State lawmakers faced their second major deadline of the legislative session this week to narrow down the bills under consideration at the Iowa Capitol.
Most bills had to get through a committee in the chamber opposite from the one they started in to remain eligible for debate. For example, a bill originating in the Senate would have to be approved by a House committee.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, said he is feeling good about the session.
“My job now is to ensure that our caucus has seen their priorities through,” he said. “At the end of second funnel, we feel like we’re in a pretty good spot.”
The Senate and House also moved dozens of bills that didn’t advance to the “unfinished business” calendar to keep them alive. Bills dealing with taxes and spending aren’t subject to the deadline, and the majority party has ways to bring “dead” bills back to life.
Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, criticized Republicans for not addressing the affordability concerns of their constituents.
“The majority party's priorities aren't solving the problems that Iowans face every day,” she said. “It's time to start flexing our ‘work together muscle memory’ and addressing the issues that Iowans actually care about.”
House Minority Leader Brian Meyer, D- Des Moines, said lawmakers still have far to go on issues like eminent domain, property taxes and the budget.
“I think, at some point something has to give, and [Republicans] have to start working together to get this done,” Meyer said. “And obviously, I can only speak for the Iowa House Democrats. We'll have our own priorities, and we'll make sure that we present those as well.”
House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said he feels confident Republicans can reach an agreement on a property tax bill. But he said the House and Senate are in a “stalemate” when it comes to eminent domain legislation.
“I don’t think that we should just throw up our hands and say, ‘Well, I guess the issue is dead for the year,’” Grassley said. “I think we’re going to continue to look for pathways in which we can find some compromise.”
Here are some of the bills that advanced and failed ahead of the second “funnel” deadline:
Bills that advanced:
Eminent domain: The House passed a bill (HF 2104) in January to ban the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines. Then, the Senate Commerce Committee amended and advanced the bill. Instead of banning eminent domain, it would give pipeline companies more flexibility to go around unwilling landowners to try to avoid the use of eminent domain.
Public assistance changes: A Senate bill (SF 2422) would make several changes to public assistance programs. House Republicans advanced it, but they intend to remove a provision that would require the state to continue contracting with private companies to manage care for Medicaid recipients. The bill is likely to go through more changes as the House and Senate negotiate.
Limiting the governor’s powers: A House bill (HF 2694) would prohibit the governor from closing businesses and places of worship, changing election policies and requiring a vaccination during a state of emergency. A Senate committee advanced the bill and added their proposal to continue state funding if lawmakers fail to pass a new budget by July 1.
"Make America Healthy Again”: Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed a bill (HF 2676) to ban some food dyes from school meals, allow pharmacies to sell ivermectin without a prescription and require nutrition education for doctors. It would require the state to keep applying for federal permission to restrict the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Summer EBT to “healthy” foods. The House passed the bill and added several school health requirements.
Verifying immigration status: The Senate passed a bill (SF 2218) requiring schools to verify their employees are eligible to work in the U.S. The House added Reynolds’ proposal to codify her order requiring state agencies and boards to ensure new employees and license applicants are authorized to work in the U.S. The bill would also restrict pretrial release for people accused of forcible felonies and for immigrants without legal status.
Prison sentence and bail minimums: Under one of the House GOP’s “tough on crime” bills (HF 2542), a person convicted of multiple specific crimes would face a minimum 20-year prison sentence without parole. A separate bill (SF 2399) would make it harder to be released on bail. The third bill in the package to publish information about judicial performance did not advance.
Raising a child consistent with their sex at birth: Raising a child consistent with their sex at birth wouldn’t count as a form of child abuse and couldn’t disqualify caretakers from fostering or adopting under a bill (HF 2557) advanced by House lawmakers. LGBTQ advocates said the proposal would exempt conversion therapy from being considered abuse.
Religious beliefs of foster parents: Under another Senate bill (SF 473), prospective parents couldn’t be disqualified from fostering or adopting due to their beliefs around sexual orientation or gender identity. According to the bill, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services must still consider the child and family of origin’s beliefs when considering the best placement for the child.
Raising the speed limit: A Senate proposal (SF 378) would raise the “default” speed limit in the state from 55 mph to 60. A fiscal note on the bill says the change would impact Iowa’s rural undivided highways.
Radon mitigation in new homes: A House proposal (HF 2297) would require new single- and two-family homes to have passive radon mitigation systems installed. An amendment would block cities and counties from circumventing the requirement.
