough on crime” package.
Sent back to the Senate, the measure states a judge could not set bail lower than the uniform bond schedule without written justification for people arrested for certain crimes, like possession of a firearm as a felon or a forcible felony. It would also require judges who deviate from uniform bond schedules in other instances to provide written justification for setting lower bails. “Promise to appear” releases, allowing a person to be released from custody without going to jail after an arrest, would be banned if a person is charged with a simple or serious misdemeanor related to violence or drugs. The bill also allows the bond schedule to be adjusted for inflation.
Judicial safety: Senate File 2280, placed on the House unfinished business calendar, is one of the measures proposed by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird at the beginning of the 2026 legislative session. State lawmakers, judicial officers, the Attorney General, deputy attorneys general and assistant attorneys general would be eligible through the bill for a professional permit allowing them to carry firearms while anywhere in the state, including on school grounds.
The bill would also raise the penalty for threatening a judicial officer or their immediate family members from a misdemeanor to a class C felony.
“Three strikes” system: The Senate Judiciary Committee approved House File 2542 Thursday with plans for an amendment, another component of House Republicans’ “tough on crime” agenda. The bill would create a “three strikes” system for individuals who commit certain crimes, which would be counted as a full or half “point.” Once an individual reaches three “points” through this system, they would be subject to a minimum 20-year prison sentence.
While many of the “points” and “half-points” given through this system are related to felony charges and misdemeanors involving acts of violence, an earlier version of the bill also included theft, possession of a controlled substance and harassment as crimes counted toward the “point” system. This was removed by the House, which also amended the bill to limit point accumulation to 20-year period, and state that when a person faces multiple pending charges for a conviction for an incident, only the most serious crime is counted as a “point.” Convictions and crimes that occur before the bill’s enactment would not be subject to this system.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday also introduced an amendment to the bill as they moved it forward. Senator Mike Bousselot said the change would remove language referring to “charges against the person,” in a section of the bill on calculating a “point” for crimes a person is accused of, changing this language to “convictions.”
Natural resources
Animal torture: A bill passed from the House, House File 2348, to elevate the penalty for animal torture in Iowa from a misdemeanor to a class “D” felony. The House bill and its companion, Senate File 2099, were placed on the calendar for unfinished business.
Groundwater monitoring: House File 2687 would initiate a $100,000 pilot project to retrofit up to 100 existing private wells with groundwater monitoring equipment. Advocates of the bill said it would expand the information Iowa has about its groundwater and aquifer stores. The bill was moved to the House Appropriations Committee.
Hydrogen guardrails: Lawmakers introduced several bills this session to update Iowa’s code on oil and gas drilling standards in anticipation of a geological hydrogen industry in Iowa. House File 843 and Senate File 2449 would establish “pooling” regulations for oil, gas and hydrogen extraction in the state. These regulations would stipulate how landowners with and without wells over a “pool” of a resource would be compensated for the extraction of that resource. The House version was not debated on the floor, but SF 2449 was placed on unfinished business.
Life jackets: Senate File 548 advanced from the Senate floor March 9 and would allow personal watercraft passengers over the age of 18 to ride the watercraft at speeds of 10 miles per hour or slower, without wearing a personal flotation device. The bill advanced from the House Natural Resources Committee.
Commerce
Innovation funds: Senate File 2453 would require state universities to invest at least 1 percent of their endowment fund assets in one or more innovation funds established by the state, with the decisions of which funds the money will go to, when investments are made and how they are made left up to the institutions. The Iowa Board of Regents would be able to grant one-year waivers to the investments in certain situations, but if a university is noncompliant without receiving a waiver, the board would be able to withhold 0.5 percent of funds appropriated to the school by the board until compliance is reached.
The legislation passed unanimously in Senate debate March 10 and saw approval from the Iowa House Higher Education Committee March 18.
Land restoration for transmission lines: House File 2227 would require electric transmission line owners to repair tile drains, till impacted soil and reseed cover crops or other ground cover in the easement areas following construction. The bill passed unanimously from the House floor and was advanced by a Senate committee.
