Legislator
Legislator > Janet Petersen
State Senator
Janet Petersen
(D) - Iowa
Iowa Senate District 18
In Office - Started: 01/14/2013
contact info
Capitol Address
1007 E. Grand Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50319
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: 515-281-3371
| Bill | Bill Name | Summary | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|
| SF436 | A bill for an act removing the maximum annual amount of real estate transfer tax receipts that may be transferred into the housing trust fund. | The housing trust fund (HTF) was established for the development and preservation of affordable housing for low-income people in the state and for the Iowa mortgage help initiative. Each month county recorders remit 82.75 percent of the real estate transfer tax (RETT) receipts to the department of revenue (DOR), and deposit the remaining 17.25 percent of the RETT receipts in the county general fund. Of the RETT receipts transferred to DOR, DOR transfers 65 percent to the state general fund, 30 percent to the HTF, and 5 percent to the shelter assistance fund. Currently, DOR may deposit a maximum of $7 million of RETT receipts into the HTF per year. Any amounts in excess of $7 million are deposited into the state general fund. This bill removes the $7 million annual maximum that may be deposited into the HTF. The bill also strikes outdated phase-in language in Code section 428A.8(2). | In Committee |
| SF505 | A bill for an act codifying a firsthome program administered by the Iowa finance authority. | This bill codifies the firsthome program administered by the Iowa finance authority and requires that the program be administered by the authority to provide down payment and closing cost assistance grants, second loans, free Iowa title guaranty owner’s certificates, or other assistance to eligible first-time homebuyers. “First-time homebuyer” and “second loan” are defined in the bill. The requirements for an individual to qualify for the program are detailed in the bill. The maximum assistance that may be provided in the form of a grant to an individual under the firsthome program is $10,000. The Iowa finance authority shall adopt rules as necessary to implement and administer the bill. | In Committee |
| SF562 | A bill for an act relating to utilization review organizations, prior authorizations and exemptions, medical billing, and independent review organizations. | This bill relates to utilization review organizations, prior authorizations and exemptions, medical billing, and independent review organizations. Under the bill, a health carrier (carrier) that uses an artificial intelligence, algorithm, or other software tool (artificial intelligence) for the purpose of utilization review, or that contracts with or works through an entity that uses an artificial intelligence for the purpose of utilization review, shall ensure that (1) the artificial intelligence bases its determination on the information described in the bill; (2) the artificial intelligence does not base its determination solely on a group dataset; (3) the artificial intelligence’s criteria and guidelines comply with Code chapter 514F and applicable state and federal law; (4) the artificial intelligence does not supplant health care provider (provider) decision making; (5) the use of the artificial intelligence does not discriminate against covered persons; (6) the artificial intelligence is fairly and equitably applied; (7) the artificial intelligence is open to inspection for audit or compliance reviews by the insurance division (division) and the department of health and human services; (8) disclosures pertaining to the use and oversight of the artificial intelligence are contained in written policies and procedures; (9) the artificial intelligence’s performance, use, and outcomes are periodically reviewed and revised; (10) patient data is not used beyond its intended and stated purpose; and (11) the artificial intelligence does not cause harm to a covered person. “Artificial intelligence” is defined in the bill. The artificial intelligence shall not deny, delay, or modify health care services (services) based on medical necessity, and a determination of medical necessity shall be made only by a competent provider. The bill requires a utilization review organization (organization) to respond to a request for prior authorization (authorization) from a provider within 48 hours after receipt for urgent requests or within 10 calendar days for nonurgent requests, unless there are complex or unique circumstances, or the organization is experiencing an unusually high volume of authorization requests, then an organization must respond within 15 calendar days. Within 24 hours after receipt of an authorization request, the organization shall notify a provider of, or make available, a receipt for the authorization request. The bill requires an organization to annually review all services for which authorization is required and to eliminate authorization requirements for services for which authorization requests are so routinely approved that the authorization requirement is not justified as it does not promote health care quality or reduce health care spending. Complaints regarding an organization’s compliance with the bill may be directed to the division, and the division shall notify an organization of all complaints. Complaints received under the bill shall not be considered public records. Under the bill, a carrier that utilizes authorization shall make statistics available regarding authorization approvals and denials on the carrier’s internet site in a readily accessible format. Following each calendar year, the statistics shall be updated annually by March 31, and shall include all of the information detailed in the bill. Under the bill, carriers, hospital and medical service corporations, health maintenance organizations, and providers shall comply with the requirements of Tit. I of the federal No Surprises Act, Pub. L. No. 116-260, Division BB, as may be amended, and the commissioner of insurance (commissioner) shall enforce such compliance. The commissioner may refer cases of noncompliance to the federal department of health and human services under the terms of a collaborative enforcement agreement, or to the attorney general. Under current law, an independent review organization (IRO) required to maintain written records shall submit a report to the commissioner upon request. Under the bill, an IRO required to maintain written records shall annually submit a report to the commissioner. The commissioner shall make the IRO reports publicly accessible on the division’s internet site. Under current law, each carrier required to maintain written records of requests for external review shall submit a report to the commissioner upon request. Under the bill, each carrier required to maintain written records of requests for external review shall annually submit a report to the commissioner. The commissioner shall make the carrier reports publicly accessible on the division’s internet site. The bill requires, on or before January 15, 2026, all carriers that deliver, issue for delivery, continue, or renew a health benefit plan (plan) in this state on or after January 1, 2026, to implement an authorization exemption pilot program (program) that exempts a subset of participating providers, including primary providers, from certain authorization requirements. Each carrier shall make available for each plan details about the plan’s authorization exemption requirements on the carrier’s internet site, including the carrier’s criteria for a provider to qualify for the program, the health care services that are exempt from authorization requirements, the estimated number of providers who are eligible for the program, including the providers’ specialties and the percentage of the providers that are primary care providers, and contact information for consumers and providers to contact the plan about the program or a provider’s eligibility for the program. On or before January 15, 2027, each carrier required to implement a program under the bill shall submit a report to the commissioner containing the results of the program, including an analysis of the costs and savings of the program, the plan’s recommendations for continuing or expanding the program, feedback received by each plan, and an assessment of the administrative costs incurred by each of the carrier’s plans to administer and implement authorization requirements under the program. | In Committee |
| SF558 | A bill for an act relating to Medicaid program improvements, making an appropriation, and providing penalties. | This bill relates to the Medicaid program. Division I of the bill requires the department of health and human services (HHS) to adopt administrative rules to ensure that services are provided to the Medicaid long-term services and supports (LTSS) population in a conflict-free manner. Specifically, the bill requires that case management services shall be provided by independent providers and that the supports intensity scale assessments are performed by independent assessors. Division II of the bill directs HHS to require each Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) with whom HHS executes a contract, to provide the option to LTSS population members to enroll in or transition to fee-for-service Medicaid program administration rather than managed care administration. The department shall amend any contract, request any Medicaid state plan amendment, and adopt administrative rules, as necessary, to administer this provision. The rules shall include the process for transitioning a current LTSS population member to fee-for-service program administration. Division III of the bill directs HHS to require each MCO with whom HHS executes a contract to maintain an authorized member’s LTSS unless the member’s health care provider determines a change in the LTSS is medically necessary for the member. The inability of a member who is authorized for LTSS to utilize all approved service hours, including respite care, shall not result in a reduction in authorized services unless there is medical evidence that the services are medically unnecessary for the member. Division IV of the bill requires HHS to contractually require any Medicaid MCO to collaborate with HHS and stakeholders to develop and administer a workforce recruitment, retention, and training program to provide adequate access to appropriate services, including but not limited to services to older Iowans. The department shall ensure that any such program developed is administered in a coordinated and collaborative manner across all contracting MCOs and shall require the MCOs to submit quarterly progress and outcomes reports to HHS. Division V of the bill establishes an external independent third-party review process for Medicaid providers for the review of final adverse determinations of the MCOs’ internal appeals processes. The division provides that a final decision of an external independent third-party reviewer may be reviewed in a contested case proceeding pursuant to Code chapter 17A, and ultimately is subject to judicial review. The bill provides a civil penalty for an MCO that does not comply with the written response requirements relating to an adverse determination. Division VI of the bill relates to member disenrollment for good cause during the 12 months of closed enrollment between open enrollment periods. The bill requires HHS to contractually require all Medicaid MCOs to issue a decision in response to a member’s request for disenrollment for good cause within 10 days of the date the member submits the request to the MCO utilizing the MCO’s grievance process and to adopt administrative rules to administer the division. Division VII of the bill requires the HHS to develop uniform authorization criteria for, and to utilize a request for proposals process to procure, a single credentialing verification organization to be utilized in credentialing and recredentialing providers for the Medicaid managed care and fee-for-service payment and delivery systems. The bill requires HHS to contractually require all Medicaid MCOs to apply the uniform authorization criteria, to accept verified information from the single credentialing verification organization procured by HHS, and to contractually prohibit the MCOs from requiring additional credentialing information from a provider in order to participate in the Medicaid MCO’s provider network. Division VIII of the bill relates to the office of long-term care ombudsman (OLTCO) and the Medicaid managed care ombudsman program (MCOP). For fiscal year 2025-2026, the bill appropriates $300,000 from the general fund of the state, in addition to any other funds appropriated from the general fund of the state to, and authorizes 2.50 FTEs in addition to any other full-time equivalent (FTE) positions authorized for, HHS for the OLTCO for the purposes of the MCOP. The funding appropriated and the FTE positions authorized under the bill are in addition to any other funds appropriated from the general fund of the state and actually expended, and any other FTE positions authorized and actually filled as of July 1, 2025, for the MCOP. The bill requires that any funds appropriated to and any full-time equivalent positions authorized for the OLTCO for the MCOP for fiscal year 2025-2026 shall be used exclusively for the MCOP. The additional FTE positions authorized in the bill for the MCOP shall be filled no later than September 1, 2025. The bill requires the OLTCO to include in the MCOP report, on a quarterly basis, the disposition of resources for the MCOP including expenditures and an FTE positions summary for the prior quarter. Division IX amends the provision regarding the meetings of the health policy oversight committee (HPOC) of the legislative council. Current law provides that HPOC may meet annually. The bill provides that HPOC shall meet, and further requires that HPOC meet at least two times, annually, during the legislative interim. Division X of the bill directs HHS to require each MCO with whom HHS executes a contract to annually submit a report by March 1 to HHS detailing the profit the MCO received from administering Medicaid care during the immediately preceding calendar year, and the methodology the MCO used to calculate the profit. HHS may select an independent auditor to verify each MCO’s report. HHS shall make each MCO’s report publicly available on HHS’s internet site. | In Committee |
| SF556 | A bill for an act relating to eligibility requirements for pregnant women, postpartum women, and infants under the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children. | This bill relates to eligibility requirements for pregnant women, postpartum women, and infants under the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC). The bill requires the department of health and human services (HHS) to submit a request to the food and nutrition service of the United States department of agriculture (USDA) for approval of a waiver to provide, for purposes of WIC, continuous eligibility during a woman’s pregnancy for a pregnant woman whose family income does not exceed 375 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), 12 months of continuous postpartum eligibility for a postpartum woman whose family income does not exceed 375 percent of the FPL, and 12 months from the date of an infant’s birth of continuous eligibility for an infant whose family income does not exceed 375 percent of the FPL. The bill requires HHS to implement the waiver not fewer than 30 calendar days from the receipt of approval from the USDA food and nutrition service. If the USDA food and nutrition service does not approve the waiver, HHS shall submit a report to the general assembly on or before December 31, 2025, containing the cost of HHS providing the expanded eligibility under WIC without the assistance of additional federal moneys. On July 1, 2026, if the USDA fails to approve the waiver to expand eligibility for pregnant women, postpartum women, and infants under WIC, and the general assembly appropriates moneys for the purpose of expanding eligibility for pregnant women, postpartum women, and infants under WIC, HHS shall provide continuous eligibility during a woman’s pregnancy for a pregnant woman whose family income that does not exceed 375 percent of the FPL, 12 months of continuous postpartum eligibility for a postpartum woman whose family income does not exceed 375 percent of the FPL, and 12 months from the date of an infant’s birth of continuous eligibility for an infant whose family income does not exceed 375 percent of the FPL. | In Committee |
| SF484 | A bill for an act relating to Hawki coverage for applied behavior analysis services including a state plan amendment waiver for the children's health insurance program. | This bill requires the medical assistance advisory council, in consultation with the department of health and human services (HHS), to adopt rules to include applied behavior analysis services as a benefit covered in a qualified child health plan included in a benchmark or a benchmark equivalent plan, and which comply with Tit. XXI of the federal Social Security Act. The bill requires HHS to submit a Medicaid state plan amendment to the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services for approval to provide coverage for applied behavior analysis services under the children’s health insurance program. | In Committee |
| SF486 | A bill for an act concerning native distilleries, including distilling classes offered to individuals. | This bill allows a native distillery that does not hold a class “C” retail alcohol license for the premises of the native distillery to provide supervised distilling classes to individuals on the premises of the native distillery if the individuals conducting the class and participating in the class are at least 21 years old; the amount of alcoholic liquor each individual in the class produces is limited to 750 milliliters; alcoholic beverages, including those produced in the class, are not consumed on the premises, except for tastings; the native distillery remits 50 percent of the wholesale price for the alcoholic liquor being manufactured by the individuals in the distilling class to the department of revenue; and the native distillery allows not more than 300 gallons of alcoholic liquor to be produced on an annual basis by individuals participating in distilling classes. | In Committee |
| SF502 | A bill for an act requiring certain employers to include pay scale information in communications offering employment, and providing penalties. | This bill requires an employer that employs 15 or more employees and that announces, posts, publishes, or otherwise makes known an advertisement, solicitation, or other communication offering employment or seeking applicants for employment to include in the communication the pay scale for each position for which employment is offered or for which applicants are sought. The pay scale must be included in the communication itself; a reference to another location where the pay scale can be found is not sufficient. The bill requires an employer that employs 15 or more employees and that engages a third party to announce, post, publish, or otherwise make known an advertisement, solicitation, or other communication offering employment or seeking applicants for employment to comply with the bill in such communication or require the third party to do so. The bill defines “pay scale” as the salary or hourly wage range that the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position. The bill defines “position” to include any position that may be filled in Iowa by an employee, whether by in-person or remote employment. The bill is enforced by the director of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. An employer that violates the bill shall be subject to a civil penalty of no less than $100 and no more than $10,000 per violation. The bill provides procedures for collection of such penalties. | In Committee |
| SF501 | A bill for an act relating to medical assistance program and Hawki program coverage for standard fertility preservation services. | This bill requires the department of health and human services to submit any Medicaid state plan amendment or waiver as may be necessary to the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services for the medical assistance program and the Hawki program to provide coverage for standard fertility preservation services, including oocyte retrievals and embryo transfers. Upon receipt of federal approval, the medical assistance program and the Hawki program shall immediately provide coverage for standard fertility preservation services. The bill defines “ASRM” and “standard fertility preservation services”. | In Committee |
| SF559 | A bill for an act relating to speech language pathologist assistants and the medical assistance program, and including effective date provisions. | This bill directs the department of health and human services (HHS) to adopt rules that permit a speech language pathologist assistant practicing under a licensed speech pathologist to be reimbursed for speech language pathologist assistant services provided to recipients of the medical assistance program, subject to limitations and exclusions HHS finds necessary. The bill also directs HHS to submit any necessary federal waiver or amendment for the medical assistance program to include a speech language pathologist assistant practicing under a licensed speech pathologist to participate as a provider under the medical assistance program. HHS shall include speech language pathologist assistants as providers under the medical assistance program upon HHS’s receipt of federal approval. | In Committee |
| SF463 | A bill for an act relating to drug paraphernalia. | This bill relates to drug paraphernalia. Under current law, a person who knowingly or intentionally manufactures, delivers, sells, or possesses drug paraphernalia commits a simple misdemeanor. Hypodermic needles or syringes manufactured, delivered, sold, or possessed for a lawful purpose are exempt from the definition of “drug paraphernalia”. The bill also exempts equipment, products, or materials used to analyze or test for the presence of fentanyl, a fentanyl analog, or a drug adulterant within a controlled substance from the definition of “drug paraphernalia”. | In Committee |
| SF485 | A bill for an act establishing requirements related to nonpublic schools that receive tuition payments from parents or guardians whose students are participating in the education savings account program. | This bill establishes requirements related to nonpublic schools that receive tuition payments from parents or guardians whose students are participating in the education savings account program. Current Code section 257.11B establishes the education savings account program, which allows for payments to be made to parents and guardians for the payment of qualified educational expenses. Current law defines “qualified educational expenses” to include tuition and fees at a nonpublic school. The bill modifies the definition of “qualified educational expenses” for purposes of the education savings account program to provide that the nonpublic school must adhere to all of the following: the accountability and transparency requirements applicable to the boards of directors of school districts, the data reporting requirements applicable to school districts, the accreditation standards applicable to school districts, and the teacher employment and teacher licensing requirements applicable to school districts. The bill strikes a provision of Code section 257.11B that prohibits the Code section from being construed to authorize the state or any political subdivision of the state to require a nonpublic school to modify the nonpublic school’s educational program in order to receive payment from a parent or guardian using funds from a pupil’s account in the education savings account fund. | In Committee |
| SF434 | A bill for an act relating to the creation of a child care solutions fund, and making an appropriation. | This bill relates to the creation of a child care solutions fund (fund) under the control of the department of health and human services (HHS). The bill defines “child care worker” as a person employed by a child care provider and whose primary duties involve the provision of child care to children in this state. The bill defines “community” as a geographic area designated by HHS. The bill also defines “fund”. The fund consists of moneys appropriated by the general assembly for the purposes detailed in the bill; interest attributable to the investment of moneys in the fund; and moneys from gifts, devises, donations, and grants that are intended to be used for the fund’s purposes. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to HHS for distributions to communities. Distributions must be used to provide a state match of $2 for every $1 of private investment a community obtains to increase the wages of child care workers. The bill requires HHS to establish eligibility requirements for a geographic area to be designated as a community, and for the geographic area to maintain the community designation. HHS must continue to designate communities until the entire geographic area of the state is within a community. The bill requires HHS, on or before January 1 of each year, to submit a report, as detailed in the bill, for the immediately preceding fiscal year to the general assembly relating to the fund, and the impact on communities who received money from the fund. The bill requires HHS to adopt rules to administer the fund. The bill requires HHS to use the moneys in the fund to continue to provide state matching moneys to communities that received funds due to the community’s participation in HHS’s child care wage enhancement project during FY 2024-2025. The bill appropriates $6 million to HHS for FY 2025-2026 for deposit in the fund. | In Committee |