Psilocybin treatment: The bill (HF 978) would legalize the medical use of psilocybin, a psychedelic compound, in supervised settings. An amendment to the bill would require patients to have PTSD to qualify for psilocybin treatment.
Criminalizing kratom: A House proposal (HF 2133) would ban the plant-based drug kratom and its synthetic equivalents. The bill designates kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance, the most stringent drug classification.
Tuition guarantee at public universities: Two proposals in the House (HF 2362) and Senate (SF 2227) would lock in freshman year tuition rates for undergraduates throughout their degree. The House version changed the tuition guarantee to an opt-in program with an upfront fee.
Banning community ID programs: A bill (HF 2296) advanced by House Republicans would ban cities and counties from issuing local forms of ID, also known as community IDs.
Employment restrictions on H-1B visa holders: A House bill (HF 2513) would prevent the state’s public, private and community colleges from hiring H-1B visa holders from countries considered foreign adversaries or designated as state sponsors of terrorism. This includes Syria, China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela.
Affirmative action: With an amendment proposed by the Senate, HF 2177 would strike references to affirmative action in state law. An earlier version of the bill would have repealed a requirement for law police to go through annual bias prevention training.
Disruptive behavior: Both the Senate (SF 2428) and House (HF 2538) have proposals for handling disruptive or violent behavior in schools. The proposals outline when disruptive students can be returned to the classroom and establish school oversight committees for determining how to handle student behavior. Education lobbyists have favored the House version.
Bills that failed to advance:
Bachelor’s degrees at community colleges: The House proposal (HF 2649) would establish a pilot program to let certain community colleges offer bachelor’s degrees in high demand fields like nursing and education. A community college would not be allowed to offer a degree program if it’s offered by a school within 50 miles.
Ending school vaccine requirements: The bill (HF 2171) would let kids go to elementary and secondary school without being vaccinated against diseases, like polio, measles and meningitis.
Abortion pill restrictions: A House bill (HF 2563) aimed at cracking down on mail-order abortion pills failed to advance. But House Republicans may still try to find a way to pass the restrictions later in the session.
English-only driver’s license tests: A House bill (HF2102) would require driver’s license exams to only be administered in English.
Limiting WIC eligibility for immigrants: A House bill (HF2716) would bar mothers and kids without legal status and some lawfully present immigrants from WIC, a food assistance program for pregnant women, infants and toddlers. It would also raise the Medicaid income limit for employed people with disabilities. The bill failed to advance, but lawmakers may still try to add these provisions to a different bill.
Revoking education licenses for celebrating political violence : HF 2512 requires the Board of Educational Examiners to revoke someone’s educational license if they publicly celebrate acts of political violence, including the death of Charlie Kirk. The bill would have retroactively taken effect Sept. 10, 2025, the day Kirk was killed.
Public library restrictions: Four bills aimed at keeping minors away from library materials with sexual content failed to advance. A House bill (HF 2662) that would shift public library governance from a board of trustees to the city council also failed.
Tuition freeze: A House bill (HF 2242) would freeze tuition rates at the state’s public universities for the next five years.
Not subject to deadline:
Property tax changes: Reynolds, House Republicans and Senate Republicans have each proposed a bill aimed at providing property tax relief. The Senate GOP and the House GOP have each advanced their own proposal through their tax committees.
HMO tax increase: The Iowa House passed a bill (HF 2739) that would raise a tax on HMO health insurance plans to help fill the state’s Medicaid budget deficit.
Disrupting a religious service: Intentionally and substantially disrupting a religious service would be considered a felony, under HF 2579. The bill is assigned to the Ways and Means Committee and is exempt from legislative deadlines.
County veteran services: Reynolds proposed tying funding for county veteran services to each county’s performance at signing veterans up for benefits. The bill (SF 2466) passed the Senate and was referred to the deadline-proof appropriations committee in the House.
Medicaid for employed people with disabilities: A Senate bill (SF 2315) would raise the income limit for Iowans with disabilities who work but still need Medicaid to cover their health care.
Signed into law:
Restrictions on local civil rights ordinances: Local governments are now blocked from adopting broader civil rights protections than those outlined in the Iowa Civil Rights Act under a law proposed and signed by Reynolds.
K-12 school funding: GOP leaders reached a deal to increase K-12 per-student funding by 2%. Reynolds signed the bill into law last month.
