Republican bills placing new restrictions on local libraries, public assistance programs and local civil rights ordinances have survived a key legislative deadline, while a measure to ban all abortions and make it a crime for doctors to perform the procedure will not advance.
Friday, Feb. 20, was the Iowa Legislature’s first “funnel” deadline, which requires most bills to pass a full committee in order to remain eligible for consideration this year.
Tax and spending bills are exempt, which gives lawmakers more time to find agreement on a trio of property tax cut proposals from House and Senate Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds.
House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said House Republicans are having good conversations with the Senate and Reynolds on property taxes as they move into the next phase of the legislative session.
“I think it still seems very clear to me that there is a want from all three parties to get something done,” he said. “So from my standpoint, I think that’s positive.”
Senate Republicans have yet to take a vote on legislation intended to address eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines — an issue that split the caucus last year. But Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, said he’s talking to his colleagues about the issue.
“Sometimes it takes time to have those conversations,” he said. “A forced conversation, in my opinion, doesn’t usually yield the best fruit.”
Democrats accused Republicans of focusing on the wrong issues, pointing to Democratic bills on affordability that never received a hearing.
“On the one hand, you have Democratic lawmakers who are focused on lowering costs, making life more affordable, growing our wages and our economy, cleaning up our water — in other words, addressing issues that Iowans have told us actually matter to them,” said Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City. “On the other hand, you have Republican lawmakers who are starving our public schools, running more divisive culture war bills and failing to meaningfully address Iowa’s affordability crisis.”
Here’s where major pieces of Iowa legislation stand after the first funnel.
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Education | Health care | Business | State government | Law enforcement and courts |
EDUCATION
Bills still alive
Restrictions on libraries to prevent minors from accessing sexual content
Republicans have several proposals this year that would place restrictions on libraries to prevent minors from accessing books that include sexual content. Some library-related bills did not survive the funnel, but lawmakers said they will have discussions about adding those ideas to eligible bills as the session goes on.
Reynolds’ bill boosting state aid to charter schools
State funding for public charter schools would be brought in line with the money public schools receive under a bill Reynolds proposed. It clears the way for charter students to attend public school for drivers education courses, take part in public school athletic programs and do their course work at their resident public school districts. House Study Bill 676/Senate File 2406.
‘Charlie Kirk’ bill axes Iowa educator licenses for cheering violence
Educators would have their licenses immediately revoked for cheering political violence under a bill spurred by public educators’ social media posts celebrating Kirk’s assassination in September.
It also would allow school boards to extend the school calendar by one day for each day there’s a student protest. House File 2512.
Ending school vaccination requirements
Iowa students would no longer have to be vaccinated for diseases like diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, measles, rubella and chickenpox before attending school, under a House bill that would end Iowa’s decades-old vaccination requirements. House File 2171.
Expansion of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law
Iowa’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law would be expanded to block public K-12 schools from teaching students about sexual orientation and gender identity at all grade levels. The existing law limits instruction on LGBTQ-related topics only through sixth grade and is tied up in federal court. House File 2338.
Boosting immigration vetting for educators
The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners and school districts would face more stringent requirements for applicants to show evidence of lawful U.S. citizenship in order to obtain a professional license or be employed. The proposal comes in the wake of former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts’ high-profile immigration arrest. Senate File 2218.
Guns in school parking lots
Adults picking up or dropping off children from school or making deliveries could bring loaded guns with them in their vehicles, under this House bill. The vehicle would have to remain locked with the gun inside if the driver leaves the car to go into the school. The bill also allows school districts to authorize people, including bus drivers, to carry firearms while driving or riding with students in a school vehicle. And it allows retired law enforcement officers to carry guns on school grounds. House File 621.
School reports on antisemitism
Reynolds’ bill would require K-12 schools, public universities and community colleges to issue an annual report about incidents of antisemitism on campus. Reports must include “each complaint or incident of antisemitism” and the outcome of any investigations. The legislation codifies an executive order Reynolds issued last year. House File 2544/Senate File 2336.