| SF452 | A bill for an act relating to employment matters involving public employees including collective bargaining, educator employment matters, personnel records and settlement agreements, city civil service requirements, and health insurance matters, and including effective date, applicability, and transition provisions. | This bill relates to employment matters involving public employees including collective bargaining, educator employment matters, personnel records and settlement agreements, city civil service requirements, and health insurance matters. The bill generally strikes statutory changes made by 2017 Iowa Acts, House File 291, and restores statutory language in effect prior to the enactment of 2017 Iowa Acts, House File 291. DIVISION I —— PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. This division makes a variety of changes to Code chapter 20, the public employment relations Act, as well as other Code provisions relating to collective bargaining by public employees. ELIMINATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND TRANSIT EMPLOYEE CATEGORIES. The division eliminates public safety employees and transit employees as separate categories of employees for the purposes of public employee collective bargaining, making affected provisions of Code chapter 20 applicable to all public employees governed by Code chapter 20. SCOPE OF NEGOTIATIONS. The division makes changes to subjects which are negotiated through collective bargaining between public employers and public employees under Code section 20.9. The division provides that the scope of negotiations for all public employees shall consist of wages, hours, vacations, insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift differentials, overtime compensation, supplemental pay, seniority, transfer procedures, job classifications, health and safety matters, evaluation procedures, procedures for staff reduction, in-service training, dues checkoff, grievance procedures for resolving any questions arising under the agreement, and other matters mutually agreed upon. The division provides that retirement systems shall be excluded from the scope of negotiations. The division strikes language providing that mandatory subjects of negotiation under Code section 20.9 shall be interpreted narrowly and restrictively. The division strikes language limiting the term of a collective bargaining agreement entered into pursuant to Code chapter 20 to a maximum of five years. ARBITRATION PROCEDURES. The division makes changes to the procedures for arbitration of impasses in collective bargaining between public employers and public employees under Code section 20.22. The division modifies the factors that an arbitrator is required to consider in addition to any other relevant factors in making a final determination on an impasse item. The division requires an arbitrator to consider past collective bargaining contracts between the parties including the bargaining that led up to such contracts; comparison of wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the involved public employees with those of other public employees doing comparable work, giving consideration to factors peculiar to the area and the classifications involved; the interests and welfare of the public, the ability of the public employer to finance economic adjustments, and the effect of such adjustments on the normal standard of services; and the power of the public employer to levy taxes and appropriate funds for the conduct of its operations. The division strikes language permitting the parties to agree to change the four-day deadline to serve final offers on impasse items after a request for arbitration is received. The division strikes language prohibiting the parties to an arbitration from introducing, and the arbitrator from accepting or considering, any direct or indirect evidence regarding any subject excluded from negotiations pursuant to Code section 20.9. The division strikes language providing for a maximum increase in base wages in an arbitrator’s award. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE ELECTIONS. The division makes changes to public employee elections conducted pursuant to Code section 20.15. The division strikes language providing for retention and recertification elections and requires the employment appeal board (EAB) to cancel any such elections scheduled or in process. The division requires the EAB to consider a petition for certification of an employee organization as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit for which an employee organization was not retained and recertified as the exclusive representative of that bargaining unit regardless of the amount of time that has elapsed since the retention and recertification election, notwithstanding prior requirements prohibiting such consideration for two years. The division provides that the outcome of a certification or decertification election is determined by a majority vote of the members of the bargaining unit voting, rather than the total membership of the bargaining unit. The division provides for a runoff election if none of the choices on the ballot in a certification election receives a majority vote of the members of the bargaining unit voting. The division lowers the required percentage of support from employees in a bargaining unit required for an employee organization that did not submit a petition for certification as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit to be listed on the ballot for a certification election from 30 percent to 10 percent. The division strikes language prohibiting the EAB from considering a petition for certification as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit unless a period of two years has elapsed from the date of the last certification election in which an employee organization was not certified as the exclusive representative of that bargaining unit or of the last decertification election in which an employee organization was decertified as the exclusive representative of that bargaining unit. The division prohibits the EAB from considering a petition for certification as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit for one year after the employee organization is not certified in a certification election. The division makes additional changes relating to the scheduling of decertification elections. EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION DUES. The division strikes a prohibition on public entities authorizing or administering a deduction from the salaries or wages of its employees for membership dues to an employee organization. The division provides procedures for administering such dues deductions. EAB DUTIES. The division provides that the EAB may interpret and apply, as well as administer, Code chapter 20. The division strikes language permitting the EAB to appoint a certified shorthand reporter to report state employee grievance and discipline resolution proceedings, to contract with a vendor to conduct elections, to establish fees to cover the cost of elections, and to retain certain funds collected by the EAB as repayment receipts. STATEWIDE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS FOLLOWING A GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION YEAR. The division strikes language providing for modified collective bargaining procedures for a proposed, statewide collective bargaining agreement to become effective in the year following a general election in which the governor and certain other elected officials are elected. CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS. The division strikes language providing that certain information relating to elections conducted by the EAB is a confidential record under Code chapter 22, the state open records law. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. The division strikes a definition of “supplemental pay”. The division strikes language providing that a public employer has the right to evaluate public employees in positions within the public agency. The division strikes language providing that a public employee has the right under Code section 20.8 to exercise any right or seek any remedy provided by law, including but not limited to Code sections 70A.28 and 70A.29, Code chapter 8A, subchapter IV, and Code chapters 216 and 400. The division transfers language in Code section 20.10 prohibiting a public employee or any employee organization from negotiating or attempting to negotiate directly with a member of the governing board of a public employer if the public employer has appointed or authorized a bargaining representative for the purpose of bargaining with the public employees or their representative to Code section 20.17. The division decreases the amount of time before an employee organization decertified as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit for violating an injunction against an unlawful strike can be certified again from 24 months to 12 months. The division strikes language prohibiting voluntary contributions by individuals to political parties or candidates through payroll deductions. The division strikes a requirement that a copy of a final collective bargaining agreement be filed with the EAB by the public employer within 10 days of the agreement being entered into. The division strikes a requirement that the EAB maintain an internet site that allows searchable access to a database of collective bargaining agreements and other collective bargaining information. The division changes the period before retirement for a prohibited voluntary reduction to a nonsupervisory rank or grade by a supervisor and related ineligibility for benefits from 36 months to 6 months. The division strikes language providing that a mediator shall not be required to testify in any arbitration proceeding regarding any matters occurring in the course of a mediation. The division requires a council, board of waterworks, or other board or commission which establishes a pension and annuity retirement system pursuant to Code chapter 412 to negotiate in good faith with a certified employee organization which is the collective bargaining representative of the employees, with respect to the amount or rate of the assessment on the wages and salaries of employees and the method or methods for payment of the assessment by the employees. The division makes additional conforming changes. TRANSITION PROVISIONS —— DEADLINE. The division requires parties, mediators, and arbitrators engaging in any collective bargaining procedures provided for in Code chapter 20, Code 2025, who have not, before the effective date of the division, completed such procedures, to immediately terminate any such procedures in process as of the effective date of the division. The division provides that a collective bargaining agreement negotiated pursuant to such procedures in process shall not become effective. The division prohibits parties, mediators, and arbitrators from engaging in further collective bargaining procedures except as provided in the division. The division requires such parties to commence collective bargaining in accordance with Code section 20.17, as amended by the division. The division requires such parties to complete such bargaining not later than June 30, 2025, unless the parties mutually agree to a different deadline. The division requires the EAB to adopt emergency rules to implement these requirements. The division also requires the department of administrative services to adopt emergency rules to implement the provisions of the division relating to dues deductions. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division takes effect upon enactment. With the exception of the section of the division amending Code section 20.6, subsection 1, the division does not apply to collective bargaining agreements which have been ratified in a ratification election, for which an arbitrator has made a final determination, or which have become effective, when such events occurred before the effective date of the division. The division applies to all collective bargaining procedures provided for in Code chapter 20 occurring on and after the effective date of the division and collective bargaining agreements for which a ratification election is held, for which an arbitrator makes a final determination, or which become effective on or after the effective date of the division. DIVISION II —— EDUCATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS. This division makes a variety of changes relating to educator employment matters. TERMINATION OF TEACHER EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. The division makes various changes relating to the termination of teacher employment contracts. The division shortens various procedural deadlines regarding private hearings held after a superintendent recommends termination of a teacher’s employment contract. The division makes participation in such a private hearing by the superintendent, the superintendent’s designated representatives, the teacher’s immediate supervisor, the teacher, and the teacher’s representatives mandatory on the part of those individuals instead of discretionary. The division requires that the school board employ a certified shorthand reporter to keep a record of a private hearing. The division requires the school board to issue subpoenas for witnesses and evidence on behalf of the board and the teacher. The division provides for a judicial remedy if a witness appears and refuses to testify or to produce required books or papers at a private hearing. The division authorizes the superintendent and the teacher to file written briefs and arguments with the board at the conclusion of the private hearing. The division provides deadlines for determining the status of the teacher’s contract if the teacher does not request a private hearing. The division requires that the decision of the board include findings of fact and conclusions of law. The division strikes language authorizing a school board which votes to continue a teacher’s contract to issue the teacher a one-year, nonrenewable contract. The division permits a teacher to appeal the board’s determination to an adjudicator and provides procedures for such appeals. TEACHER PROBATIONARY PERIODS. The division makes various changes relating to probationary employment of teachers. The division decreases from two years to one year the length of a teacher’s probationary employment period in a school district if the teacher has successfully completed a probationary period of employment for another school district located in Iowa. The division provides that requirements for notices of termination, private hearings, and appeals applicable to nonprobationary teachers whose employment contracts are terminated are applicable to probationary teachers whose employment contracts are terminated. The division strikes alternative procedures for the termination of employment contracts of such probationary teachers, including notification procedures and the opportunity to request a private conference with the school board. EXTRACURRICULAR INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC COACH CONTRACTS. The division makes various changes relating to extracurricular interscholastic athletic coach employment contracts. The division provides that wages for such coaches shall be paid pursuant to established or negotiated supplemental pay schedules. The division provides that employment contracts of such coaches shall be continued automatically in force and effect for equivalent periods and that the termination of such contracts follows procedures similar to those used for teacher contracts. The division strikes language providing that employment contracts of such coaches may be terminated prior to their expiration for any lawful reason following an informal, private hearing before the school board. The division strikes language providing that the decision of the school board to terminate such a contract is final. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS. The division makes various changes relating to school administrator employment matters. The division provides that the rate of compensation in an administrator’s employment contract must be on a weekly or monthly basis. The division strikes language authorizing a school board to issue a temporary employment contract to an administrator for a period of up to nine months. The division strikes language authorizing a school board to issue a one-year, nonrenewable employment contract and instead authorizes a school board considering the termination of an administrator’s contract and the administrator to mutually agree to enter into such a contract. The division decreases the probationary employment period for administrators from three years to two years and authorizes a school board to waive the probationary period for an administrator who previously served a probationary period in another school district. The division strikes language providing that a hearing before an administrative law judge requested by an administrator whose employment contract a school board is considering terminating shall be a private hearing. The division reduces certain procedural deadlines relating to such hearings. The division strikes language providing that any witnesses for the parties at the hearing shall be sequestered. The division requires that the decision of the board include findings of fact and conclusions of law. The division strikes language authorizing a school board which votes to continue an administrator’s contract to issue the administrator a one-year, nonrenewable contract. INTENSIVE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. The division makes various changes relating to intensive assistance programs. The division strikes language providing that a teacher who has previously participated in an intensive assistance program relating to particular Iowa teaching standards or criteria shall not be entitled to participate in another intensive assistance program relating to the same standards or criteria. The division strikes language providing that following a teacher’s participation in an intensive assistance program, the teacher shall be reevaluated to determine whether the teacher successfully completed the intensive assistance program and is meeting district expectations under the applicable Iowa teaching standards or criteria. The division strikes language providing that if the teacher did not successfully complete the intensive assistance program or continues not to meet the applicable Iowa teaching standards or criteria, the board may initiate procedures to terminate the teacher’s employment contract immediately or at the end of the school year or may continue the teacher’s contract for a period not to exceed one year on a nonrenewable basis and without the right to a private hearing. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO EDUCATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS. The division strikes language authorizing a school board to issue a temporary employment contract to a teacher for a period of up to six months. The division strikes language providing that just cause for which a teacher may be discharged at any time during the contract year under Code section 279.27 includes but is not limited to a violation of the code of professional conduct and ethics of the board of educational examiners if the board has taken disciplinary action against a teacher during the six months following issuance by the board of a final written decision and finding of fact after a disciplinary proceeding. The division either authorizes or requires a school board and its certified bargaining representative to negotiate various matters pursuant to Code chapter 20. The division makes additional conforming changes. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division takes effect upon enactment. The division applies to employment contracts of school employees entered into pursuant to Code chapter 279 on and after the effective date of the division. The division does not apply to collective bargaining agreements pursuant to Code chapter 20 which have been ratified in a ratification election, for which an arbitrator has made a final determination, or which have become effective, when such events occurred before the effective date of the division. The division applies to all collective bargaining procedures provided for in Code chapter 20 occurring on and after the effective date of the division and collective bargaining agreements pursuant to Code chapter 20 for which a ratification election is held, for which an arbitrator makes a final determination, or which become effective on or after the effective date of the division. DIVISION III —— PERSONNEL RECORDS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS. This division makes changes relating to public employee personnel records and settlement agreements. PERSONNEL RECORDS. The division strikes language providing that certain information relating to the discipline, resignation, discharge, or demotion of a public employee is a public record and requiring notice to affected employees. PERSONNEL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS. The division also strikes language prohibiting a personnel settlement agreement between the state and a state executive branch employee that contains confidentiality or nondisclosure provisions that attempt to prevent the disclosure of the agreement. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division takes effect upon enactment. The division applies to requests for records submitted on or after the effective date of the division. DIVISION IV —— CITY CIVIL SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. This division makes a variety of changes relating to city civil service requirements under Code chapter 400. SENIORITY RIGHTS. The division strikes language permitting a city council to extinguish statutory seniority rights of all city civil service employees who are not employed or appointed as a fire fighter or police officer, fire chief or police chief, or assistant fire chief or assistant police chief, unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement. The division reestablishes any such rights so extinguished, including accrual of seniority during the period of extinguishment. ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS —— GROUNDS AND PROCEDURES. The division provides that adverse employment action may be taken against a city civil service employee for neglect of duty, disobedience, misconduct, or failure to properly perform the person’s duties. The division strikes language permitting such action to be taken due to any act or failure to act by the employee that is in contravention of law, city policies, or standard operating procedures, or that in the judgment of the person having the appointing power as provided in Code chapter 400, or the chief of police or chief of the fire department, is sufficient to show that the employee is unsuitable or unfit for employment. The division strikes language providing that the scope of review for an appeal to district court from a civil service commission shall be limited to de novo appellate review without a trial or additional evidence, instead providing that the appeal shall be a trial de novo as an equitable action. DIMINUTION OF EMPLOYEES. The division provides that a diminution of city employees by a city council can only be implemented when the public interest requires. The division permits a diminution to be carried out either by abolishing an office and removing the employee from the employee’s classification or grade thereunder, or reducing the number of employees in any classification or grade by suspending the necessary number. The division provides for such removal to be carried out based on seniority and requires that employees so removed be placed on a preferred list for at least three years for purposes of appointments or promotions made during that period to the person’s former duties. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. The division makes changes in terminology relating to adverse employment actions for city civil service employees. The division makes additional conforming changes. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division takes effect upon enactment. The division applies to employment actions taken on or after the effective date of the division. DIVISION V —— HEALTH INSURANCE MATTERS. This division strikes a requirement that a public employer shall offer health insurance to all permanent, full-time public employees employed by the public employer. EFFECTIVE DATE. The division takes effect upon enactment. | In Committee |