Silver and gold as tender: House File 2723 would allow Iowans to use silver and gold as legal tender in the state. The bill, which is in the House Ways and Means Committee, would require the state treasurer to establish a bank for silver and gold and electronic payment systems.
Standard siting for renewable energy: House File 2580 would create standard language for counties to adopt related to renewable power generation facilities including moratoriums, setbacks, property tax and other considerations. The bill was placed on unfinished business.
Transmission line safety plans: Under House File 2583, electric transmission line operators would have to submit independent emergency response plans to the Iowa Utilities Commission, which House lawmakers said would bring non-utilities operating in Iowa’s electric grid in line with utility requirements. The bill advanced from the House and from the Senate Commerce Committee.
Pipelines
Eminent domain for CO2 pipelines: House File 2104, as written and passed by the House, would have banned the use of eminent domain for the construction of carbon dioxide pipelines. However, the bill was amended in the Senate Commerce Committee to resemble Senate File 2067 from Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh.
The amended bill, which has not been heard on the Senate floor, but is still safe from the funnel deadline, would require pipeline companies to show they made a “diligent effort” to find willing landowners within the county or a five mile radius of the proposed pipeline path, before the state would permit the use of eminent domain. The bill would have to be approved by the House again, due to its amendment, before it could be sent to the governor’s desk.
Taxing CO2: Senate File 2069 would leverage a severance tax on carbon dioxide transported through pipelines in Iowa. The bill is in the Senate Ways and Means committee and is exempt from funnel deadlines. CO2 being transported for enhanced oil recovery would have a lower tax under the bill than CO2 transported for other purposes.
Transportation
Driverless vehicles: Companion bills House File 2673 and Senate File 2384 were both placed on unfinished business. The bills would make owners of self-driving vehicles liable in a crash or traffic law violation and would prohibit the transportation of hazardous materials in autonomous vehicles unless a conventional human driver was present.
Sent to the governor
Signed into law:
Local civil rights codes: Senate File 579 was signed by the governor March 10. The bill initially passed the Senate with bipartisan support as it related to complaints filed with civil rights agencies and commissions, but the House amended the measure to include language from House File 2541 restricting local governments from implementing civil rights protections for groups not listed as protected classes under the state Civil Rights Act. Democrats said the measure was an expansion of the 2025 law removing “gender identity” as a protected class from Iowa civil rights code. There are 14 Iowa cities, alongside the unincorporated areas of Johnson County, that provide local protections on the basis of “gender identity” that will be impacted by the law.
On Reynolds’ desk
Course framework: House File 2610 would require the Iowa Department of Education, in cooperation with Iowa community colleges and the Iowa Board of Regents, to establish “statewide lower division general education framework and common course numbering systems” for community college coursework. Community colleges would also need to replace “traditional, prerequisite remedial coursework” in English and math with “corequisite developmental education,” the bill stated. Having passed both the House and Senate unanimously, the legislation will head to the governor’s desk.
Department bill: House File 2215 came from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and would allow the department to office off of the capitol complex, lower the age that someone can hunt with a pistol or revolver, without adult accompaniment, from 20 to 18 and shift the powers over state preserves to the DNR. The bill passed without controversy in the House, but was not supported by Democrats in the Senate who tried to amend the bill to include additional water quality protections.
Student loan information: House File 703, which passed the House and a Senate subcommittee last year before seeing approval in the Senate March 10, is headed to the governor’s desk. It would require ISL Education Lending — Iowa’s student loan liquidity organization — to provide to Iowa College Aid the estimates of the annual percentage rate (APR) of the Federal Direct PLUS loan and the assumptions it used for the estimate. Information would also need to be posted online and in certain cases be sent to students with their financial aid offers.
Transmission lines in interstate right of ways: Lawmakers sent Senate File 2214 to Reynolds’ desk with language to allow for transmission projects to be built in interstate right of ways. The bill would also require the state department of transportation to engage in conversations with transmission line operators to explore the potential of using highway and interstate easements.
What died
Agriculture
American cream draft horse: The Senate advanced Senate Joint Resolution 2010 to establish the American cream draft horse as the official state horse. A subcommittee hearing on the bill was scheduled, and subsequently canceled, in the House.