Regent university presidential candidates could stay confidential
The identities of candidates considered by a search committee to select a president at Iowa’s three public universities could stay confidential until the panel votes to release their names. Only members of the nine-member Board of Regents governing the state’s three public universities could serve on the panels that oversee the selection of new university leaders. House File 2245/Senate File 2359.
Community colleges could offer bachelor’s degrees
Iowa’s 15 community colleges could offer bachelor’s degrees in high-demand workforce areas, such as health care, advanced manufacturing and skilled trades. Community colleges may not confer more than an associate’s degree under current law. Lawmakers may later consider a onetime funding request of $20 million to help community colleges get such programs off the ground. House File 2649.
Changing regent university admission requirements
Iowa’s public universities governed by the Board of Regents could admit students based on merit and the likelihood they stay in the state if they don’t qualify for admission based on the regent admission index. The index combines ACT or SAT test scores, high school grade-point average and number of completed core classes. House File 2339.
Bills that died
Reviving VEISHEA festival at ISU
The party’s over, Cyclones: A bill requiring a study on reintroducing the student-led festival VEISHEA won’t advance. The previously annual celebration was canceled in August 2014 over reoccurring riots and violence. House Study Bill 545.
HEALTH CARE
Bills still alive
Limiting mail orders on abortion pills
Patients would have to see a doctor and undergo an exam before they could receive abortion medications, under a bill aimed at limiting telehealth and mail-order prescriptions of drugs such as mifepristone, which have come under intense scrutiny by anti-abortion advocates and lawmakers across the country.
Physicians would also have to inform patients about the possibility of abortion reversals — a concept that medical professionals say science doesn’t support. House File 2563.
Subacute mental health care changes
A House bill would remove a 10-day limit on the length a person can receive subacute care, which prevents managed care organizations from discharging patients until the mental health professional supervising their treatment determines proper supports are in place. House File 2543.
A separate Senate bill also eliminates the 10-day cap, allowing the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to adopt a rule permitting longer stays. It outlines a timeline that managed care organizations must follow to grant prior authorization based on the urgency of an individual’s case ranging from 48 hours to 10 days after a mental health provider submits a request. Senate File 2202.
Kim Reynolds’ ‘Make America Healthy Again’ bill
The governor’s proposal would require Iowa to continue seeking a federal waiver to prevent Iowans from using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars to buy unhealthy foods such as pop or candy. The bill would also allow Iowans to buy ivermectin over the counter without a prescription and ban certain food dyes from school meals and drinks.
The proposal originally included an increased tax on cigarettes and tobacco products, but House Republicans removed that portion to consider it in a separate bill. House Study Bill 694.
Early childhood system overhaul
The governing system for early childhood programs would see changes under this bill. Lawmakers amended the bill to keep 34 local Early Childhood areas and the Early Childhood Iowa state board intact, amending the original plan to move the local boards to a new system of seven regions.
The bill would transition funds for home visitation services to Iowa HHS control to better draw down federal funds. Early childhood officials have widely opposed the bill, saying it strips local control. House Study Bill 623/Senate Study Bill 3111.
Bills that died
Total abortion ban
Lawmakers will not advance a bill to ban all abortions in the state and make it a crime for doctors to perform the procedure. The bill would have defined life as beginning at conception and made it a class A felony, punishable by life in prison, for doctors to perform an abortion. It would exempt pregnant women from being prosecuted for having an abortion.
House lawmakers had scheduled a subcommittee on the bill, but its lead sponsor acknowledged it lacked the support to pass and the meeting was ultimately cancelled. House File 2332.
Over-the-counter ivermectin access
A standalone bill that would have allowed over-the-counter access to the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin did not survive the funnel, but the idea remains alive in the governor’s sprawling health bill. House File 2056.
Allowing the state to pursue creation of its own health care exchange
Reynolds’ plan to lay a foundation for Iowa to seek a federal waiver to create its own health care exchange did not advance. She had pitched it as a way for Iowa to tackle health care affordability while the issue remains in debate in Congress, where lawmakers have been at an impasse on overhauling the Affordable Care Act and America’s health system more broadly. House Study Bill 721.