| SF439 | A bill for an act allowing cities to certify taxes for a general fund levy for libraries. | 2023 Iowa Acts, chapter 71 (HF 718), amended Code section 384.12 (additional taxes) to eliminate several taxes a city may levy subject to voter approval at an election. In lieu thereof, HF 718 allowed cities to levy the same amounts the eliminated taxes could have levied as a part of the general fund levy under Code section 384.1. This bill reestablishes the tax levy for a public library eliminated by HF 718 in an amount not to exceed 27 cents per $1,000. The tax imposed under the bill is subject to the same voter approval and notice requirements that existed prior to the enactment of HF 718. | In Committee |
| SF438 | A bill for an act relating to the establishment of a 988 emergency service fund, making an appropriation, and including effective date provisions. | This bill relates to the establishment of a 988 emergency service fund (988 fund). The bill defines “988 service” as a service which provides the user of a public telephone system the ability to reach a suicide and crisis lifeline by dialing or texting the digits 9-8-8, or using an internet site chat function. The bill creates a 988 fund in the state treasury under the control of the department of health and human services (HHS). For FY 2025-2026, and each fiscal year thereafter, the bill transfers $3 million to the 988 fund from the general fund of the state. Moneys in the 988 fund are appropriated to HHS for distribution to persons operating a 988 service in this state in the event that federal funding for 988 services terminates, becomes delayed, or is otherwise impacted in such a way that interrupts 988 service in this state. The bill is effective upon enactment. | In Committee |
| SF420 | A bill for an act relating to Native American mascots in schools. | This bill relates to Native American mascots in schools. The bill prohibits a public or nonpublic school from having or adopting a name, symbol, or image that depicts or refers to a Native American tribe, individual, custom, or tradition to be used as a mascot, nickname, logo, letterhead, or team name of the school on or after January 1, 2027. This prohibition does not apply to a school under the control of a Native American tribe and under the purview of the bureau of Indian education. | In Committee |
| SF414 | A bill for an act relating to the review and approval by the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing of housing and health care facility acquisitions by private equity firms. | This bill requires the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing (DIAL) to review any acquisition of housing or health care facilities by a private equity firm. The bill prohibits a private equity firm from completing an acquisition without approval from DIAL and requires a private equity firm to give notice to DIAL of the intended acquisition 60 days before the intended acquisition. The bill prohibits DIAL from approving an acquisition unless DIAL determines that the acquisition is in the public interest, which means the acquisition must not be likely to reduce access to quality, affordable housing or health care services. The bill requires a private equity firm to provide information concerning the acquisition to DIAL upon request. The bill provides that DIAL must post notice of any pending acquisition on DIAL’s internet site and allow for public comment. DIAL may also hold public forums on a pending acquisition. The bill allows DIAL to seek an injunction to enforce the bill’s provisions. | In Committee |
| SF437 | A bill for an act relating to certain persons who leave legislative or executive branch service, including prohibiting certain employment, lobbying activities, and use of influence, and making penalties applicable. | This bill relates to former statewide elected officials, heads and deputy heads of an agency, members of the general assembly, persons who served as an official, employees of a state agency, and legislative employees. Under current law, former statewide elected officials, heads and deputy heads of an agency, and members of the general assembly are prohibited from becoming a lobbyist within two years after the termination of service or employment. The bill also prohibits such persons from directly authorizing or permitting lobbying by another individual as part of such person’s employment. Under current law, a person who has served as an official, state employee of a state agency, member of the general assembly, or legislative employee is prohibited from receiving compensation for any services rendered on behalf of any person, firm, corporation, or association in relation to any case, proceeding, or application with respect to which the person was directly concerned and personally participated within a period of two years after the termination of service or employment. The bill also prohibits such persons from obtaining employment in which the person will take direct advantage, unavailable to others. Such persons are also prohibited from being interested in a contract with Iowa or a political subdivision of Iowa if, during the legislative session in which the person ends service or employment, the contract was authorized by an enacted law or order made by any board of which the person was a member. The bill prohibits a state agency or local government agency from entering into a contract with or taking any action favorably selecting any business or person represented by a person who served as a statewide elected official, the executive or administrative head of an agency of state government, the deputy executive or administrative head of an agency of state government, or a member of the general assembly within the preceding year if the value of the contract or action is over $1,000 and the contract is a direct result of an official act by the person. By operation of law, a person who knowingly and intentionally violates Code section 68B.5A, 68B.7, or 68B.9, including as amended or enacted by the bill, as applicable, is guilty of a serious misdemeanor and may be reprimanded, suspended, or dismissed from the person’s position or otherwise sanctioned. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. | In Committee |
| SF441 | A bill for an act relating to the payment of dependent care expenses from campaign funds, and making penalties applicable. | This bill relates to the payment of dependent care expenses with campaign funds. The bill permits a candidate to pay for dependent care expenses using campaign funds if the expense is incurred as a direct result of a campaign activity or official duty if the candidate wins election, the candidate would not have needed the dependent care but for the candidate’s candidacy or election, the payment to the dependent care provider is reasonable, and the dependent care provider is not the spouse or dependent child of the candidate. The bill requires the candidate to keep logs relating to payment for any such services, which shall be provided to the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board upon request during the course of an audit. The bill requires the candidate’s committee to preserve a dependent care log for five years following the submission of a report relating to the log, or for three years following the dissolution of the committee. A person who violates a provision of Code chapter 68A is subject to civil penalties imposed by the Iowa ethics and campaign disclosure board, including remedial action, a reprimand, and a civil penalty up to $2,000. In addition, a person who willfully violates a provision of Code chapter 68A is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. | In Committee |
| SJR8 | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to citizen initiatives to amend the Constitution of the State of Iowa. | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to citizen initiatives to amend the Constitution of the State of Iowa. | In Committee |
| SF435 | A bill for an act relating to surface water quality by requiring the establishment and maintenance of riparian protection measures, providing for financing, and providing penalties. | GENERAL. This bill amends Code chapter 466B, which provides for a number of programs to protect surface water and provide for flood mitigation and watershed management. The bill creates a new Code subchapter which requires a landowner having an interest in property adjoining a public water source (e.g., a watercourse such as a river, stream, or drainage ditch; or body of water such as a pond, lake, or reservoir) to establish and maintain a riparian protection measure (measure) in compliance with a riparian protection compliance plan (plan). The plan is derived from a riparian protection inventory and map developed by the department of natural resources (DNR). ADMINISTRATION. The plan must be prepared by the landowner and approved by the division of soil conservation and water quality (division) created within the department of agriculture and land stewardship. The division must act in partnership with commissioners of soil and water conservation districts (commissioners), and in cooperation with a number of other government entities, including the state soil conservation and water quality committee, the water resources coordinating council, and DNR. REQUIREMENTS. Under an approved plan, a landowner must establish and maintain a measure which is either a riparian protection buffer consisting of perennial vegetation, or an alternative riparian protection practice (e.g., erosion control practice or soil and water conservation practice) alone or in combination with a modified riparian protection buffer. The landowner must establish and maintain the measure after the division completes a riparian protection inventory and map which identifies the land subject to riparian protection. A landowner may apply for financial assistance to establish a measure under a number of programs, including cost-share moneys awarded under the authority of the division. EXCEPTIONS. The bill creates a number of exceptions that excuse compliance, including if (1) there is only one riparian landowner; (2) other regulations apply, including storm water outlets regulated by DNR, or a conservation program regulated by the federal or state government; (3) the land is covered by another object or structure; (4) the land is used to produce a designated crop; (5) the land is part of an environmentally designated area (e.g., a forest); (6) the land contains unique geological characteristics; or (7) the land is subject to construction. The division may also create other exceptions if it determines that the exception would not interfere with the bill’s purposes. ENFORCEMENT. The division is to take enforcement action against a landowner who violates a term or condition of a plan, unless the division allows the commissioners to take an enforcement action in court for the landowner’s violation of the terms of an administrative order (e.g., for violating the terms of a cost-share agreement). If the division enforces the plan, if must first issue a compliance order listing items that the landowner must complete within a specified time but not more than one year after the compliance order has been issued. The bill also prohibits a landowner or another person from engaging in any work to remove or degrade a riparian protection measure, unless the person has obtained authorization. The bill provides a range of civil penalties based on the number of parcels included in the plan and the period that the violation continues after the compliance order was delivered. The amounts of the civil penalties range from $100 to $500 per parcel. | In Committee |
| SF401 | A bill for an act relating to the defenses of justification and diminished capacity for certain violent crimes. | This bill specifies that the defenses of justification and diminished capacity are not available when a person who is the subject of a nonviolent sexual advance commits a violent crime or an assault upon another person as the result of that sexual advance or solely as a result of the person’s discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the victim’s sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Code section 915.10 defines “violent crime” as a forcible felony, as defined in Code section 702.11, and includes any other felony or aggravated misdemeanor which involved the actual or threatened infliction of physical or emotional injury on one or more persons. Code section 708.1 defines assault. A person commits an assault when, without justification, the person does any of the following: any act which is intended to cause pain or injury to, or which is intended to result in physical contact which will be insulting or offensive to another, coupled with the apparent ability to execute the act; any act which is intended to place another in fear of immediate physical contact which will be painful, injurious, insulting, or offensive, coupled with the apparent ability to execute the act; intentionally points any firearm toward another, or displays in a threatening manner any dangerous weapon toward another; and intentionally points a laser toward a person or aircraft. | In Committee |
| SF417 | A bill for an act relating to insurance coverage and Medicaid coverage for annual lung cancer screenings for at-risk individuals. | This bill relates to insurance coverage and medical assistance program (Medicaid) coverage for annual lung cancer screenings for at-risk individuals. The bill defines “at-risk individual” as a recipient or covered person 50 years of age or older that either has smoked cigarettes regularly or experienced secondhand smoke regularly, has an immediate family member diagnosed with lung cancer, or has been regularly exposed to asbestos, radon, arsenic, nickel, chromium, tar, or soot in the individual’s home or workplace. The bill defines “lung cancer screening” as a scan of the lungs using low-dose computed tomography. Under the bill, the department of health and human services shall seek any federal waiver necessary for Medicaid to provide coverage for an annual lung cancer screening for at-risk individuals. Contingent on receiving approval of, and effective immediately upon receiving approval of, a federal waiver, Medicaid shall provide coverage for annual lung cancer screenings for at-risk individuals. The bill requires a policy, contract, or plan providing for third-party payment or prepayment of health or medical expenses to provide coverage for an annual lung cancer screening for an at-risk individual. Cost-sharing shall not be imposed by a health carrier for coverage required under the bill. Coverage required under the bill shall not be less favorable than coverage a health carrier offers for screening mammograms. The bill applies to third-party payment providers enumerated in the bill, and the commissioner of insurance may adopt rules to administer the requirements of the bill applying to such third-party payment providers. The bill specifies the types of specialized health-related insurance which are not subject to the coverage requirements of the bill. | In Committee |
| SF419 | A bill for an act relating to the regulation of confinement feeding operations, including by providing for partially roofed structures and prohibiting the construction, including expansion, of structures, making penalties applicable, and including effective date provisions. | GENERAL. This bill amends Code chapter 459 (the “Animal Agriculture Compliance Act”) (Code section 459.101) which regulates confinement feeding operations. The bill revises the definition of a confinement feeding operation to include an operation that is partially roofed (amended Code section 459.102(15)). The bill also prohibits the construction, including expansion, of a confinement feeding operation structure. Such a structure includes a confinement building, a manure storage structure, or an egg washwater structure. The bill provides an exception that allows construction if the new structure is part of a small animal feeding operation. The bill does not prohibit a person from completing construction if the person had begun construction prior to the effective date of the bill. BACKGROUND —— ENFORCEMENT AND APPLICABLE CIVIL PENALTIES. Compliance with a statutory regulation under Code chapter 459 includes compliance with a rule adopted by the department of natural resources (Code section 459.103). A person violating air quality regulations under Code chapter 459, subchapter II, is subject to an administrative assessment of a civil penalty of up to $10,000 (Code sections 459.602 and 455B.109). A person violating a water quality regulation under Code chapter 459, subchapter III, is subject to the administrative assessment of a civil penalty of up to $10,000 (Code sections 459.603 and 455B.109) or a judicially assessed civil penalty of up to $5,000 (Code sections 459.603 and 455B.191). EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill takes effect upon enactment. | In Committee |
| SF372 | A bill for an act concerning eligibility for unemployment benefits. | This bill relates to unemployment benefits. Under current law, the department of workforce development may establish by rule a process to waive or alter the work search requirements for a claim for benefits if an individual has a reasonable expectation that the individual will be returning to employment and is attached to a regular job or industry or a member in good standing of a union therein eligible for referral for employment. To be considered attached to a regular job or industry, an individual must be on a “short-term temporary layoff”, which is defined as a layoff period of 16 weeks or less due to seasonal weather conditions that impact the ability to perform work related to highway construction, repair, or maintenance with a specific return-to-work date verified by the employer. The bill changes the defined term to “short-term seasonal or temporary layoff”, provides that conditions other than weather conditions are included in the definition, and strikes the language that the work to be performed must be related to highway construction, repair, or maintenance and must have a specific return-to-work date verified by the employer. The bill provides that benefits shall not be denied to an eligible individual for refusing to accept work if the individual has a reasonable expectation that the individual will be returning to employment, as defined by the department by rule, and is attached to a regular job or industry or is a member in good standing of a union therein eligible for referral for employment. To be considered attached to a regular job or industry, an individual must be on a short-term seasonal or temporary layoff. The bill provides that benefits shall not be denied to an eligible individual for refusing to accept work if the individual is unemployed due to the individual’s employer temporarily ceasing operations or going out of business at the factory, establishment, or other premises at which the individual was last employed; the reason for the employer going out of business was a result of unforeseen circumstances; and the individual has a reasonable expectation that the individual will be returning to employment with the employer that temporarily ceased operations or went out of business. | In Committee |
| SF381 | A bill for an act relating to youth employment and providing penalties. | This bill relates to youth employment. The bill generally strikes statutory changes made by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 542, and restores statutory language in effect prior to the enactment of 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 542. The elimination of the work categories of street occupations and migratory labor, a prohibition on persons under 18 years of age working in occupations in establishments where nude or topless dancing is performed, and a prohibition on sexually violent predators or sex offenders employing persons under 18 years of age, enacted by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 542, are retained. The bill requires a permit for a person under 18 years of age to work in most circumstances and provides procedures relating to such work and such permits under Code chapter 92, the state child labor law. The bill modifies permitted and prohibited work that can be performed by minors at various age levels, as well as hours in which permitted work can be performed. The bill strikes language providing for waiver of civil penalties under Code chapter 92 and a grace period before such penalties can be imposed. The bill strikes exceptions to and limitations on the applicability of certain provisions of Code chapter 92 for certain work-based learning programs. The bill strikes an exceptions to Code chapter 92 for performing in motion pictures, theatrical productions, or musical performances and modifies an exception for modeling. The bill strikes limitations on civil liability for businesses for injury, sickness, or death resulting from student participation in work-based learning programs. The bill provides penalties for certain actions taken in violation of Code chapter 92 to procure employment for oneself or of another person. Under current law, a violation of Code chapter 92 is a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560. Under current law, an employer violating Code chapter 92 is subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000. The bill changes terminology referring to “occupations” to instead refer to “work activities”. The bill strikes language allowing a person 16 to 17 years of age to be employed in the sale or serving of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption under Code section 123.49 in specified circumstances if specified procedures are followed. The bill reflects the transfer of administration of Code chapter 92 from the labor commissioner to the director of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 514. | In Committee |
| SF337 | A bill for an act relating to a hope card program for plaintiffs granted certain orders in a domestic abuse proceeding, and providing penalties. | This bill relates to a hope card program for plaintiffs granted certain orders in a domestic abuse proceeding. The bill requires the attorney general, in consultation with the district clerks of court, to develop and implement a hope card program to provide for the issuance of a hope card to each person who has been granted an order in a domestic abuse proceeding that is meant to protect a plaintiff from domestic abuse prior to a hearing or requires a defendant to cease domestic abuse of a plaintiff (order). The bill allows a plaintiff who is granted an order to request a hope card from the clerk of court of the county in which the order is granted. The plaintiff may request a hope card in an application requesting an order to protect the plaintiff from domestic abuse prior to a hearing, at a hearing to prove an allegation of domestic abuse, or at any other time before the order granted to the plaintiff expires. A clerk of court must create and provide a hope card to the plaintiff within three business days of the date an order is entered or the date a plaintiff requests a hope card, whichever is earlier. The bill prohibits the clerk of court from assessing a fee for the issuance of a hope card. The bill makes a petitioner’s hope card valid until the plaintiff’s order expires, or two years from the date the order was entered for the plaintiff, whichever is earlier. A hope card may be digital, or a durable wallet-sized card. The bill details the information that must be contained on a hope card. The bill makes it a simple misdemeanor for a person to present a hope card, or other document purporting to be a hope card, as a valid hope card when the person knows or should have known the hope card or other document is not a valid hope card. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days and a fine of at least $105 but not more than $855. The bill makes a conforming change to Code section 903.1 (maximum sentence for misdemeanants). | In Committee |
| SF327 | A bill for an act relating to dental provider reimbursement under the dental wellness plan and the dental wellness plan kids. | This bill requires that a provider participating in the dental wellness plan or the dental wellness plan kids shall be reimbursed for services at the percentage of the usual, customary, and reasonable fee or at the percentage of the commercial dental insurance billed charges, whichever is higher, to align dental provider reimbursement rates under the dental wellness plan and the dental wellness plan kids with those under the healthy and well kids in Iowa (Hawki) program, in order to maximize dental provider participation in and member access under the dental wellness plan and the dental wellness plan kids. | In Committee |