Diesel exhaust fluid repairs: House File 2529 stipulates that manufacturers of farm equipment with diesel engines must provide tools and parts to equipment owners so farmers can repair equipment with diesel emission systems. This bill advanced from the House floor and was assigned to a Senate commerce subcommittee that did not hold a hearing on the bill.
Puppy mills: The House passed House File 2674 to increase oversight of commercial animal breeders, kennels, pet shops and related businesses. Under the bill, the state would have updated inspection requirements and abilities to inspect a facility when evidence is presented that the standard of care has been violated. The bill did not have a scheduled subcommittee hearing in the Senate.
Soybean foam: Senate File 2375 would ask local governments to consider using soybean-based firefighting foam and require the Iowa Department of Administrative Services to develop a master contract with a soybean foam producer. The bill advanced from the Senate floor March 9 and supporters said it would help to reduce firefighter and environmental exposure to the forever chemicals present in some traditional firefighting foams. The bill was not taken up in the House.
Commerce
Community solar: House File 2672 would allow community members to invest in small, local solar fields which would be connected to the electrical grid. Participating members could receive credits on their utility bills based on the amount of their investment in the project and the amount of energy generated. The bill was not debated by the House.
Data center regulations: House File 2690 would require data centers to submit regular reports on water and energy usage. The bill would also require utilities to put data centers in a separate class of customers to avoid passing the cost of powering data centers on to other customers. The bill advanced with full support from the House Commerce Committee, but was not heard on the House floor.
Grid enhancement: House File 2682 would require utility companies to conduct periodic feasibility studies into mechanisms, known as grid enhancing technologies, that would get more power to flow through the systems. The bill was not heard on the floor.
Ratemaking: House Study Bill 519 proposed encouraging nuclear energy and energy storage projects while expanding which projects would be eligible for certain ratemaking principles in Iowa.
Ratepayer involvement in public utilities: House File 2668 sought to provide additional public transparency on utility resource planning. The bill would have recognized customer-owned energy storage, generation and things like virtual power plants.
Education
Athletic scrimmages: Senate File 2392 would have allowed public and nonpublic schools to hold athletic scrimmages with home school sports organizations. These events would have to be voluntary with certain limitations on duration and intensity, and could not have official scorekeeping, play-by-play announcements or apply to athletic statistics for a team’s regular season.
Banned concepts: Senate File 2405 was a proposal brought forward by Senator Sandy Salmon, that would expand restrictions on “defined” educational concepts in Iowa Code, like critical race theory, and allow residents of a school district, as well as parents and school employees, to bring civil suits against a district for violations of the code. Salmon told the Senate Education Committee the measure was needed because some parents said their reports about noncompliant behavior were not met with BOEE enforcement action because of “loopholes in the law.”
Behavioral issues: Senate File 2404 proposed establishing a pilot program within the state Education Department allowing one rural and one urban school district to develop a separate attendance center to offer educational services for students with certain students with special education needs or with behavioral issues. A fiscal note from the Legislative Services Agency estimated the pilot would require an investment of $165,000 for a rural district and between $1 million and $4.4 million for an urban district.
Cameras in special education classrooms: House File 2681 proposed requiring public and charter schools’ special education classrooms to be equipped with video recording systems. The cameras and recording systems would be paid for using the state School Foundation Aid provided to school districts. The projected initial cost of the requirement was $21.7 million.
Charlie Kirk: House File 2512 would have required the Iowa BOEE to disqualify applicants and revoke licenses and certificates for education professionals identified as “publicly celebrating any act of politically motivated violence, including the unlawful killing of Charles J. Kirk,” with a retroactive effective date of September 10, 2025, the day Kirk was fatally shot. The bill was amended by the the House Education Committee to also include provisions requiring licenses be revoked for teachers and administrators “leading or encouraging” protests, as well as requiring school boards extend their district’s school calendar by one day for each day a student protest occurs at the district.