Birth control expansion
House and Senate lawmakers did not hold subcommittee meetings on Reynolds’ proposal to expand birth control access. Reynolds’ plan would have allowed Iowans 18 and older to get birth control pills, birth control patches and vaginal rings, from a pharmacist without first seeing a doctor. House Study Bill 695.
BUSINESS
Bills still alive
Bringing the Chicago Bears to Iowa
One of Iowa’s biggest economic development programs, the MEGA program, would be expanded to provide financial incentives for a National Football League team to build a stadium in Iowa.
The move is part of an attempt to lure the Chicago Bears, which is negotiating a stadium project to move from the historic 100-year-old Soldier Field in downtown Chicago. Senate File 2373.
Widening pipeline corridors to avoid eminent domain
Pipeline companies could talk to landowners up to five miles on either side of the route approved by state regulators, allowing them to alter the project’s path to avoid landowners unwilling to grant the company access to their properties.
Companies would have to prove to the Iowa Utilities Commission that they have attempted to secure a route based entirely on voluntary easements before they could seek to use eminent domain, although there are exceptions. The measure is part of an effort by Klimesh to minimize the use of eminent domain.
House lawmakers approved their own legislation that would have banned eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines, but Senate Republicans amended the bill to strike the House language and insert Klimesh’s bill instead. House File 2104/Senate File 2067.
Financial incentives to land Corteva seed headquarters
In a bid to land the headquarters of the Indianapolis-based Corteva Agriscience seed spinoff, lawmakers are targeting global corporate headquarters projects. This bill would allow tax incentives to be awarded for high-paying corporate jobs for advanced manufacturing, bioscience, insurance and finance, technology and research and development companies locating headquarters to Iowa. Senate File 2301.
Quieter commercials on TV streaming services
It would be illegal for video streaming services to broadcast commercials at a louder volume than the programs the ads are interrupting, under a bill in the Iowa Senate. Doing so is already illegal for TV stations, cable providers and satellite TV under federal law, and the Iowa bill would add the same requirement for streamers. Senate File 2294.
Towing and abandoned vehicles
Two very different measures advanced in the House and Senate to better protect Iowans from predatory towing practices. The House measure largely cleans up language in Iowa’s existing abandoned vehicle law, while the Senate’s proposal adds new protections requested by Iowa’s credit unions, consumers and other groups.
Those protections include limiting towers’ fees to the first 24 hours until owners and lienholders have been given notice; extending the time owners have to retrieve their vehicles and/or possessions to 20 days; and allowing owners and lien holders to sue under Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Law if they are not properly noticed.
Committee chairs in both chambers said they hope to merge both versions as the session progresses, but they are still discussing the extent of amendments to be included. House File 2617/Senate Study Bill 3061.
Bills that died
Allowing direct car sales from EV manufacturers
Iowa lawmakers did not advance this bill allowing electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla, Rivian and Lucid to sell their cars directly to Iowans, bypassing the state’s dealer system. House Study Bill 118/Senate Study Bill 3067.
Adding non-carbonated drinks to Iowa’s bottle bill
Non-carbonated drink containers would have been added to Iowa’s bottle bill deposit law under an Iowa House bill that failed to advance. House Study Billy 661.
STATE GOVERNMENT
Bills still alive
Banning local ID programs
Local governments would be banned from establishing their own forms of identification under this House bill. The legislation would end Johnson County’s community ID program, as well as a community ID programs used in Story and Marshall counties. House File 2296.
Requiring legislative approval on major rules
The Iowa Legislature would have to sign off on any new major administrative rules agencies use to implement various laws, under this House bill. The measure would also shorten all gubernatorial appointees’ terms to four years. House File 2413.
Allowing continuing state government funding
State government funding could continue into a new fiscal year if lawmakers fail to strike a budget deal by June 30. Supporters say it would avert disruptive government shutdowns when policy disputes arise.
Critics say it allows lawmakers to renege on their chief responsibility of passing a budget and consider it an attempt to diminish the power a future potentially Democratic governor wields over funding priorities. Senate File 2388.
Closing State Historical Society building in Iowa City
This bill would strike from law the requirement that Iowa maintain historical research centers in both Des Moines and Iowa City. Instead, the only requirement would be for a center in Des Moines.