| SF324 | A bill for an act relating to provision of the state family planning services under the Medicaid program, and including effective date provisions. | This bill relates to state family planning services. Division I of the bill requires the department of health and human services (HHS) to submit a Medicaid state plan amendment to the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services (CMS) for approval to establish the Iowa family planning network with the same benefits, eligibility requirements, and other provisions included in the Medicaid Iowa family planning network waiver as approved by CMS in effect on June 30, 2017. Subject to an appropriation by the general assembly, HHS is required to adopt rules to allocate moneys to increase awareness of the family planning network and the network’s services to locations identified as having increased rates of sexually transmitted infections. Division I takes effect upon enactment. Division II of the bill repeals the state family planning services program. The repeal of the program takes effect upon receipt of approval by HHS from CMS of the Medicaid state plan amendment establishing the Iowa family planning network. HHS shall notify the Code editor of the date approval is received from CMS. | In Committee |
| SF336 | A bill for an act relating to the ordering and dispensing of self-administered hormonal contraceptives by a pharmacist pursuant to statewide protocols. | This bill relates to the authority of pharmacists to order and dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives. The bill authorizes a pharmacist, pursuant to statewide protocols developed by the board of pharmacy in consultation with the department of health and human services and consistent with requirements for maintenance of records, notification of health care providers or provision of a written record to the patient, and continuing education, order and dispense self-administered hormonal contraceptives to patients. The bill defines “self-administered hormonal contraceptive”. | In Committee |
| SF339 | A bill for an act relating to eligibility of pregnant women and infants for the Medicaid program. | This bill amends provisions relating to income eligibility levels for pregnant women and infants under the Medicaid program. Current law provides that an infant or a pregnant woman whose family income is not more than 215 percent of the federal poverty level, if the infant or woman is otherwise eligible, is eligible for Medicaid. The bill amends the income eligibility level to 375 percent. The bill requires the department of health and human services (HHS) to submit a Medicaid state plan amendment to the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services (CMS) for approval in accordance with the provisions in federal law to provide 12 months of continuous postpartum eligibility under the Medicaid program to a pregnant woman whose family income while pregnant is at or below 375 percent of the federal poverty level for the household size, beginning January 1, 2026. The bill also requires HHS to submit a children’s health insurance program state plan amendment to CMS to update infant eligibility consistent with the provisions of the bill, beginning January 1, 2026. | In Committee |
| SF352 | A bill for an act relating to state child care assistance program benefits. | This bill relates to state child care assistance (CCA) program benefits. Under current law, the CCA program reimburses child care providers (providers) after the department of health and human services (HHS) receives a bill from the provider based on the amount of time a child enrolled in the program actually attended child care with that provider. The bill requires HHS to remit payment to a provider prior to the provider rendering child care to a child enrolled in the CCA program. Payments must be made on a monthly basis and must be based on the amount of hours a child is scheduled to receive child care from the provider and not the number of hours a child actually receives child care services. Any copayment a family participating in the CCA program is required to pay as a condition of participation must be made after the family’s child receives child care. The bill prohibits a child’s CCA benefits from terminating unless HHS sends written notification to the child’s family and the child’s provider explaining the reasons for terminating the child’s benefits, and at least 30 calendar days have passed since the date HHS sent the written notices. The bill temporarily enrolls a child in the CCA program if the child has at least one sibling that is currently enrolled in the CCA program, the provider providing child care to the child’s sibling agreed to provide child care to the child, and the provider notified HHS of the provider’s agreement. HHS must approve a child as temporarily enrolled in the CCA program within one business day of receiving the provider’s notification. HHS must send notification of approval to the provider and the child’s family. The bill provides a temporarily enrolled child’s family 21 calendar days from the date HHS approved the child’s temporary enrollment to submit an application to enroll the child in the CCA program. HHS has five business days from the date HHS receives the application to render a decision. The bill ends a child’s temporary enrollment if the child’s family does not apply for the CCA program within 21 calendar days from the date HHS approves the child’s temporary enrollment or HHS renders a decision on the child’s application for the CCA program. The bill requires HHS to make payment to a provider for child care provided to a temporarily enrolled child within one calendar week of the 21st day after HHS approved the child’s temporary enrollment or when the child’s temporary enrollment ends, whichever is earlier. The bill is not to be construed to require a provider to provide child care to a child prior to HHS approving the child as temporarily enrolled. The bill makes temporarily enrolled children exempt from waiting list requirements for the CCA program. | In Committee |
| SF357 | A bill for an act establishing a neighborhood housing revitalization assistance program within the Iowa finance authority. | This bill requires the Iowa finance authority to establish a neighborhood housing revitalization assistance program for the purpose of providing and fostering lending programs and other services to facilitate targeted neighborhood revitalization in designated urban and rural areas in this state. The bill provides that the program shall include a forgivable loan program for qualifying home improvements, repairs, and renovations for an owner-occupied home. The bill requires the authority to adopt rules governing the loan program. The rules must specify the types of improvements, repairs, and renovation authorized for the program, and the method for determining, if applicable, the portion of a loan that is to be forgiven based on household income. The bill also establishes a neighborhood housing revitalization assistance program fund under the control of the authority. The bill provides that the fund shall consist of any unobligated funds transferred to the fund from a fund described in Code section 15.106A(1)(o), and any other gift, donation, federal or other grant, or appropriation intended to be used for purposes of the fund. The bill provides that all moneys in the fund which remain unexpended or unobligated at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available in subsequent fiscal years. | In Committee |
| SF353 | A bill for an act relating to state child care assistance income eligibility requirements, and child care provider reimbursement rates. | This bill relates to the state child care assistance (CCA) program income eligibility requirements and child care provider (provider) reimbursement rates. Under current law, for a child to be eligible for entry into the CCA program, the child’s family must have income below 160 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) applicable to a family’s size for a child needing basic care, or 200 percent of the FPL for a child needing special needs care. The bill increases the CCA program income eligibility limit for children needing basic care to 170 percent of the FPL for FY 2025-2026; 180 percent of the FPL for FY 2026-2027; 190 percent of the FPL for FY 2027-2028; and 200 percent of the FPL on or after July 1, 2028. The bill increases the CCA program income eligibility limit for children needing special needs care to 210 percent of the FPL for FY 2025-2026; 220 percent of the FPL for FY 2026-2027; 230 percent of the FPL for FY 2027-2028; and 240 percent of the FPL on or after July 1, 2028. The reimbursement rates paid to providers under the CCA program are based on statewide reimbursement rate surveys that the department of health and human services (HHS) conducts at least every two years to collect data on providers’ private pay rates. Under current law, CCA reimbursement rates must be set at rates no less than the 65th percentile, but no more than the 80th percentile, of rates child care providers charge private pay customers as reported in the 2020 statewide reimbursement rate survey. The bill requires HHS to base CCA reimbursement rates on the most recently completed statewide reimbursement rate survey. | In Committee |
| SF355 | A bill for an act relating to overtime pay earned by state employees. | This bill provides that a state employee whose annual salary is under $125,000 and who is not covered by the overtime payment provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act shall be eligible for overtime payment at the rate of one and one-half times the regular rate at which the employee is employed, as though such employee were so covered. The bill provides that salaries for such state employees shall be established on an hourly basis. | In Committee |
| SF358 | A bill for an act relating to the maximum amount of unemployment benefits payable during a benefit year to an individual laid off due to an employer going out of business. | This bill provides that the maximum total amount of unemployment benefits payable during a benefit year to an eligible individual laid off due to the individual’s employer going out of business at the factory, establishment, or other premises at which the individual was last employed shall not exceed 39 times the individual’s weekly benefit amount, rather than 26 times the weekly benefit amount as provided under current law. | In Committee |
| SF264 | A bill for an act relating to prescription drug affordability, including the creation of a prescription drug affordability board. | This bill relates to prescription drug affordability measures, including the creation of a prescription drug affordability board. The bill provides definitions used in the bill. The bill creates the prescription drug affordability board (board) for the purpose of protecting stakeholders within the health care system from the high costs of prescription drug products (product or products). The bill provides for the membership and functioning of the board; the hiring of an executive director and other staff for the board; salaries, per diems, and reimbursement of expenses of the executive director, general counsel, staff, and members; and other provisions that apply to the meetings of the board. The board shall meet in open session at least four times annually to review product information, and may meet in closed session to discuss proprietary data and information. The board shall provide public notice of each board meeting at least two weeks in advance of the meeting, make materials for each meeting available to the public in advance of the meeting, provide an opportunity for public comment at each open meeting of the board, and provide the opportunity for the public to submit written comments on pending decisions of the board. The board may allow expert testimony at its meetings, including when the board meets in closed session. Members of the board shall recuse themselves from decisions related to products if the member, or an immediate family member of the member, has received or could receive certain financial benefits from the work of the board. The bill provides for disclosure of conflicts of interest relative to the work of the board, and prohibits the members of the board, the executive director, the general counsel, board staff, and third-party contractors from accepting certain gifts or donations. The bill provides that, to the extent practicable, the board shall access pricing information for products through various means as described in the bill. The board may enter into a contract with a qualified, independent third party for any service necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the board, and shall adopt rules to administer the bill. The bill requires the board to create a prescription drug affordability stakeholder council (council) to assist the board in making decisions. The council shall consist of 19 members including manufacturers of brand-name and generic prescription drugs, providers that dispense or administer prescription drugs, prescription drug suppliers, and consumers of prescription drugs. Members are appointed by the majority leader of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the house of representatives, and the governor. The members of the council shall have knowledge in certain areas as specified in the bill. The bill provides for the annual selection of a chairperson and co-chairperson, terms, and reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses of the members. The board is required to identify certain brand-name drugs or biologics, biosimilars, generic drugs, and other products that may create affordability challenges for the state health care system and for patients, including drugs used to address public health emergencies. After identifying the products, the board shall determine whether to conduct an affordability review by seeking council input about the product and considering the average patient cost share of the product. The bill specifies relevant information that may be included in conducting an affordability review. If the board finds that the spending on a product reviewed has led or will lead to an affordability challenge, the board shall submit a report to the general assembly of the board’s findings, including a recommended upper payment limit. The upper pay limit for the product shall be determined by considering the cost of administering the product, the cost of delivering the product to consumers, and other relevant administrative costs related to the product. Any information submitted to the board in accordance with the bill is subject to public inspection only to the extent provided under the state’s open records law. The bill requires the board, on or before December 31, 2025, and annually thereafter, to submit to the general assembly a report that includes price trends for products in the state; and any recommendations regarding further legislation needed to improve prescription drug affordability in the state. On or before July 1, 2026, the board shall submit a report, as described in the bill, to the general assembly on the operation of the generic drug market in the United States. | In Committee |
| SF248 | A bill for an act relating to the admission of persons into residential care facilities, and including applicability provisions. | This bill relates to the admission of persons into residential care facilities. The bill requires all contracts the department of health and human services (HHS) executes with a contractor to provide a qualified residential treatment program (QRTP) to include a provision that allows the contractor to reject a placement of an individual referred by HHS, or juvenile court services, if the contractor confirms in writing to HHS, or juvenile court services, that the contractor does not have the necessary security or support to ensure the safety of the individual or the safety of the contractor’s staff. The bill prohibits HHS from including any type of “no reject, no eject” provision in any contract executed with a contractor to provide a QRTP. The bill defines “no reject, no eject” as requiring a contractor to accept all individual placements referred by HHS or juvenile court services. The bill applies to all contracts between HHS and a contractor for the provision of a QRTP that are executed, extended, or renewed on or after the bill’s effective date. | In Committee |
| SF263 | A bill for an act relating to employment matters involving public employees including collective bargaining, educator employment matters, and city civil service requirements, and including effective date, applicability, and transition provisions. | This bill relates to employment matters involving public employees including collective bargaining, educator employment matters, and city civil service requirements. The bill generally strikes statutory changes made by divisions I, II, and VI of 2017 Iowa Acts, House File 291, and restores statutory language in effect prior to the enactment of those divisions of 2017 Iowa Acts, House File 291. DIVISION I —— PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. This division makes a variety of changes to Code chapter 20, the public employment relations Act, as well as other Code provisions relating to collective bargaining by public employees. ELIMINATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND TRANSIT EMPLOYEE CATEGORIES. The division eliminates public safety employees and transit employees as separate categories of employees for the purposes of public employee collective bargaining, making affected provisions of Code chapter 20 applicable to all public employees governed by Code chapter 20. SCOPE OF NEGOTIATIONS. The division makes changes to subjects which are negotiated through collective bargaining between public employers and public employees under Code section 20.9. The division provides that the scope of negotiations for all public employees shall consist of wages, hours, vacations, insurance, holidays, leaves of absence, shift differentials, overtime compensation, supplemental pay, seniority, transfer procedures, job classifications, health and safety matters, evaluation procedures, procedures for staff reduction, in-service training, dues checkoff, grievance procedures for resolving any questions arising under the agreement, and other matters mutually agreed upon. The division provides that retirement systems shall be excluded from the scope of negotiations. The division strikes language providing that mandatory subjects of negotiation under Code section 20.9 shall be interpreted narrowly and restrictively. The division strikes language limiting the term of a collective bargaining agreement entered into pursuant to Code chapter 20 to a maximum of five years. ARBITRATION PROCEDURES. The division makes changes to the procedures for arbitration of impasses in collective bargaining between public employers and public employees under Code section 20.22. The division modifies the factors that an arbitrator is required to consider in addition to any other relevant factors in making a final determination on an impasse item. The division requires an arbitrator to consider past collective bargaining contracts between the parties including the bargaining that led up to such contracts; comparison of wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the involved public employees with those of other public employees doing comparable work, giving consideration to factors peculiar to the area and the classifications involved; the interests and welfare of the public, the ability of the public employer to finance economic adjustments, and the effect of such adjustments on the normal standard of services; and the power of the public employer to levy taxes and appropriate funds for the conduct of its operations. The division strikes language permitting the parties to agree to change the four-day deadline to serve final offers on impasse items after a request for arbitration is received. The division strikes language prohibiting the parties to an arbitration from introducing, and the arbitrator from accepting or considering, any direct or indirect evidence regarding any subject excluded from negotiations pursuant to Code section 20.9. The division strikes language providing for a maximum increase in base wages in an arbitrator’s award. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE ELECTIONS. The division makes changes to public employee elections conducted pursuant to Code section 20.15. The division strikes language providing for retention and recertification elections and requires the employment appeal board (EAB) to cancel any such elections scheduled or in process. The division requires the EAB to consider a petition for certification of an employee organization as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit for which an employee organization was not retained and recertified as the exclusive representative of that bargaining unit regardless of the amount of time that has elapsed since the retention and recertification election, notwithstanding prior requirements prohibiting such consideration for two years. The division provides that the outcome of a certification or decertification election is determined by a majority vote of the members of the bargaining unit voting, rather than the total membership of the bargaining unit. The division provides for a runoff election if none of the choices on the ballot in a certification election receives a majority vote of the members of the bargaining unit voting. The division lowers the required percentage of support from employees in a bargaining unit required for an employee organization that did not submit a petition for certification as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit to be listed on the ballot for a certification election from 30 percent to 10 percent. The division strikes language prohibiting the EAB from considering a petition for certification as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit unless a period of two years has elapsed from the date of the last certification election in which an employee organization was not certified as the exclusive representative of that bargaining unit or of the last decertification election in which an employee organization was decertified as the exclusive representative of that bargaining unit. The division prohibits the EAB from considering a petition for certification as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit for one year after the employee organization is not certified in a certification election. The division makes additional changes relating to the scheduling of decertification elections. EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION DUES. The division strikes a prohibition on public entities authorizing or administering a deduction from the salaries or wages of its employees for membership dues to an employee organization. The division provides procedures for administering such dues deductions. EAB DUTIES. The division provides that the EAB may interpret and apply, as well as administer, Code chapter 20. The division strikes language permitting the EAB to appoint a certified shorthand reporter to report state employee grievance and discipline resolution proceedings, to contract with a vendor to conduct elections, to establish fees to cover the cost of elections, and to retain certain funds collected by the EAB as repayment receipts. STATEWIDE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS FOLLOWING A GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION YEAR. The division strikes language providing for modified collective bargaining procedures for a proposed, statewide collective bargaining agreement to become effective in the year following a general election in which the governor and certain other elected officials are elected. CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS. The division strikes language providing that certain information relating to elections conducted by the EAB is a confidential record under Code chapter 22, the state open records law. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. The division strikes a definition of “supplemental pay”. The division strikes language providing that a public employer has the right to evaluate public employees in positions within the public agency. The division strikes language providing that a public employee has the right under Code section 20.8 to exercise any right or seek any remedy provided by law, including but not limited to Code sections 70A.28 and 70A.29, Code chapter 8A, subchapter IV, and Code chapters 216 and 400. The division transfers language in Code section 20.10 prohibiting a public employee or any employee organization from negotiating or attempting to negotiate directly with a member of the governing board of a public employer if the public employer has appointed or authorized a bargaining representative for the purpose of bargaining with the public employees or their representative to Code section 20.17. The division decreases the amount of time before an employee organization decertified as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit for violating an injunction against an unlawful strike can be certified again from 24 months to 12 months. The division strikes language prohibiting voluntary contributions by individuals to political parties or candidates through payroll deductions. The division strikes a requirement that a copy of a final collective bargaining agreement be filed with the EAB by the public employer within 10 days of the agreement being entered into. The division strikes a requirement that the EAB maintain an internet site that allows searchable access to a database of collective bargaining agreements and other collective bargaining information. The division changes the period before retirement for a prohibited voluntary reduction to a nonsupervisory rank or grade by a supervisor and related ineligibility for benefits from 36 months to 6 months. The division strikes language providing that a mediator shall not be required to testify in any arbitration proceeding regarding any matters occurring in the course of a mediation. The division requires a council, board of waterworks, or other board or commission which establishes a pension and annuity retirement system pursuant to Code chapter 412 to negotiate in good faith with a certified employee organization which is the collective bargaining representative of the employees, with respect to the amount or rate of the assessment on the wages and salaries of employees and the method or methods for payment of the assessment by the employees. The division makes additional conforming changes. TRANSITION PROVISIONS —— DEADLINE. The division requires parties, mediators, and arbitrators engaging in any collective bargaining procedures provided for in Code chapter 20, Code 2025, who have not, before the effective date of the division, completed such procedures, to immediately terminate any such procedures in process as of the effective date of the division. The division provides that a collective bargaining agreement negotiated pursuant to such procedures in process shall not become effective. The division prohibits parties, mediators, and arbitrators from engaging in further collective bargaining procedures except as provided in the division. The division requires such parties to commence collective bargaining in accordance with Code section 20.17, as amended by the division. The division requires such parties to complete such bargaining not later than June 30, 2025, unless the parties mutually agree to a different deadline. The division requires the EAB to adopt emergency rules to implement these requirements. The division also requires the department of administrative services to adopt emergency rules to implement the provisions of the division relating to dues deductions. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division takes effect upon enactment. With the exception of the section of the division amending Code section 20.6, subsection 1, the division does not apply to collective bargaining agreements which have been ratified in a ratification election, for which an arbitrator has made a final determination, or which have become effective, when such events occurred before the effective date of the division. The division applies to all collective bargaining procedures provided for in Code chapter 20 occurring on and after the effective date of the division and collective bargaining agreements for which a ratification election is held, for which an arbitrator makes a final determination, or which become effective on or after the effective date of the division. DIVISION II —— EDUCATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS. This division makes a variety of changes relating to educator employment matters. TERMINATION OF TEACHER EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS. The division makes various changes relating to the termination of teacher employment contracts. The division shortens various procedural deadlines regarding private hearings held after a superintendent recommends termination of a teacher’s employment contract. The division makes participation in such a private hearing by the superintendent, the superintendent’s designated representatives, the teacher’s immediate supervisor, the teacher, and the teacher’s representatives mandatory on the part of those individuals instead of discretionary. The division requires that the school board employ a certified shorthand reporter to keep a record of a private hearing. The division requires the school board to issue subpoenas for witnesses and evidence on behalf of the board and the teacher. The division provides for a judicial remedy if a witness appears and refuses to testify or to produce required books or papers at a private hearing. The division authorizes the superintendent and the teacher to file written briefs and arguments with the board at the conclusion of the private hearing. The division provides deadlines for determining the status of the teacher’s contract if the teacher does not request a private hearing. The division requires that the decision of the board include findings of fact and conclusions of law. The division strikes language authorizing a school board which votes to continue a teacher’s contract to issue the teacher a one-year, nonrenewable contract. The division permits a teacher to appeal the board’s determination to an adjudicator and provides procedures for such appeals. TEACHER PROBATIONARY PERIODS. The division makes various changes relating to probationary employment of teachers. The division decreases from two years to one year the length of a teacher’s probationary employment period in a school district if the teacher has successfully completed a probationary period of employment for another school district located in Iowa. The division provides that requirements for notices of termination, private hearings, and appeals applicable to nonprobationary teachers whose employment contracts are terminated are applicable to probationary teachers whose employment contracts are terminated. The division strikes alternative procedures for the termination of employment contracts of such probationary teachers, including notification procedures and the opportunity to request a private conference with the school board. EXTRACURRICULAR INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC COACH CONTRACTS. The division makes various changes relating to extracurricular interscholastic athletic coach employment contracts. The division provides that wages for such coaches shall be paid pursuant to established or negotiated supplemental pay schedules. The division provides that employment contracts of such coaches shall be continued automatically in force and effect for equivalent periods and that the termination of such contracts follows procedures similar to those used for teacher contracts. The division strikes language providing that employment contracts of such coaches may be terminated prior to their expiration for any lawful reason following an informal, private hearing before the school board. The division strikes language providing that the decision of the school board to terminate such a contract is final. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS. The division makes various changes relating to school administrator employment matters. The division provides that the rate of compensation in an administrator’s employment contract must be on a weekly or monthly basis. The division strikes language authorizing a school board to issue a temporary employment contract to an administrator for a period of up to nine months. The division strikes language authorizing a school board to issue a one-year, nonrenewable employment contract and instead authorizes a school board considering the termination of an administrator’s contract and the administrator to mutually agree to enter into such a contract. The division decreases the probationary employment period for administrators from three years to two years and authorizes a school board to waive the probationary period for an administrator who previously served a probationary period in another school district. The division strikes language providing that a hearing before an administrative law judge requested by an administrator whose employment contract a school board is considering terminating shall be a private hearing. The division reduces certain procedural deadlines relating to such hearings. The division strikes language providing that any witnesses for the parties at the hearing shall be sequestered. The division requires that the decision of the board include findings of fact and conclusions of law. The division strikes language authorizing a school board which votes to continue an administrator’s contract to issue the administrator a one-year, nonrenewable contract. INTENSIVE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. The division makes various changes relating to intensive assistance programs. The division strikes language providing that a teacher who has previously participated in an intensive assistance program relating to particular Iowa teaching standards or criteria shall not be entitled to participate in another intensive assistance program relating to the same standards or criteria. The division strikes language providing that following a teacher’s participation in an intensive assistance program, the teacher shall be reevaluated to determine whether the teacher successfully completed the intensive assistance program and is meeting district expectations under the applicable Iowa teaching standards or criteria. The division strikes language providing that if the teacher did not successfully complete the intensive assistance program or continues not to meet the applicable Iowa teaching standards or criteria, the board may initiate procedures to terminate the teacher’s employment contract immediately or at the end of the school year or may continue the teacher’s contract for a period not to exceed one year on a nonrenewable basis and without the right to a private hearing. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS RELATING TO EDUCATOR EMPLOYMENT MATTERS. The division strikes language authorizing a school board to issue a temporary employment contract to a teacher for a period of up to six months. The division strikes language providing that just cause for which a teacher may be discharged at any time during the contract year under Code section 279.27 includes but is not limited to a violation of the code of professional conduct and ethics of the board of educational examiners if the board has taken disciplinary action against a teacher during the six months following issuance by the board of a final written decision and finding of fact after a disciplinary proceeding. The division either authorizes or requires a school board and its certified bargaining representative to negotiate various matters pursuant to Code chapter 20. The division makes additional conforming changes. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division takes effect upon enactment. The division applies to employment contracts of school employees entered into pursuant to Code chapter 279 on and after the effective date of the division. The division does not apply to collective bargaining agreements pursuant to Code chapter 20 which have been ratified in a ratification election, for which an arbitrator has made a final determination, or which have become effective, when such events occurred before the effective date of the division. The division applies to all collective bargaining procedures provided for in Code chapter 20 occurring on and after the effective date of the division and collective bargaining agreements pursuant to Code chapter 20 for which a ratification election is held, for which an arbitrator makes a final determination, or which become effective on or after the effective date of the division. DIVISION III —— CITY CIVIL SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. This division makes a variety of changes relating to city civil service requirements under Code chapter 400. SENIORITY RIGHTS. The division strikes language permitting a city council to extinguish statutory seniority rights of all city civil service employees who are not employed or appointed as a fire fighter or police officer, fire chief or police chief, or assistant fire chief or assistant police chief, unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement. The division reestablishes any such rights so extinguished, including accrual of seniority during the period of extinguishment. ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS —— GROUNDS AND PROCEDURES. The division provides that adverse employment action may be taken against a city civil service employee for neglect of duty, disobedience, misconduct, or failure to properly perform the person’s duties. The division strikes language permitting such action to be taken due to any act or failure to act by the employee that is in contravention of law, city policies, or standard operating procedures, or that in the judgment of the person having the appointing power as provided in Code chapter 400, or the chief of police or chief of the fire department, is sufficient to show that the employee is unsuitable or unfit for employment. The division strikes language providing that the scope of review for an appeal to district court from a civil service commission shall be limited to de novo appellate review without a trial or additional evidence, instead providing that the appeal shall be a trial de novo as an equitable action. DIMINUTION OF EMPLOYEES. The division provides that a diminution of city employees by a city council can only be implemented when the public interest requires. The division permits a diminution to be carried out either by abolishing an office and removing the employee from the employee’s classification or grade thereunder, or reducing the number of employees in any classification or grade by suspending the necessary number. The division provides for such removal to be carried out based on seniority and requires that employees so removed be placed on a preferred list for at least three years for purposes of appointments or promotions made during that period to the person’s former duties. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. The division makes changes in terminology relating to adverse employment actions for city civil service employees. The division makes additional conforming changes. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS. The division takes effect upon enactment. The division applies to employment actions taken on or after the effective date of the division. | In Committee |
| SF223 | A bill for an act appropriating moneys to the department of health and human services for refugee resettlement assistance. | This bill appropriates $2.5 million for FY 2024-2025 from the general fund of the state to the department of health and human services (HHS) to distribute to nonprofit resettlement agencies (agency) participating in the reception and placement assistance program under the United States department of state to provide resettlement assistance to refugees in Iowa. HHS shall distribute the moneys proportionally to each agency based on the number of refugees the agency sponsors under the cooperative agreement. The bill takes effect upon enactment, and HHS shall distribute the moneys no later than seven calendar days after enactment. | In Committee |
| SF209 | A bill for an act relating to insurance coverage for prescription insulin drugs. | This bill relates to prescription insulin drugs and coverage by policies, contracts, or plans providing for third-party payment or prepayment of health or medical expenses that provide coverage for prescription drugs. The bill requires a policy, contract, or plan providing for third-party payment or prepayment of health or medical expenses that provides coverage for prescription drugs to cap the total amount of cost-sharing that a covered person is required to pay per prescription filled of an insulin drug to an amount not more than $25 for an up to 31-day supply of at least one type of rapid-acting prescription insulin drugs, short-acting prescription insulin drugs, intermediate-acting prescription insulin drugs, or long-acting prescription insulin drugs. “Prescription insulin drug” is defined in the bill as a prescription drug that contains insulin, is used to treat diabetes, has been prescribed as medically necessary by a covered person’s health care professional, and is a benefit covered by a covered person’s policy, contract, or plan. The bill defines “cost-sharing” as any coverage limit, copayment, coinsurance, deductible, or other out-of-pocket expense imposed on a covered person. The bill does not prohibit a policy, contract, or plan providing for third-party payment or prepayment of health or medical expenses from reducing a covered person’s cost-sharing to less than $25 for up to a 31-day supply of a prescription insulin drug. The bill applies to third-party payment provider contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issued for delivery, continued, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2026, by the third-party payment providers enumerated in the bill. The bill specifies the types of specialized health-related insurance which are not subject to the coverage requirements of the bill. The commissioner of insurance may adopt rules to administer the requirements of the bill. | In Committee |
| SF210 | A bill for an act relating to the licensing, regulation, and discipline of licensed health professionals. | This bill relates to the regulation of licensed health professionals. Prior to issuing a license to practice a health profession, the bill requires a health profession licensing board to consult the national practitioner data bank, the child abuse registry, and the sex offender registry for any information that would constitute grounds to decline to issue a license to an applicant. The bill also requires the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing to create an integrated database by July 1, 2026, that contains all information found in the national practitioner data bank and all state disciplinary records and actions, which shall be available to the public at no cost. The bill requires the integrated database to include a clearly identifiable function that identifies whether each licensee has had a complaint filed against the licensee for sexual misconduct or sexual assault, as defined in the bill, substance use, medical malpractice, or substandard practice. Upon the creation of the integrated database, the bill requires a health profession licensing board to consult the database before issuing a license to an applicant. If a health profession licensing board identifies a founded case of sexual misconduct against an applicant, the bill prohibits the board from issuing a license to the applicant unless 10 years have elapsed since the conduct giving rise to the case, and the applicant has completed a problematic sexualized behavior treatment program. If a health profession licensing board identifies a founded case of sexual misconduct against a current licensee, the bill requires the board to suspend the license of the licensee until 10 years have elapsed since the conduct giving rise to the case, and the licensee has completed a problematic sexualized behavior treatment program. The bill imposes on licensees a duty to report any other licensee that the licensee knows to have violated a law or rule regarding sexual misconduct, sexual assault, or substance use within five days of obtaining such knowledge to the relevant board. The bill requires each health profession licensing board to require each licensee to complete at least one hour of continuing education per licensure renewal cycle on the licensee’s duty to report. The bill requires a person who employs a licensed health professional to submit to the board who licenses the person information regarding all disciplinary actions taken against the licensee. Upon the receipt of a complaint against a licensee, the bill also requires a board to provide a copy of the complaint to the licensee’s employer, all insurance carriers who have billed for the licensee’s services in the past year, and the licensee’s medical malpractice insurance company, if applicable, if the board receives the express written permission of the complainant. The bill requires health profession licensing boards to take certain actions in response to the receipt of complaints on specified matters. For a complaint of sexual misconduct, a board shall require a licensee to practice under supervision until the conclusion of the board’s investigation. For a complaint of sexual assault, the board shall suspend the license of the licensee until the conclusion of the board’s investigation. The bill requires health profession licensing boards to prioritize investigations of complaints of sexual misconduct and sexual assault such that the average length of such investigations does not exceed 30 days. If a licensee is criminally charged with sexual abuse or human trafficking, a health profession licensing board shall immediately suspend the license of the licensee, and a board shall permanently revoke the license of a licensee who is convicted of sexual abuse or human trafficking. The bill requires a law enforcement officer to provide all information gathered pursuant to an investigation of a claim of sexual abuse or human trafficking against a licensee to the relevant licensing board if the law enforcement officer terminates the investigation without requesting that charges be filed, charges are dropped, or a conviction is overturned. The board shall then permanently revoke the license of a licensee if the board finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the underlying conduct occurred. The bill requires a licensed health professional who is practicing on a probationary basis to provide a written disclosure regarding the basis for the licensee’s probationary status to a person or the person’s guardian prior to providing services. Prior to granting a license to an applicant for a license to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery who has practiced in another state, the bill requires the board of medicine to obtain the complete disciplinary history of the applicant from each state in which the applicant has practiced and determine whether the history requires the board to decline to issue a license or complete an additional investigation before issuing a license. The bill allows the board of medicine to discipline a physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon who is employed by a health insurer and denies a claim for any reason not supported by the sound medical judgment of the licensee. The bill removes the privileged and confidential status of files relating to a licensing board investigation of a licensee once the licensing board completes its investigation. The bill prohibits a licensing board from releasing investigative files containing personally identifiable information without the express written consent of the complainant. The bill makes disciplinary records of a licensed health professional admissible in a civil action to the extent that they show a pattern of misconduct or a breach of professional duties. | In Committee |
| SF188 | A bill for an act relating to health insurance coverage for contraceptive devices, drugs, and services. | This bill relates to health insurance coverage for contraceptive devices, drugs, and services. The bill prohibits a policy, contract, or plan providing for third-party payment or prepayment of health or medical expenses (policy), and that provides coverage for prescription drugs, from excluding or restricting benefits for contraceptive drugs, contraceptive devices (contraceptives), or generic equivalents, if the policy provides benefits for other prescription drugs or devices. “Contraceptive device” and “contraceptive drug” are defined in the bill. The bill also prohibits a policy from excluding or restricting benefits for outpatient contraceptive services that are provided for the purpose of preventing conception if the policy provides benefits for other outpatient services provided by a health care professional (professional). A policy is prohibited from denying to an individual eligibility, or continued eligibility, to enroll in or renew coverage under the terms of the policy because of the individual’s use or potential use of contraceptives or outpatient contraceptive services; providing a monetary payment or rebate to a covered individual to encourage such individual to accept less than the minimum benefits provided for under the bill; penalizing, reducing, or limiting the reimbursement to a professional because such professional prescribes contraceptives or provides contraceptive services; and from providing incentives to a professional to induce such professional to withhold from a covered individual contraceptives or contraceptive services. The bill also prohibits a policy from imposing upon any covered individual any deductible, coinsurance, or copayment for benefits for contraceptives or contraceptive services. Under the bill, a policy that provides coverage for more than one therapeutically equivalent version of a contraceptive may impose cost-sharing requirements, provided that at least one therapeutically equivalent version of the contraceptive is available without cost-sharing. If a covered individual’s professional recommends a particular contraceptive based on a determination of medical need, a policy shall provide coverage for the recommended contraceptive without cost-sharing. The bill does not limit or otherwise discourage the use of generic equivalent drugs approved by the United States food and drug administration, whenever available and appropriate. When a brand-name drug is requested by a covered individual and a suitable generic equivalent is available and appropriate, the bill does not prohibit a third-party payor from requiring the covered individual to pay a deductible, coinsurance, or copayment, in addition to the difference of the cost of the brand-name drug less the maximum covered amount for a generic equivalent. The bill does not require a third-party payor under a policy to provide benefits for experimental or investigational contraceptives, or experimental or investigational contraceptive services, except to the extent that such policy provides coverage for other experimental or investigational outpatient prescription drugs or devices, or experimental or investigational outpatient health care services. A policy shall not impose any burdensome restrictions or delays on the coverage required by the bill and shall provide clear, written, and complete information on its internet site, and by mail upon request, about the contraceptive coverage included and excluded from the offered plans. A policy shall include a coverage provision. The policy shall provide that the policyholder may reject the coverage provision at the option of the policyholder. The bill applies to third-party payment provider contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issued for delivery, continued, or renewed in this state, on or after January 1, 2026, by the third-party payment providers enumerated in the bill. The bill specifies the types of specialized health-related insurance not subject to the bill. | In Committee |