Classic Learning Test: House File 2339 would require the Iowa Board of Regents to include the Classic Learning Test in its regent admission index and states universities can only factor “merit and likelihood of employment in Iowa after graduation” in their admission decision for students who don’t meet the index threshold. While the bill passed out of subcommittee and the Iowa House Higher Education Committee, it did not see debate from the chamber.
Classroom removal: Senate File 2428 proposed creating review committees at schools that would determine whether a student removed from a classroom for certain disruptive behaviors should go back to the classroom. If the behavior was violent, the teacher would need to consent for the student to return to the classroom, but if the incident was nonviolent, the review committee would be able to override a teacher’s consent. Students removed from a classroom would be placed with a principal or another designated party.
Closing U.S. Department of Education: Senate Joint Resolution 2012, passed out of the Iowa Senate Education Committee February 18 but not taken up by the chamber for debate, supports federal efforts to close the U.S. Department of Education and encourages Congress to cooperate with the elimination.
Community college bachelor’s degrees: House File 2649, which would establish a pilot program for community colleges to offer up to three baccalaureate degree programs with guardrails as to which programs are allowed and where they can be launched, drew differing opinions from community colleges, private universities, and the lawmakers representing them. The Iowa House passed the legislation out of debate on March 4 and through an Iowa Senate subcommittee March 18, but it was not brought up in committee before the funnel deadline.
Continuing education: House File 2246 would bar state licensing boards from requiring continuing education credits not directly related to their profession unless otherwise required by law. The amended legislation passed through House debate and was referred to the Iowa Senate State Government Committee, where it failed to see a subcommittee meeting.
DEI in private universities: House File 2488, which would put the Iowa Tuition Grant on the line for private colleges and universities that open or maintain offices of diversity, equity and inclusion, passed out of House debate but saw no support from the Iowa Senate, with a subcommittee recommending indefinite postponement of the bill March 16.
Dress codes: House File 2486 proposed setting minimum dress code standards for public and charter schools, which would include requirements that students dress in clean clothes in good repair which do not expose “undergarments or midriffs.” School boards would be required to adopt policies with these minimum standards, but could set more restrictive codes, such as uniform policies. Boards would also have to set enforcement policies for dress code violations.
Firearms in vehicles: House File 621, a measure revived from the 2025 legislative session, would have allowed parents and guardians to keep legal firearms in their vehicles while picking up and dropping off a student on school grounds. Weapons would have to remain in a car and the vehicle would have to be locked if unattended under the proposal. The measure also would have allowed weapons to be carried in passenger compartments for school trap shooting teams.
Gender and sexuality in K-12 materials: House File 2338 proposed expanding the current state ban on programs, material, instruction, surveys and questionnaires and “promotion” related to gender identity and sexual orientation in public and charter schools from applying to students in kindergarten through 6th grade to apply to all K-12 students. The measure was introduced as the law setting the restrictions on these materials for K-6 students remains blocked from enforcement amid legal challenges.
Immunization requirements: K-12 immunization requirements for attending school would have been removed under House File 2171, which passed the House Education Committee but was not taken up for floor debate.
Iowa Board of Regents: House Study Bill 534 would change the makeup of the Iowa Board of Regents by replacing its voting student member with another governor-appointed member and adding seven ex-officio, nonvoting members, including three students, two state senators and two state representatives. The legislation would also require biannual general education standards and low-enrollment program reviews and direct the board of regents to develop policies on post-tenure review, approving academic programs and barring governance authority by faculty senates or councils.
An Iowa House subcommittee approved the legislation, but it was not brought up by the Iowa House Higher Education Committee and died in the first funnel.
Library agreements: House File 2324 proposed banning public and charter schools from entering certain commitments with public libraries, including contracts allowing “bookmobiles” or mobile libraries on school grounds, as well as agreements letting students use school ID cards to access public library materials. There were concerns brought up about the legislation impacting school districts in arrangements with public libraries because their school buildings do not have school libraries.
Loan liability: House File 2241, which would make public universities liable for 10 percent of the amount owed by students with defaulted educational loans, passed out of the Iowa House Higher Education Committee but did not see debate from the chamber.