The legislation follows the Iowa Department of Administrative Services’ closure of the Iowa City facility last year, which is being challenged in court. Senate File 2293.
Cutting state lawmakers’ per-diem payments
Lawmakers would receive a roughly $10,000 pay cut by slashing in half the number of days they can receive per-diem payments for meals and lodging, under a Senate bill intended to halve the length of the legislative session. Instead of receiving per-diem payments for 100 days during even years and 110 days during odd years, lawmakers would receive payments for 50 or 55 days.
Senators said they plan to amend the legislation to create an interim committee to study the issue instead of making the change immediately. Senate File 2389.
Ending affirmative action programs
Multiple longstanding affirmative action plans and reporting requirements currently mandated by state law would be eliminated by this bill. It would affect multiple agencies, including the Iowa Department of Education, Department of Administrative Services, Board of Regents, Iowa Judicial Branch and other educational institutions.
Instead of promoting minority and women-owned businesses, entities would have to report on their use and promotion of Iowa-based businesses. House Study Bill 668.
Guns in parking lots of state, city, county buildings
Anyone who is lawfully in possession of a gun could keep it in their locked vehicle in the parking lots of state, city, county or township buildings as long as the gun is not visible from outside the vehicle.
The legislation, which passed a Senate committee, also includes language allowing guns on the grounds of K-12 schools and public universities, but senators said they intend to remove the language in a later amendment. Senate File 2263.
Lowering flags for governor’s proclamations
Public buildings in Iowa, including city, county and school buildings, would be required obey proclamations from the governor ordering flags lowered to half-staff.
The bill from Reynolds comes after Johnson County Board of Supervisors Chair Jon Green declined to lower county flags to half-staff last fall in the wake of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. House File 2517/Senate Study Bill 3134.
Public assistance eligibility
Iowa would restrict eligibility for the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program that provides assistance for low-income families by excluding undocumented immigrants and some immigrants with legal status. The legislation would also require recipients of SNAP, WIC, child care assistance and other benefits to prove they have lived in Iowa for 12 months before they can claim benefits.
A separate bill in the Senate would align eligibility for Medicaid, SNAP and other public benefits programs with federal guidelines passed in the One, Big Beautiful Bill. House Study Bill 696/Senate Study Bill 3140.
County veterans affairs services overhaul
The state’s system of funding veterans affairs services would see major changes under Reynolds’ bill. It would repurpose existing state funds to create a new, performance-based county grant program to more seamlessly process veterans’ benefits claims. Senate File 2282.
Eliminating townships as a form of government
Iowa could get rid of townships as a unit of government and eliminate their boards of trustees, transferring their local authority to their respective counties. Senate Study Bill 3009.
Ban on simulcast greyhound racing
Iowa’s licensed casinos would be banned from allowing simulcast greyhound races, potentially ending the state’s remaining ties to the almost-extinct industry.
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission would lose its authority to issue licenses permitting facilities to allow simulcast dog races starting July 1, 2027. Senate File 2295.
State-level ‘Farm Bill’
Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig’s “Iowa Farm Act” is moving forward. The bill would exempt honeybee purchases from the sales tax, strengthen local food programs and change some truck weight requirements.
It also includes a tax break for rural veterinarians and zoning protections for agritourism operations. Senate Study Bill 3123.
Bills that died
Study on annexing Illinois counties
The proposal from Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, would have established an “Iowa-Illinois boundary adjustment committee” to consider whether to move the dividing line between the two states by transferring one or more Illinois counties along the Iowa border to the Hawkeye State. House File 2141.
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COURTS
Bills still alive
‘Three strikes’ bill with lengthy prison sentences for repeat offenders
Iowans who commit multiple serious crimes would serve a mandatory sentence of at least 20 years in prison under a “three strikes” proposal from House Republicans.
Felonies and certain aggravated misdemeanors would be worth a full strike while other aggravated misdemeanors and some serious misdemeanors would be worth half a strike. House File 2542.
Higher bail amounts for criminal defendants
Iowa’s statewide bond schedules would be increased to account for inflation for the first time since 20117 under this House proposal, which would also require any judge who issues a lower bail amount than recommended to justify their decision in writing.