| SF185 | A bill for an act establishing a retirement savings plan trust, and including implementation provisions. | This bill creates the Iowa retirement savings plan trust under the office of treasurer of state for the purpose of helping Iowans save for retirement. The bill provides that the trust be operated so that, for federal tax purposes, it meets the requirements of a retirement plan as provided by the Internal Revenue Code and functions according to other federal law. The state treasurer is the trustee of the trust and has numerous powers, as specified in the bill, for the purpose of carrying out the purpose of the trust. Powers granted the treasurer of state to effectuate the purpose of the trust include entering into agreements with trust participants and employers, investing moneys in the trust, and entering into any agreements or contracts necessary to carry out the purposes of the trust. The bill provides that individuals who are employed for compensation in this state and whose wages are subject to withholding by the state are automatically enrolled in the trust by the treasurer of state with a default contribution rate of 5 percent, which can be adjusted at the participant’s request. A participant may opt out of the trust at any time. Employers may allow employees to have their contributions deducted from their paychecks. Employer contributions to the trust are not required, and if an employer chooses to make contributions, the employer has no proprietary right to the moneys in the trust. The bill requires the treasurer of state to provide participants with reports on the trust fund at least once per year. The bill also requires that all participant account information be maintained as confidential, except as necessary to administer the trust or as agreed to in writing by the person who provides the information or is the subject of the information. The bill prohibits local governments from establishing or offering retirement plans for anyone other than public employees. The bill provides that the state, the treasurer of state, and the trust shall not guarantee any rate of return on any contributions to the trust and are not liable for any loss incurred by any person as a result of participating in the trust. The bill requires the treasurer to submit an annual audited financial report on the operations of the trust. The bill provides that when the requirements of the bill are enacted, the treasurer shall not allow individuals to make contributions to the trust earlier than July 1, 2026. | In Committee |
| SF190 | A bill for an act establishing certain privileges for communications made regarding incidents of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination and creating a special motion for expedited relief in such actions. | This bill establishes certain privileges for communications made regarding incidents of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination and creates a special motion for expedited relief in those actions involving defamation, libel, and slander. The bill provides definitions. The bill applies to a cause of action asserted in a civil action against a person involving communications about sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination are not actionable under Code chapter 659 unless made with malice. The bill only applies to a person that has, or at any time had, a reasonable basis to file a complaint of sexual abuse, harassment, or discrimination, whether the complaint is, or was, filed or not. The bill provides for attorney fees and damages available to a prevailing defendant in any action brought under Code chapter 659 (libel and slander) against that defendant for making that communication. The bill allows a defendant in an action of such privileged communication to request an expedited review. The bill further provides for a prevailing defendant in any libel or slander action to recover (1) reasonable attorney fees and costs, (2) noneconomic damages, (3) punitive damages, and (4) any other relief otherwise permitted by law. The bill provides that no later than 60 days after being served with a cause of action to which the bill applies, or at a later time upon showing of good cause, a party may file a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss the cause of action or part of the cause of action. The filing of the special motion stays all other proceedings between the parties, and the court has discretion to stay a proceeding involving another party if the hearing or ruling on motion would adjudicate an issue material to the motion. A hearing shall be held no later than 60 days after filing the motion, unless the court orders a later hearing to allow discovery or for good cause. A stay remains in effect until an order ruling on the motion is entered and the 30-day appeal period following the order has concluded. During a stay, the court may allow limited discovery if a party shows the information is not reasonably available and that specific information is necessary to establish whether a party has satisfied the party’s burden under the bill. The court may also, for good cause, hear and rule on motions unrelated to the special motion and a motion seeking an injunction. The bill provides that a motion for costs, attorney fees, and expenses is not subject to the special motion for expedited relief stay. The parties’ ability to voluntarily dismiss or move to sever is not affected by the special motion for expedited relief stay. The bill provides that in ruling on a special motion for expedited relief, the court shall dismiss with prejudice a cause of action, or part of a cause of action, if the moving party establishes that either the responding party fails to establish a prima facie case as to each essential element of the cause of action or the moving party establishes that the responding party failed to state a cause of action upon which relief can be granted or there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the cause of action or part of the cause of action. The bill provides that the court may award court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable litigation fees relating to the special motion to the prevailing party. | In Committee |
| SF184 | A bill for an act modifying the periods of time to bring civil actions by victims of sexual abuse, human trafficking, or sexual exploitation. | This bill provides that there is no time limitation to bring civil actions relating to sexual abuse, human trafficking, or exploitation of a minor regardless of the theory of liability in the action. Under current Code section 614.1(12), a civil action for damages for injury suffered as result of sexual abuse or sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, school employee, or adult providing training or instruction can only be brought within five years after the date that the victim was either last treated by the counselor or therapist or last enrolled in or attended the school. Current Code section 614.8A provides a four-year limitation for civil actions of sexual abuse against a child not discovered until after the injured person is of the age of majority. These provisions are stricken or repealed to the extent they are duplicative or inconsistent with the bill. If an action was previously dismissed before the effective date of the bill on the grounds that it was time-barred or because the party failed to file a petition, the bill provides the party the right to file a revival action. The bill also provides that state tort claims and tort liability of governmental subdivisions statutes of limitations do not apply to sexual abuse, human trafficking, or exploitation of a minor actions. The bill takes effect upon enactment. | In Committee |
| SF187 | A bill for an act relating to wage discrimination under the Iowa civil rights Act of 1965 and making penalties applicable. | This bill relates to wage discrimination under Code chapter 216, the Iowa civil rights Act of 1965. The bill establishes additional unfair or discriminatory practices relating to wages under Code section 216.6A. Penalty and remedial provisions for discriminatory employment practices, including penalties specific to wage discrimination, are applicable under Code chapter 216 to violations of these requirements. The bill prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to refrain from disclosing, discussing, or sharing information about the amount of the employee’s wages, benefits, or other compensation or from inquiring, discussing, or sharing information about any other employee’s wages, benefits, or other compensation as a condition of employment. The bill prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to sign a waiver or other document that requires an employee to refrain from engaging in any of those activities as a condition of employment. The bill prohibits an employer from discriminating or retaliating against an employee for engaging in any of the activities. The bill prohibits an employer from seeking salary history information from a potential employee as a condition of a job interview or employment. This provision shall not be construed to prohibit a prospective employer from asking a prospective employee what salary level the prospective employee would require in order to accept a job. The bill prohibits an employer from releasing the salary history of any current or former employee to any prospective employer in response to a request as part of an interview or hiring process without written authorization from such current or former employee. The bill prohibits an employer from publishing, listing, or posting within the employer’s organization, with any employment agency, job-listing service, or internet site, or in any other public manner, an advertisement to recruit candidates for hire or independent contractors to fill a position within the employer’s organization without including the minimum rate of pay of the position. The rate of pay shall include overtime and allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage, including but not limited to tipped wages. The bill prohibits an employer from paying a newly hired employee at less than the rate of pay advertised for the employee’s position. Under current law, an employer has an affirmative defense to a claim under Code section 216.6A if a pay differential is based on any other factor other than prohibited wage discrimination. The bill provides that an employer has an affirmative defense to a claim under Code section 216.6A if a pay differential is based on any other bona fide factor other than prohibited discrimination, including but not limited to a bona fide factor relating to education, training, or experience. However, this affirmative defense shall only apply if the employer demonstrates that the factor is not based on or derived from prohibited wage discrimination, is job related with respect to the position in question, and is consistent with a business necessity. The bill defines “business necessity” as an overriding legitimate business purpose such that the factor relied upon effectively fulfills the business purpose it is supposed to serve. This affirmative defense shall not apply if the employee demonstrates that an alternative business practice exists that would serve the same business purpose without producing the wage differential. The bill provides that affirmative defenses to a claim under Code section 216.6A are not applicable unless one or more of the defenses account for the entire pay differential that is the subject of the claim. | In Committee |
| SF192 | A bill for an act relating to authorized uses of moneys in the victim compensation fund. | This bill provides that moneys in the victim compensation fund are appropriated to the department of justice for the provision or reimbursement of a victim of sexual assault for emergency contraception or other health care treatment, including abortion, among other purposes set forth under current law. | In Committee |
| SF189 | A bill for an act relating to medical malpractice by exempting claims involving sexual assault from the limitations on noneconomic damages. | This bill creates an exception to a medical malpractice limitation on damages in personal injury actions that involve a sexual assault. The bill provides that if the health care provider is a defendant in a personal injury action, the limitation on noneconomic damages does not apply if the defendant’s action is sexual in nature regardless of if the action was committed under the guise of medical diagnosis, counseling, or treatment or if the patient believed at the time the act occurred it was for medical diagnosis, counseling, or treatment. | In Committee |
| SF191 | A bill for an act relating to sexual abuse evidence collection kits, including testing, retention, and inventory requirements. | This bill relates to sexual abuse evidence collection kits, including testing, retention, and inventory requirements. The bill provides that a health care provider conducting a forensic medical examination and utilizing a sexual abuse evidence collection kit (kit) shall contact the law enforcement agency under whose jurisdiction the sexual abuse offense occurred within 24 hours after the evidence was collected from a victim to notify the law enforcement agency to collect and store the kit. The bill provides that the law enforcement agency collecting the evidence shall obtain the kit from a health care provider within three days of receiving notification from a health care provider that evidence has been collected from a victim. The bill provides that a law enforcement agency shall store a kit for a minimum of 50 years, or in the case of a minor victim for a minimum of 50 years after the minor reaches the age of majority, even if the reported victim of sexual abuse has not filed a criminal complaint. The bill provides that a law enforcement agency shall transfer a kit to a laboratory for analysis within 7 days of obtaining a kit from a health care provider, and that the laboratory receiving a kit from a law enforcement agency shall conduct an analysis of the evidence collected from a victim’s forensic medical examination within 30 days of receipt of the kit. The laboratory shall conduct testing to develop a DNA profile that is eligible for entry into the national DNA index system and the state DNA index system. If a complete DNA profile is not established from the DNA sample, the laboratory shall evaluate the case to determine if any other DNA profiling results can be used for investigative purposes. In a case in which the testing results in a DNA profile, the laboratory shall enter the full profile into the national DNA index system and the state DNA index system. If the laboratory is unable to meet the analysis and documentation time requirements, the laboratory shall transfer an untested kit to an accredited private laboratory. The bill provides that a law enforcement agency in possession of an anonymous kit may dispose of the kit 30 days after the 50-year retention period required for other kits. The bill provides that by January 15, 2026, and annually thereafter, all medical facilities, law enforcement agencies, laboratories, and any other facilities that receive, maintain, store, or preserve kits shall submit a report containing all of the following information to the department of public safety (DPS): the total number of all untested kits in the possession of each medical facility, law enforcement agency, laboratory, or any other facility that receives, maintains, stores, or preserves kits; whether the sexual abuse was reported to law enforcement, or the victim chose not to file a report with law enforcement; for medical facilities, the date the kit was reported to law enforcement, and the date the kit was picked up from the facility by law enforcement; for law enforcement agencies, the date the kit was picked up from a medical facility, the date the kit was submitted to a laboratory, and for any kit not submitted to a laboratory, the reasons for not submitting the kit; for laboratories, the date the kit was received from law enforcement and from which agency the kit was received, the date the kit was tested, the date any resulting information was entered into any state or national DNA index system, or reasons for not testing a kit or entering information into a DNA index system; the total number of kits in the possession of the entity for more than 30 days beyond the statutory requirements specified in Code section 709.10; and the total number of kits destroyed by the entity, and the reasons for the destruction of the kits. The bill provides that DPS shall compile the data from the reports into a summary report that shall include a list of all agencies or facilities that failed to participate in the required inventory. The annual summary report shall be made publicly available on DPS’s website and shall be submitted to the governor and the general assembly. | In Committee |
| SF147 | A bill for an act relating to wage payment collection issues arising between employers and employees, providing penalties and remedies, and including effective date provisions. | This bill relates to the collection of wages from employers by employees under Code chapter 91A, the “Iowa Wage Payment Collection Law”. The bill provides that an employer has the burden to establish that a deduction from employees’ wages is lawful and that the employer must obtain written authorization for the deduction from the employee in advance. The bill removes the requirement that an employer be notified by the director of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing before the employer is required to fulfill requirements relating to employee wage and benefit information. The bill requires an employer to notify employees in writing whose wages are determined based on a task, piece, mile, or load basis about the method used to calculate wages and when wages are earned. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that an employer did not pay the minimum wage if the employer does not maintain proper payroll records. The bill requires an employer to provide to each employee a statement of the employee’s earnings, deductions made, and as applicable the following: for an employee paid hourly, the number of hours worked during the pay period; for an employee paid on a percentage of sales or revenue generated, a list of sales or amount of revenue during the pay period; and for an employee paid based on the number of miles or loads performed, the applicable number performed during the pay period. The bill provides that when any specified violation of Code chapter 91A occurs, even if unintentional, an employer shall be liable for unpaid wages or expenses plus liquidated damages, court costs, and attorney fees incurred in recovering wages. The bill requires the director to employ wage investigators for the enforcement of Code chapter 91A. The bill requires the director, upon the written complaint of the employee involved, to determine whether wages have not been paid and may constitute an enforceable claim. Under current law, making such a determination is discretionary. The bill increases the period after which the director is prohibited from accepting complaints for unpaid wages and liquidated damages to three years from the date the wages became due and payable. Under current law, the period is one year from that date. Prohibitions on retaliatory actions by employers or others are expanded to cover persons other than employees who act under Code chapter 91A with respect to an employee. A 90-day period is established during which any action against an employee or other person is rebuttably presumed to be retaliatory. The bill allows the director or any injured party to maintain a civil action in any court of proper jurisdiction. An employer who retaliates against an employee or other person shall compensate the injured party an amount set by the director or the court, but not less than $150 for each day of the violation. The bill modifies language relating to procedures for the director to impose civil penalties on an employer for violations of Code chapter 91A by making certain actions by the director mandatory. The bill provides that if an employer inadvertently violates the provisions of Code chapter 91A or the rules adopted pursuant to Code chapter 91A, the employer shall not be subject to certain penalty provisions provided in Code chapter 91A if certain conditions are met. The first condition is that the director determines that the violation was inadvertent and that the employer attempted in good faith to comply with the provisions of Code chapter 91A and the rules adopted pursuant to Code chapter 91A. The second condition is that the director, after considering any history of violations by the employer, determines that the violation was isolated in nature. The third condition is that the employer corrects the violation to the satisfaction of the director within 14 days of the occurrence of the violation. The bill prohibits an employer from requiring an individual to be a current employee to be paid an earned commission. The bill stipulates that a provision of Code chapter 91A shall not apply to any employer or employee if such provision would conflict with federal law or regulation. The bill requires the director to provide for the notification of each employer in Iowa of the requirements for employers provided in the bill by September 1, 2025. Such notification shall include suggested forms and procedures that employers may use for purposes of compliance with the notice and recordkeeping requirements of Code chapter 91A as amended by the bill. An employer who violates Code chapter 91A is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 per pay period for each violation. The bill, except for the provision providing for notification of employees in Iowa by the director, takes effect January 1, 2026. | In Committee |
| SF157 | A bill for an act relating to the maximum amount of unemployment benefits payable during a benefit year. | This bill provides that the maximum total amount of unemployment benefits payable to an eligible individual during a benefit year shall not exceed 26 times the individual’s weekly benefit amount, rather than 16 times the weekly benefit amount as provided under current law. | In Committee |
| SF133 | A bill for an act relating to the provision of period products. | This bill requires period products to be available at no cost in certain buildings, institutions, and facilities under the control of the state and in schools. The bill requires that the entity with authority over a state building shall ensure period products are available, at no cost, in the restrooms of the state building. The bill requires institutions controlled by the director of the department of health and human services to make period products available, at no cost, to residents or patients of the institutions in locations and as appropriate to the health care needs of the residents or patients, and to staff and the public, in the restrooms of the institutions. The bill requires the superintendent of the school for the deaf to make period products available, at no cost, to students, staff, and the public in the restrooms of school buildings and of each campus building frequented by students, staff, and the public. The bill requires the board of directors of each public school district and the authorities in charge of each nonpublic school to ensure that period products are available, at no cost, to students, staff, and the public in the restrooms of school buildings. Subject to funding appropriated for this purpose, the department of education shall reimburse each public school for the reasonable cost of providing period products. The bill requires the department of corrections to ensure period products are available to offenders committed to the institutions at no cost and in a quantity and as appropriate to the health care needs of the individual offender. The bill also requires the department of corrections to ensure period products are available, at no cost, to staff and the public, in the restrooms of institutions. For the purposes of the bill, “period products” means tampons and period pads for use in connection with the menstrual cycle. | In Committee |