Residency requirement: House File 2226, which would set a 70 percent residency requirement in the University of Iowa’s bachelor of science in nursing program and require the program to have priority admission for Iowa residents, saw approval in the House and in an Iowa Senate subcommittee, but did not get introduced to the full committee. Lawmakers said during the subcommittee meeting they’d want to receive more information about program admission requirements and efforts to recruit in-state students before it comes before the full Education Committee.
School reorganization incentives: Senate File 2403 would have extended the currently expired reduced uniform levy incentives for school districts that reorganize from July 2024 to July 2031. It would also establish a new incentive for whole grade sharing supplementary weighting, stating school districts that enact whole-grade sharing and study reorganization or dissolution could “receive a weighting of one-tenth of the percentage of a student’s school day during which the student” attends another school district’s courses, is taught by a teacher from another district or is taught by a jointly employed instructor.
Social studies standards: House File 2510 was a proposal following up on a 2024 law setting standards social studies instruction that included requirements courses include information on “exemplary figures in western civilization, the United States and state of Iowa,” and the “cultural heritage” of western civilization and the history of the “secular and religious ideals and institutions of liberty.” While the 2024 law created a task force to make these changes, House Republicans said this task force did not deliver on legislators’ intent.
Trump higher education compact: House File 2489 would require public universities to join the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, created by President Donald Trump and his administration. While the bill saw support in an Iowa House Higher Education subcommittee and the full committee in February, the chamber did not take it up for debate.
Tuition freeze: House File 2242, approved in House debate but not reviewed by the subcommittee assigned to it in the Iowa Senate, would have frozen tuition for all resident undergraduate students at state universities until July 2031.
Vaccinations: Senate File 2424, amended and passed by the Iowa Senate Education Committee February 18, would require private colleges and universities with clinical rotation programs to identify placements where students are exempt from any vaccination requirements put in place by the host of their rotation placement. The legislation failed to see Senate debate.
VEISHEA: House Study Bill 545 would have the Iowa Board of Regents study the possibility of reinstating VEISHEA at Iowa State University and report its findings on whether the idea is practical and beneficial to the university to the Iowa House Higher Education Committee chairperson, currently Representative Taylor Collins, by the board’s November meeting. The bill passed out of subcommittee January 29 but was not introduced to the higher education committee and died in the first funnel of the session.
Veterinary medicine residency requirement: House File 2209, introduced to an Iowa House higher education subcommittee February 17, would enact an 80 percent residency requirement in the Iowa State University veterinary medicine professional degree program. The legislation failed to garner approval before the first funnel.
Health care
Abortion ban: A House proposal to expand Iowa’s six-week abortion ban to a full ban on elective abortions, House File 2332, did not survive the first funnel deadline. The bill also proposed adding criminal punishments within the state’s homicide laws for doctors who perform abortion. It included exemptions for abortions in cases like miscarriages, in-vitro fertilization and other medical emergencies.
Abortion medication: House File 2563 attempts to limit abortion medications like mifepristone coming from outside providers through telehealth and mail-order medication options by requiring these medications be administered or prescribed in person. Doctors dispensing these drugs would also be required to share information with patients about the possibility of reversing “the intended effects of a chemical abortion,” though medical professionals and advocates said this information was not scientifically accurate.
Klimesh told reporters Thursday conversations are continuing on the proposal, but that he did not know if lawmakers are close enough to a consensus on the measure to advance restrictions through amendments or other means after the bills died in the second funnel.
Hydroxychloroquine: The governor’s “MAHA” bill, which survived the funnel, included a provision allowing over-the-counter dispensing of ivermectin. But a separate measure, House File 2056, allowing dispensing of both ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, a prescription medication typically used in treating malaria which is also promoted by non-verified sources as a means to manage or treat symptoms of COVID-19, died during the first funnel.
Nitrous oxide: House File 2504 proposed banning vape stores from selling nitrous oxide containers, even for foods like whipped cream, under the rebuttable assumption that these products are being sold as an inebriant. The measure was changed from a previous, more stringent proposal that would have required businesses to be licensed to sell nitrous oxide and maintain a log of sales.