The bill would also require the Department of Corrections to verify someone’s claims of residency, employment and criminal record before the inmate could be released on bail. And defendants could only be released on a promise to appear for their court date if they are charged for a nonviolent and non-drug-related simple or serious misdemeanor. House File 2505.
More public data on judicial decisions, philosophy
The public would see more information about how judges rule on pretrial matters, sentencing, courtroom efficiency and how often their decisions are reversed on appeal under this House bill. Judges would also have the option of writing a 500-word statement about their judicial philosophy. House Study Bill 631.
Attorney general bill expanding DNA collection
The proposal from Attorney General Brenna Bird, dubbed “Katie’s Law” after a measure passed in more than 30 states, would require DNA to be collected from individuals arrested for felony or aggravated misdemeanor offenses. Currently, DNA is collected only when someone is convicted of an aggravated misdemeanor or felony but not when they are arrested. House File 2624.
Boosting protections for crime victims
Bird’s victim protection bill would allow crime victim counselors to share information currently kept confidential with law enforcement when there is immediate risk of harm to a victim or third party, a provision that saw mixed feedback from victim advocates. Victims of a sex crime such as rape or child molestation could get a lifetime no-contact order so they don’t have to keep going to court for a new no-contact order. House Study Bill 570/Senate File 2379.
Ban on local civil rights protections for transgender Iowans
Local governments would be barred from having their own policies protecting against gender-identity based discrimination under Reynolds’ bill. It would expand the 2025 law Republicans passed removing gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
If passed, it would force nearly 20 communities including Ames and several in Johnson County to roll back their local ordinances protecting transgender and nonbinary people from discrimination. House File 2541.
Exempting LGBTQ conversion therapy from child abuse definition
Parents and foster parents would be allowed to “raise, guide and instruct a child in a manner consistent with the child’s sex” under this proposal.
LGBTQ advocates say it exempts the scientifically discredited practice of LGBTQ conversion therapy from the definition of child abuse, allows parents or guardians to misgender children and permits them to decline to seek gender-affirming care for a child. House File 2557.
Governor’s bill to boost immigration vetting
Undocumented immigrants who are arrested would have a harder time making bail and face greater penalties for election crimes under a bill from Reynolds. It would create a presumption that any undocumented immigrant arrested in Iowa for a crime other than a simple misdemeanor is a flight risk and should not be granted bail.
The measure also would put into law an executive order Reynolds signed in October requiring all state agencies to verify new hires’ work eligibility using the federal E-Verify and SAVE systems. House File 2608.
Banning lawsuits against farmers over greenhouse gas emissions
Iowa farmers would be protected from lawsuits and criminal charges based on greenhouse gas emissions caused by their farming operations under this bill, which its sponsor said would prevent “being sued for cow farts.” House File 2527/Senate Study Bill 3133.
Geoengineering ban
Lawmakers are seeking to limit geoengineering, or intentionally altering the atmosphere. Bills in the House and Senate would ban attempts to manipulate or alter the weather, with operations like cloud seeding. House File 2640/Senate File 2208.
Higher penalties for ‘super speeders’
Iowans caught driving at excessive speeds would see higher fines and could have their driver’s license revoked under a set of bills advancing in the Legislature. One measure would boost fines for drivers going more than 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit to $285 plus $5 for each mile over 20 mph.
Another bill would add those fines for drivers traveling at least 25 mph above the speed limit and allow officers to revoke a driver’s license for up to 90 days if they are caught going 100 mph or more. House File 2496/Senate File 2288.
Bills that died
Waiving no-fault divorce
Iowa lawmakers will not advance a bill that would have allowed couples seeking a marriage license to waive their ability to access no-fault divorce. If the bill had passed, couples who signed the waiver and later filed for divorce would have had to prove their partner was at fault for grounds including adultery, committing a felony, abandoning their home or physical or sexual abuse. Senate File 2172.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X at @marissajpayne.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Libraries, SNAP, civil rights. Which Iowa bills beat funnel deadline?
Reporting by Stephen Gruber-Miller and Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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