| SF134 | A bill for an act requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth and providing civil penalties. | This bill requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth. The bill requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee based on medical conditions related to the employee’s pregnancy or childbirth if the employee requests reasonable accommodations with the advice of the employee’s health care provider. The bill defines “reasonable accommodations” as actions which would permit an employee with a medical condition relating to the employee’s pregnancy or childbirth to perform in a reasonable manner the activities involved in the employee’s specific occupation and include but are not limited to the provision of an accessible worksite, acquisition or modification of equipment, job restructuring, and a modified work schedule. The bill provides that “reasonable accommodations” does not mean any action that would impose an undue hardship on the business of the employer from whom the action is requested. The bill provides that an employer who violates the bill is subject to a civil penalty of up to $750. The director of the Iowa office of civil rights shall adopt rules to enforce the bill and provide exemptions where reasonable. The director or director’s representative upon presenting appropriate credentials to the person in charge may inspect employment records relating to the total number of employees and pregnant employees or employees recovering from childbirth and the services provided to pregnant employees or employees recovering from childbirth, as well as interview an employer, operator, owner, agent, or employee during working hours or at other reasonable times. The bill provides that compliance with minimum standards required by the bill shall not be subject to or considered in collective bargaining. | In Committee |
| SF125 | A bill for an act relating to regulation of psychologists employed by a state institution, agency, or research facility. | This bill strikes a provision exempting persons employed by a state institution, agency, or research facility from the provisions of Code chapter 154B (psychology). | In Committee |
| SF99 | A bill for an act relating to the regulation of tanning facilities, and making penalties applicable. | This bill prohibits a tanning facility from allowing a person under 18 years of age to use a tanning device. By operation of law, a person who violates the bill is subject to enforcement actions by the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing, including a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 and an injunction restraining any violation. | In Committee |
| SF131 | A bill for an act relating to evidence-based maternal and infant home visiting services. | This bill requires the department of health and human services to engage in a cross-agency collaboration with the department of education to identify and leverage funding sources and opportunities, including Medicaid, to expand evidence-based home visiting services for women and infants that promote healthy pregnancies, positive birth outcomes, and healthy infant growth and development. The departments shall involve key stakeholders in designing evidence-based home visiting services for women prenatally, throughout the pregnancy, and postpartum, and shall include mental and physical health, social, educational, and other services and interventions. The departments may conduct a feasibility study to consider options to increase Medicaid coverage and funding of evidence-based home visiting services, either through a state plan amendment or waiver. The department of health and human services shall seek federal approval of any Medicaid state plan amendment or waiver necessary to administer the bill. The department of health and human services shall submit a report to the general assembly by July 1, 2026, with the number of individuals who received evidence-based home visiting services as a result of the funding sources and opportunities identified and leveraged. | In Committee |
| SF122 | A bill for an act relating to the eligibility of children of a minor parent for the state child care assistance program. | This bill relates to the eligibility of children of a minor parent for the state child care assistance (CCA) program. The bill allows the children of at least one minor parent to be automatically eligible for CCA irrespective of other eligibility requirements. The bill prohibits the department of health and human services from applying waiting list requirements to the children for the purposes of CCA. | In Committee |
| SF129 | A bill for an act relating to the submission and posting of certain hospital policies. | This bill relates to the submission and posting of certain hospital policies. The bill requires a licensed hospital, no later than September 1, 2025, to submit its policies related to nondiscrimination and reproductive health care to the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing (DIAL). If the hospital provides labor and delivery services, it must also submit its policies related to certain best practices and safety bundles, as described in the bill. The bill defines “reproductive health care”. The bill requires DIAL to post a copy of the policies on DIAL’s internet site and to develop and implement an interactive online tool that allows the public to compare the policies. If a hospital makes a change to a policy, the hospital must submit a copy of the policy to DIAL within 30 calendar days after the hospital approves the alteration. The bill requires a hospital to post a copy of its policies on the hospital’s internet site where the policies are readily accessible to the public without requiring a login credential or otherwise restricting access. | In Committee |
| SF132 | A bill for an act relating to Medicaid coverage of maternity care including doula care. | This bill relates to maternal and child health improvements under the Medicaid program by directing the department of health and human services (HHS) under both fee-for-service and managed care administration of Medicaid to adopt rules pursuant to Code chapter 17A, amend any contract with a managed care organization, and apply for any Medicaid state plan amendment or waiver as may be necessary to provide maternity care including doula care as defined in the bill. The bill provides that HHS, in collaboration with stakeholders, shall establish a certification and participating provider enrollment process for doulas, and a reimbursement rate for doula services. | In Committee |
| SF144 | A bill for an act relating to the creation of land redevelopment trusts. | This bill provides for the establishment of land redevelopment trusts. Division I of the bill authorizes one or more municipalities to establish a land redevelopment trust as a method to return dilapidated, abandoned, blighted, and tax-delinquent properties in their communities to economically productive status. An established land redevelopment trust is a public agency for the purpose of joint exercise of governmental powers, a governmental body for purposes of public meetings requirements of Code chapter 21, and a government body for purposes of public records requirements of Code chapter 22. Land redevelopment trusts are subject to periodic examination by the auditor of state under Code chapter 11. The bill requires the board of directors of a land redevelopment trust to establish bylaws addressing matters necessary to govern the conduct of the land redevelopment trust. Division I of the bill also grants a land redevelopment trust various powers and duties, including the authority to acquire properties through certain procedures, including the purchase of tax sale certificates and the foreclosure of properties acquired at a tax sale if not redeemed. However, the bill explicitly prohibits a land redevelopment trust from possessing or exercising the power of eminent domain. The bill establishes financing procedures that govern land redevelopment trusts, including allowing to be remitted to the land redevelopment trust up to 75 percent of real property taxes collected on a real property conveyed or leased by a land redevelopment trust that remains after the division of taxes for an urban renewal area and exclusive of any amount levied by a school district for five consecutive years after the property is again put on the tax rolls. The bill requires a land redevelopment trust to submit annual reports to the governing body that created the land redevelopment trust. The bill provides procedures for disposing of property that is acquired by the land redevelopment trust. The bill also provides procedures for dissolving a land redevelopment trust. Division II of the bill creates a land redevelopment trust tax sale procedure, which allows a land redevelopment trust to acquire abandoned, blighted, or dilapidated properties through an exclusive tax sale. In order to acquire property through a land redevelopment trust tax sale, the land redevelopment trust shall file a verified statement identifying the parcels for which the land redevelopment trust intends to purchase the tax sale certificates and shall pay the delinquent total amounts due on each parcel before May 15. Upon timely receipt of the land redevelopment trust’s verified statement and payment, the county treasurer shall remove the identified parcels from the regular annual tax sale and place those parcels in the land redevelopment trust tax sale. The land redevelopment trust tax sale shall occur before a public nuisance tax sale. Division III of the bill makes changes throughout the Code to conform with land redevelopment trust procedures established in division I of the bill. | In Committee |
| SF124 | A bill for an act relating to the issuance of a subpoena or search warrant for menstrual health data. | This bill relates to the issuance of a subpoena or search warrant for menstrual health data. The bill provides that no subpoena shall be issued or served for the purpose of seeking menstrual health data as defined in Code section 808.2(2). Code section 808.2 currently provides that a search warrant may be issued for property which has been obtained in violation of law; for the unlawful possession of property; for property used or possessed to commit a public offense or to conceal an offense from being discovered; or for any other property relevant and material as evidence in a criminal prosecution. The bill provides that no search warrant shall be issued for the search and seizure of menstrual health data stored on a computer, computer network, or other device containing electronic or digital information. The bill defines “menstrual health data” as any information, recorded in any form or medium, that is created or received by an entity that relates to or is used to determine, predict, or estimate the past, present, or future menstrual health or menstrual status of an individual. | In Committee |
| SF123 | A bill for an act relating to funding of approved local preschool programs and including applicability provisions. | The amount of state funding for each school district’s approved local program under Code chapter 256C is determined using a preschool budget enrollment that is equal to 50 percent of the actual enrollment of eligible students in the preschool programming provided by a school district on October 1 of the base year. This bill changes the preschool budget enrollment used to determine funding to an amount equal to 100 percent of the actual enrollment of eligible students in the preschool programming provided by a school district on October 1 of the base year. The bill also modifies the funding calculation for the initial school year for which a school district is approved to participate in the program. The bill applies to school budget years beginning on or after July 1, 2026. | In Committee |
| SF85 | A bill for an act creating a health equity program and fund, and providing an appropriation. | This bill requires the department of health and human services (HHS) to establish a health equity program (program) to improve menstrual and post-menstrual health by providing for reimbursement of the costs associated with the provision of covered services and treatments related to menstrual and post-menstrual health conditions not otherwise covered by a third-party payor. The department shall promote the program statewide and limit program administrative costs to no more than 4 percent of the funds appropriated for the program on an annual basis. The bill requires HHS to adopt administrative rules to administer the program and specify the types of services and treatments covered under the program, and requires that the covered services and treatments shall include health care services, treatments, supplies, and drugs needed to treat a menstrual or post-menstrual illness, injury, condition, disease, or its symptoms that comply with standard medical practice, or are approved by the United States food and drug administration or are recommended or preferred by the patient’s provider and supported by appropriate medical records. The department shall establish a process for the registration of participating providers eligible to receive reimbursement through the program. A participating provider shall be reimbursed for a covered service or treatment through the program fund within 10 days of submission of a billing statement, and if applicable, the billing statement shall confirm that the patient is uninsured or that the service or treatment is not covered by the patient’s insurer. The amount billed by the participating provider shall not exceed the actual cost incurred by the provider in delivering the covered service or treatment. Reimbursement shall be paid directly to the participating provider and such payment shall be considered payment in full. The program shall be the payor of last resort. If sufficient program funds are not available to cover all of the billings submitted, HHS shall place a participating provider on a reimbursement waiting list in the order the participating provider’s billing statement was received. The provisions of the bill are not to be construed as granting an entitlement to reimbursement for any covered service or treatment provided by a participating provider. The bill creates a health equity program fund under the control of HHS. The fund includes amounts appropriated by the general assembly and other moneys available from federal or private sources. Moneys in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert but remain in the fund. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to HHS for the purposes of the program. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the program fund a sum which reflects the total equivalent of all state revenue expended for genitourinary agents for state employees under the group insurance plan for public employees pursuant to Code chapter 509A, for the fiscal period between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2022. The department shall submit an annual report to the governor and the general assembly regarding the status of the program and fund including the balance remaining in the fund, the number of participating providers, the total amount billed per participating provider, the covered services and treatments for which reimbursement was provided in the previous year, and any recommendations for changes to the program or fund. The bill defines “genitourinary agents” and “period products”. | In Committee |
| SF91 | A bill for an act modifying provisions related to the determination of school enrollment, and including effective date and applicability provisions. | This bill modifies provisions related to the determination of school enrollment. Code section 257.6(1)(a) provides that each school district’s actual enrollment is determined annually on October 1, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. The bill amends methodology for determining the actual enrollment each year. Under the bill, actual enrollment is determined annually by calculating the average of the count on October 1, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, and the count on March 1 immediately succeeding the October determination, or the succeeding Monday if March 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. The bill makes similar changes to the provisions of Code section 257.6 governing the calculation of each school district’s additional enrollment because of special education and each school district’s pupils added due to application of supplementary weighting, by requiring an average of such amounts determined on two specified dates. The bill makes corresponding changes to other provisions of law. The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies to actual enrollment determinations for school budget years beginning on or after the effective date of the bill. | In Committee |
| SF100 | A bill for an act relating to mental health resources for students enrolled in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools. | This bill relates to mental health resources for students enrolled in school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools. The bill requires schools to publish on the school’s internet site the mental health resources created by your life Iowa, or a link to where such mental health resources may be accessed on your life Iowa’s internet site, and to partner with students enrolled in the school in order to find additional ways to increase student awareness of mental health resources and information related to mental health. | In Committee |
| SF86 | A bill for an act authorizing the boards of directors of school districts to appoint student liaisons to the boards. | This bill authorizes the boards of directors of school districts to select students to act as liaisons between the board, administrators, teachers, student council, and general student population. The board must develop and implement an application and selection process. If an applicant satisfies the application and selection process, the board is required to select at least one applicant to act as a student liaison. The student liaison must have a seat at the table of all regular meetings of the board and board subcommittee meetings in a nonvoting capacity and must also have access to all nonconfidential board meeting materials. The student liaison may perform functions of benefit to the students and the district that the board deems appropriate for a student to carry out. The bill prohibits the student liaison from participating in special meetings of the board, being involved in board meetings related to employee or student discipline, or having access to documents involving employee or student discipline. The bill requires the director of the department of education to develop and distribute to school districts a model application and selection process for the position of student liaison. | In Committee |
| SF58 | A bill for an act relating to school lunch and breakfast programs provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions. | This bill relates to school lunch and breakfast programs provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools (schools). For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2026, the bill requires each school to operate a program under which breakfasts and lunches are served to students in attendance at no charge to the student or the student’s family if the student’s family has a family income that is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2027, the bill requires each school to operate such a program if the student’s family has a family income that is less than or equal to 400 percent of the federal poverty level. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the bill requires each school to operate such a program regardless of the income of the student’s family. The bill appropriates from the general fund of the state to the department of education an amount necessary to make the payments to schools necessary to cover the costs of providing free school lunches and school breakfasts that are not covered by any Act of Congress and appropriated to the state of Iowa for use in connection with school breakfast or lunch programs. The bill requires the state board of education to adopt rules to administer these provisions. The bill makes conforming changes. The bill takes effect upon enactment. | In Committee |
| SF130 | A bill for an act relating to health insurance coverage for infertility. | This bill relates to health insurance coverage for the diagnosis of and treatment for infertility, and standard fertility preservation services (preservation services). The bill requires a policy, contract, or plan (plan) providing for third-party payment or prepayment of health or medical expenses to provide coverage for the diagnosis of and treatment for infertility, and for preservation services. “Diagnosis of and treatment for infertility”, “infertility”, and “standard fertility preservation services” are defined in the bill. Required coverage includes up to three completed oocyte retrievals with unlimited embryo transfers, using single embryo transfer if recommended and medically appropriate. Coverage of fertility medications shall not be less favorable than coverage for any other prescription medications under the plan. Deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, benefit maximums, waiting periods, or other limitations on coverage for the diagnosis of and treatment for infertility and preservation services shall not be any less favorable than those imposed on benefits for services covered under the plan that are not related to infertility. The bill provides an exception for a religious employer to request an exclusion from the required coverage and requires the religious employer to provide notice to employees of the exclusion. The bill applies to third-party payment provider contracts, policies, or plans delivered, issued for delivery, continued, or renewed in this state on or after July 1, 2025, by the third-party payment providers enumerated in the bill. The bill specifies the types of specialized health-related insurance not subject to the bill. The commissioner of insurance may adopt rules to administer the bill. | In Committee |
| SJR1 | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to the right to reproductive care. | A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to the right to reproductive care. | In Committee |
| SF66 | A bill for an act relating to testimony by certain witnesses by two-way closed-circuit equipment. | This bill relates to testimony by certain witnesses by two-way closed-circuit equipment. The bill provides that upon its own motion or upon motion of any party, a court may protect a minor up to 18 years of age from trauma caused by testifying in the physical presence of the defendant where it would impair the minor’s ability to communicate, by ordering that the testimony of the minor be taken in a room other than the courtroom and be televised by two-way closed-circuit equipment for viewing in the courtroom. Current law does not specify that the closed-circuit equipment be two-way. Upon a finding of necessity, the court may also allow the testimony of a victim or witness with a mental illness, an intellectual disability, or other developmental disability to be taken by two-way closed-circuit equipment regardless of the age of the victim or witness. | In Committee |
| SF65 | A bill for an act relating to background investigations for certification or recertification as a law enforcement officer. | This bill relates to background investigations for certification or recertification as a law enforcement officer. The bill provides that prior to enrollment in a certifying training program, all law enforcement officers shall be of good moral character as determined through a thorough background investigation and shall not have been convicted of any felony or a crime or adjudication involving moral turpitude. The bill defines “moral turpitude” as an act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties that a person owes to another person or to society in general, and includes conduct that is contrary to justice, honesty, or good morals. The bill provides that a crime or adjudication involving moral turpitude includes but is not limited to any of the following: offenses of domestic violence; an adjudication of delinquency based on conduct that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult; any sex crime or crime listed in Code chapter 709 (sexual abuse); any crime committed as an adult that resulted in being listed on the sex offender registry; an adjudication of delinquency based on conduct that would constitute a crime if committed by an adult that resulted in being listed on the sex offender registry; or any crime involving child abuse. The bill provides that law enforcement officers seeking recertification shall be subject to the same background investigation. | In Committee |