WIC exclusion and disabilities expansion: House File 2716 would have increased income limits for Iowans with disabilities who rely on Medicaid and required the state to use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, program to verify immigration or citizenship status when determining eligibility for public assistance programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, program.
The bill passed from the House, but no subcommittee hearing was scheduled for the bill in the Senate. Another measure, Senate File 2315, also proposed loosening income restrictions of people with disabilities who receive Medicaid benefits – the Senate has not taken action on this bill since February, but because the measure was referred to Appropriations, it could come up again before the end of session.
Justice and public safety
Automated license plate readers: House File 2161 would have required private operators of automatic license plate readers to delete all captured images and associated data on license plates within 30 days, creating a simple misdemeanor charge for entities that do not delete the data within the specified time frame. Law enforcement would have been able to keep information from these systems for criminal investigations.
Divorce: Senate File 2172 proposed allowing couples getting married to opt out of a no-fault divorce through a waiver request when applying for a marriage license. With the waiver, a person seeking a divorce would need to provide proof of specified reasons to divorce their spouse, such as adultery, abuse or living apart for more than two years. The measure passed a Senate subcommittee but did not advance further.
Dog identification: House File 2190 would update state code to include things like microchips, tattoos, receipts, contracts and ongoing veterinarian bills as valid methods to prove ownership of a dog. The bill advanced from the House floor but was not considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Judicial retention information: House File 2719, another piece of the House GOP crime package, passed the House but did not advance in the Senate. The measure proposed requiring the Iowa Secretary of State to create a publicly accessible online dashboard with data on judicial practices, which could be used by Iowans seeking information on judges during judicial retention votes. Data available on the website would include judges’ decisions on setting bonds and pretrial releases, sentencing outcomes, decision reversals and courtroom efficiency. Judges would have also been able to submit a personal statement on their judicial philosophy and data trends.
Katie’s Law: House File 2624, proposed by the Attorney General, would have required DNA to be collected from criminal defendants before they are convicted of a crime if they were arrested for a felony or violent aggravated misdemeanor charge. The legislation, which passed the House but did not advance in the Senate, was modeled after a law first passed in New Mexico named in honor of Katie Sepich, a 22-year-old University of New Mexico student who was killed in 2003.
Sprinklers in townhouses: Senate File 2439 would have removed a current requirement under the state building code for fire protection sprinkler systems to be in townhouses 18,000 square feet or less, prohibiting similar restrictions in local building regulations. Similarly, sprinkler requirements for detached single-family residences of 6,500 square feet or less would be removed from state code and banned in local regulations. Some public safety advocates and firefighters expressed concerns during the Senate subcommittee meeting on the bill that the change could enable larger fires to spread.
State government
Annexing Galena, Illinois: House File 2141 was a proposal from Representative Taylor Collins to create a committee to study if one or more counties in Illinois bordering Iowa should become a part of the state. The measure did not receive a subcommittee hearing.
Drug-free homeless zones: House File 2584 proposed establishing “drug-free zones” at homeless shelters and other support facilities in Iowa, raising criminal charges for people who unlawfully sell and distribute controlled substances within a 300-foot zone of the facility. The bill also creates an aggravated misdemeanor charge for facility operators convicted of “intentionally or knowingly” allowing the sale or possession of illegal substances in the zone. An operator convicted of this crime would be ineligible to apply for state homelessness assistance grants for three years, but would remain eligible for state funding if they fire the employee or volunteer who was convicted.
The measure passed the Iowa House, but was not taken up by the Senate.
Library bills: There were several bills introduced early in the 2026 session that sought to restrict certain materials at public libraries from being accessible by minors – none of which survived the funnel process. House File 2309, a bill that would have required materials deemed “harmful” to minors to be housed in the adult section of a library that could not be accessible to minors without staff assistance, did not survive the first funnel deadline. Senate File 2177 proposed banning digital library services for minors unless the service provider implemented means to block minors from accessing, viewing or downloading obscene materials, also died during the first deadline. House File 2270 sought to add new requirements for public libraries to receive state funding through the Enrich Iowa program, stating libraries could not adopt or comply with standards or policies from private organizations – like the American Library Association or Iowa Library Association – without state approval.
One public library bill did survive the first funnel: House File 2622. This bill also added requirements on Enrich Iowa funding for public libraries. Under the proposal, public libraries would have to enforce “age appropriate” policies that ban minors from accessing materials deemed inappropriate, or would lose access to the state funding stream. The bill also proposed making local library boards advisory bodies, and would transfer the administrative, financial, oversight and policy authority of library boards of trustees to the governing body of the jurisdiction where the library is located – often, the city council. This bill was not brought forward for floor debate in the House.
Iowa City Research Center: Senate File 2293 proposed changing language that is currently at the heart of the ongoing court case challenging the Iowa Department of Administrative Services’ move in 2025 to close the State Historical Society of Iowa Research Center in Iowa City. The bill removes the requirement in state law for DAS to maintain an Iowa City center – the language referenced in the lawsuit that challenged the actions the department had already taken to close the facility.
The bill passed the Senate, but was not taken up in the House. A bipartisan group of lawmakers had earlier in the session introduced House File 2025, a bill that would require both the Iowa City and Des Moines historical facilities to be maintained, and to be “adequately staffed” and “open to the public.” That measure was not scheduled for a subcommittee, and did not survive the first funnel.
Obscenity law exemptions: Current exemptions for public libraries and schools that exist in Iowa’s obscenity laws would be removed through Senate File 2119. Library staff and advocates said the current exemptions exist not because libraries and schools have obscene material, but as a means to prevent these publicly funded institutions from facing “nuisance” lawsuits brought by individuals who want certain material removed from a library, even if it does not meet the legal definition of “obscene.”
Shorter legislative session: Senate File 2389 would have reduced the Iowa Legislature’s annual session from 110 or 100 days to 55 or 50 days.
Voter citizenship verification: Senate File 2203 proposed requiring county auditors verify the U.S. citizenship and voter eligibility of individuals registering to vote using the federal SAVE database. If a county auditor could not confirm the individual’s citizenship, they could not register to vote.
Natural resources
Cloud seeding: House File 2640, would put a moratorium on the intentional emission of air contaminants into the atmosphere for the express purpose of altering weather via the release of air contaminants into the atmosphere. The bill was amended on the floor to specify that it would not interfere with agricultural practices. A Senate subcommittee advanced the bill, but it was not taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A similar measure that would have banned geoengineering activities intending to manipulate or alter the weather, Senate Bill 2208, was approved by a Senate committee, but was not heard on the floor.
Fecal bacteria identification: House File 2530, would require the DNR to attribute a percent of fecal indicator bacteria in a stream or lake, to specific animals before the department could put the segment on the impaired water list. This bill was on the House debate calendar several times but was not debated on the floor.
Flood resilience plan: House File 2511, would require the Iowa Flood Center to draft and periodically update a statewide, 30-year resilience plan that would protect state life, property and other assets in the event of a flood. The bill passed the House and was assigned to the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee, which did not advance the bill ahead of the second funnel deadline.
Hydrogen repair: House File 2702 stipulates protections for landowners for land or crop damage from exploration, operation and final reclamation of oil, gas or hydrogen. This bill was not debated on the House floor.
Land restoration: House File 2683 would allow landowners to renegotiate claims for damages and yield losses due to pipeline construction. The bill would apply to all types of pipelines in the state and would allow landowners to file complaints with the Iowa Utilities Commission, or court. This bill was not heard on the floor.
Online hunter safety: House File 2335 would allow young hunters to skip in-person hunter education elements currently required by Iowa’s hunter safety program, the bill advanced from the House floor, but did not have a scheduled subcommittee meeting in the Senate.
Water use permits: House File 2642 would amend the DNR’s process for approving water use permits in the state. It was amended on the House floor to specify that beneficial use categories could not be used to approve a permit. The bill also included clarifications for the disposal of wastewater at distilleries. It passed with bipartisan support in the House but a Senate subcommittee recommended “indefinite postponement” of the bill.