| SF101 | A bill for an act increasing the state minimum hourly wage and providing for subsequent increases by the same percentage as the increase in federal social security benefits. | This bill increases the state minimum hourly wage to $15.00 as of July 1, 2025. The bill increases the state minimum hourly wage for employees employed for less than 90 days to $14.10 as of July 1, 2025. The bill also increases the state minimum hourly wage, including the minimum hourly wage established for employees employed for less than 90 days, annually on July 1, beginning July 1, 2026, by the same percentage as the cost-of-living increase, if any, in social security benefits effective as of the previous December, as authorized by the federal social security administration. In no case shall the state hourly wage be decreased. | In Committee |
| SF109 | A bill for an act relating to a family leave and medical leave insurance program that provides for paid, job-protected leave for certain family leave and medical leave reasons for eligible employees of specified employers. | This bill relates to a family leave and medical leave insurance program (program), administered by the director of the department of workforce development, that provides for paid, job-protected leave for certain family leave and medical leave reasons for eligible employees of specified employers. An employee is eligible for family leave and medical leave after working for a covered employer, as defined in the bill, for a minimum of 12 consecutive months and a minimum of 1,250 hours during the 12 consecutive-month period immediately preceding the employee’s request for leave. “Family leave” and “medical leave” are defined in the bill. Family leave includes leave to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, to bond with a newborn child or adopted or foster child, or for a qualifying exigency for a family member as permitted under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as amended (FMLA). Medical leave includes leave due to the employee’s own serious health condition. “Serious health condition” is defined in the bill. The bill provides that an eligible employee may not receive more than 12 weeks of family leave, 12 weeks of medical leave, or 16 weeks of combined family and medical leave in a defined consecutive 12-month period. The defined consecutive 12-month period begins on the date of the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care with an eligible employee, or on the first date that an eligible employee takes either family leave or medical leave. The minimum duration of leave an eligible employee may take is eight consecutive hours. The bill disqualifies an employee from family leave and medical leave benefits under circumstances detailed in the bill. An employee must provide a minimum of 30 days’ notice to an employer of the employee’s intent to take leave. If circumstances require an employee’s leave to begin in less than 30 days, the employee must give as much notice as is practicable. If an eligible employee requests medical leave or family leave, the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule their own, or their family member’s, medical treatment to not unduly disrupt the employer’s operations. The bill requires an eligible employee to file a claim for benefits as required by the director. The employee must consent to the disclosure of private or confidential information to and from the department, and the employee’s employer, for administration of the leave. The bill specifies that such information is not a public record pursuant to Code section 22.1. The employee must attest that the employee has provided notice of intent to take leave to the employee’s employer. The employee must also authorize the employee’s, or the employee’s family member’s health care provider, to complete a certification of a serious health condition. The bill provides for a seven-day waiting period before benefits are payable. There is no waiting period for benefits for leave for the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care. The basis for the calculation of the amount of a family leave or medical leave benefit is an eligible employee’s weekly earnings as defined in the bill. The weekly leave benefit amount payable to an employee is detailed in the bill. The department must send the first benefit payment to an eligible employee within 10 days after a properly completed weekly claim for benefits is received by the department. If the employee continues to submit a properly completed weekly claim, subsequent payments are to be made at least biweekly. If an employer, or the department, contests an employee’s eligibility, benefit payments may be made on a conditional basis. The employee is required to pay the benefits back if the department later rules that the employee is ineligible for the benefits. The bill provides that the program shall be funded via employee and employer contributions. Beginning on January 1, 2029, and ending on December 31, 2030, the department must assess a covered employer a premium rate of four-tenths of one percent of an employee’s weekly wages, subject to a maximum as determined by the director based on the maximum wages subject to taxation for social security. One-third of the premium is to be used to fund family leave insurance benefits and two-thirds of the premium is to be used to fund medical leave benefits. A covered employer may deduct up to 45 percent of the medical leave premium and 45 percent of the family leave premium from an employee’s wage. The employer must pay the remaining 55 percent of both the medical leave and family leave premiums, and may elect to pay all or any portion of its employees’ share of such premiums. Beginning January 1, 2031, the premium rate shall be calculated by the director based on the family leave and medical leave insurance account balance ratio as of September 30 of the previous calendar year. The premium rate is adjusted based on the balance ratio as detailed in the bill. On September 30 of each year, the bill requires the department to average the number of employees reported by an employer over the last four completed calendar quarters to determine if the employer is a covered employer for the next calendar year. The bill requires a covered employer to collect all assessed premiums and surcharges from the employer’s employees through payroll deduction and to remit all premiums to the department as required by the director. An employer may apply for, and the director must grant, a waiver of premiums for an employee who is located physically outside of the state and not expected to work in the state for 1,250 or more hours in any consecutive 12-month period. If the employee subsequently works 1,250 or more hours within the state, the employer and employee are responsible for all premiums that should have been collected. Self-employed persons may elect to participate in the program as detailed in the bill. An eligible employee who takes family leave or medical leave is entitled to restoration of employment equal to but not greater than that provided by FMLA. The bill provides that if required under FMLA, an employer must maintain any existing health benefits during an employee’s leave. If the employer and employee normally share the cost of such, the employee is responsible for paying the employee’s share of the costs. A covered employer must submit reports as required by the director and maintain employment records for each employee from which the director may obtain information related to an employee’s leave. Such records must be maintained for 10 years. The bill provides that family leave or medical leave shall be in addition to leave required under state or federal law for sickness or temporary disability due to pregnancy or childbirth. The bill requires family leave or medical leave taken under this program to be taken concurrently with leave taken under FMLA. A covered employer may allow an employee to choose to use either accrued sick or vacation benefits, or family leave and medical leave benefits. An employee cannot receive family or medical leave benefits at the same time the employee is receiving state or federal unemployment, workers’ compensation, or disability benefits. The bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of any state or federally protected category. The bill requires the director to administer the program and to provide outreach to ensure that employers and employees are aware of the program and the benefits available under such. The bill provides that a family leave and medical leave insurance account shall be created in the custody of the treasurer of state. The director shall deposit all premiums collected from employers into such account and the account can only be used for the program as authorized by the director. The bill requires the director to adopt rules to implement and administer the provisions of the bill. The director may take any action under the director’s authority to enforce compliance with the bill. The director is required to analyze the funding of the program and the benefits payable from the program’s account. The director shall determine if the premium rates and the benefit levels are appropriate to fully fund and maintain the solvency of the program. The director must submit the findings to the general assembly no later than January 12, 2026. | In Committee |
| SF43 | A bill for an act authorizing cities to require radon testing for single family residences used as rental property. | This bill gives authority to cities to adopt or enforce ordinances that require radon testing for a single family residence when the owner applies for or renews a rental permit with the city. A “single family residence” means a structure maintained and used as a single dwelling unit, notwithstanding that a dwelling unit generally shares one or more walls with another dwelling unit and the structure has direct access to a street or thoroughfare and shares neither heating facilities, hot water equipment, nor any other essential facility or service with another dwelling unit. If a city adopts or enforces a radon testing ordinance for a single family residence used as a rental property, the owner of the rental property must provide to the city copies of the test results performed by a person certified in accordance with Code chapter 136B. The bill provides the time frame for an owner to have a radon mitigation system installed in accordance with Code chapter 136B if radon test results reach a specified level, retesting requirements, and applicability of prior radon test results when applying for or renewing rental permits with a city. | In Committee |
| SF63 | A bill for an act relating to the creation of an Iowa cancer research program, and making an appropriation. | This bill relates to the creation of an Iowa cancer research program. The bill appropriates $4 million from the general fund of the state to the department of health and human services (HHS) for FY 2025-2026 to be used by HHS to create an Iowa cancer research program within the division of public health of HHS to support cancer research projects at public institutions of higher education in the state. Of the funds appropriated, $1.25 million is allocated for each of the following: pediatric cancer research, cancer prevention research, and basic cancer research. HHS shall use requests for proposals to select projects at public institutions of higher education located in the state related to each type of research. The bill includes criteria to be used by HHS in selecting individual projects and authorizes HHS to utilize up to 5 percent of the moneys appropriated for administrative costs associated with the Iowa cancer research program. | In Committee |
| Bill | Bill Name | Motion | Vote Date | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HF189 | A bill for an act relating to the eligibility of students enrolled in nonpublic schools to compete in extracurricular interscholastic athletic contests or competitions provided by public schools, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HF 1.) Effective date: 06/06/2025, 08/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| HF189 | A bill for an act relating to the eligibility of students enrolled in nonpublic schools to compete in extracurricular interscholastic athletic contests or competitions provided by public schools, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HF 1.) Effective date: 06/06/2025, 08/01/2025. | Shall amendment S–3176 to amendment S–3171 be adopted? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| HF711 | A bill for an act relating to the practice of barbering and cosmetology arts and sciences, including establishment training programs, schools of barbering and cosmetology arts and sciences, and course of study. (Formerly HF 49.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| HF767 | A bill for an act concerning private sector employee drug testing. (Formerly HSB 26.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| HF889 | A bill for an act relating to government employee paid leave. (Formerly HSB 78.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| HF876 | A bill for an act providing for the disclosure of lead service lines in real estate disclosures and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HF 442.) Effective date: 01/01/2026. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| SF593 | A bill for an act providing for the preparation and filing of a district parcel record that identifies all parcels contained within a drainage or levee district that is part of a county. (Formerly SSB 1178.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| SF607 | A bill for an act relating to unemployment insurance taxes on employers. (Formerly SF 504, SSB 1173.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| SF607 | A bill for an act relating to unemployment insurance taxes on employers. (Formerly SF 504, SSB 1173.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall amendment S–3186 be adopted? | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| SF607 | A bill for an act relating to unemployment insurance taxes on employers. (Formerly SF 504, SSB 1173.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall amendment S–3185 be adopted? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| SF607 | A bill for an act relating to unemployment insurance taxes on employers. (Formerly SF 504, SSB 1173.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall amendment S–3184 be adopted? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| SF608 | A bill for an act regulating the marketing of grain, by providing for fees paid by grain dealers and warehouse operators into the grain depositors and sellers indemnity fund, and the payment of claims to reimburse sellers and depositors for losses covered by the fund, and including effective date and applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1131.) Effective date: 05/27/2025, 07/01/2025. Applicability date: 10/24/2022. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| SF612 | A bill for an act relating to state and local taxation and regulations by changing certain tax credits, cigarette and tobacco-related regulations, and certain city budget certification deadlines, providing for penalties, and including retroactive applicability and effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1153.) Effective date: Enactment, 07/01/2025 Applicability date: 01/01/2025 | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| HF979 | A bill for an act relating to vehicles operating with a permit for excessive size or weight, and providing fees. (Formerly HF 696, HSB 202.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| HF1002 | A bill for an act authorizing length of service award programs for volunteer fire fighters, volunteer emergency medical care providers, and reserve peace officers, and making appropriations. (Formerly HF 755, HSB 197.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| HF1039 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations from the rebuild Iowa infrastructure fund and technology reinvestment fund, providing for related matters including county payment for district court furnishings, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HSB 334.) Effective date: Enactment, 07/01/2025 | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| HF1038 | A bill for an act relating to the opioid settlement fund, making appropriations and disbursements, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly HSB 331.) Effective date: 06/06/2025, 07/01/2025. Applicability date: 07/01/2024. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| HF1044 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations for state government administration and regulation, including the department of administrative services, auditor of state, ethics and campaign disclosure board, offices of governor and lieutenant governor, department of inspections, appeals, and licensing, department of insurance and financial services, department of management, Iowa public employees' retirement system, public information board, department of revenue, secretary of state, tr | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| SF654 | A bill for an act relating to wildlife, including the treatment of beaver dams, identification for traps, snares, and tree stands, and maximum fur dealer license fees, and making penalties applicable.(Formerly SF 260, SSB 1093.) | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| HF1049 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the department of veterans affairs and the department of health and human services, and related provisions and appropriations, including aging and disability services; behavioral health, public health, community access and eligibility; the medical assistance program, state supplementary assistance, Hawki, and other health-related programs; sex reassignment surgeries or associated procedures; family well-being and protection; state-operat | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| SF659 | A bill for an act relating to state government and finances, including by making, modifying, limiting, or reducing appropriations, distributions, or transfers; authorizing expenditure of unappropriated moneys in special funds; providing for properly related matters including crystalline polymorph psilocybin, medical residency and fellowship positions, state membership in the Iowa individual health benefit reinsurance association, student abuse by school employees, modified supplemental amounts f | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| SF659 | A bill for an act relating to state government and finances, including by making, modifying, limiting, or reducing appropriations, distributions, or transfers; authorizing expenditure of unappropriated moneys in special funds; providing for properly related matters including crystalline polymorph psilocybin, medical residency and fellowship positions, state membership in the Iowa individual health benefit reinsurance association, student abuse by school employees, modified supplemental amounts f | Senate Appropriations Report | 05/14/2025 | Nay |
| SF660 | A bill for an act relating to sports wagering and tourism, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1240.) Contingent effective date, effective 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| SF660 | A bill for an act relating to sports wagering and tourism, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1240.) Contingent effective date, effective 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| SF660 | A bill for an act relating to sports wagering and tourism, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1240.) Contingent effective date, effective 07/01/2025. | Senate Appropriations Report | 05/14/2025 | Yea |
| SF462 | A bill for an act relating to weapons, including mandatory minimum sentences relating to the control, possession, receipt, or transportation of a firearm or offensive weapon by a felon, and the sharing of identifying information of persons prohibited from acquiring a pistol or revolver by court order, and providing penalties. (Formerly SSB 1125.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Yea |
| HF972 | A bill for an act relating to health care including a funding model for the rural health care system; the elimination of several health care-related award, grant, residency, and fellowship programs; establishment of a health care professional incentive program; Medicaid graduate medical education; the health facilities council; and the Iowa health information network, making appropriations, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HF 754, HSB 191.) Contingent effective date, effective | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Yea |
| HF976 | A bill for an act relating to the administration of the tax by the department of revenue by modifying provisions related to personal income, property, sales and use, motor fuel, and inheritance taxes, changing tax expenditure reviews, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly HSB 89.) Effective date: 06/06/2025, 07/01/2025, 01/01/2026. Applicability date: 01/01/2024, 01/01/2025, 01/01/2026. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Yea |
| SF615 | A bill for an act relating to work requirements for the Iowa health and wellness plan, public assistance programs, an information technology fund, the public assistance modernization fund, and the Medicaid for employed people with disabilities program, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly SF 599, SF 363.) Effective date: 06/06/2025, 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Nay |
| SF626 | A bill for an act relating to federal moneys and regulations, including the appropriation of federal moneys made available from federal block grants and other nonstate sources, the allocation of portions of federal block grants, the procedures if federal moneys or federal block grants are more or less than anticipated, and the authorization of certain city regulations when required under federal law, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1216.) Effe | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Yea |
| HF1028 | A bill for an act relating to matters under the purview of the department of management, making appropriations, and including applicability provisions. (Formerly HF 756, HSB 72.) | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Yea |
| SF633 | A bill for an act relating to forest and fruit-tree reservations by establishing a program fee and including contingent effective date provisions. (Formerly SF 219.) | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Nay |
| HF1037 | A bill for an act modifying economic development provisions relating to housing and residential development in urban renewal areas.(Formerly HF 617.) | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Yea |
| SF645 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations for the economic development of the state, including to the economic development authority, Iowa finance authority, department of workforce development, and the state board of regents and certain regents institutions, and extending the repeal date for the housing renewal pilot program. (Formerly SSB 1236.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Nay |
| SF644 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the justice system, providing for properly related matters including indigent defense and representation, the corrections capital reinvestment fund, and a corrections federal receipts fund, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1232.) Effective date: Enactment, 07/01/2025 Applicability date: 07/01/2023 | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Nay |
| SF648 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the judicial branch including judicial officer salaries and interpreter or translator fees, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1233.) Effective date: 06/20/2025, 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Nay |
| SF657 | A bill for an act related to state taxation and finance and other related matters, by creating, modifying, and eliminating tax credits and tax incentive programs, providing for penalties, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1205.) Effective date: 06/06/2025, 07/01/2025, 12/31/2025, 01/01/2026. Applicability date: 01/01/2017, 01/01/2025, 01/01/2026. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/13/2025 | Yea |
| SF658 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations for state government administration and regulation, including the department of administrative services, auditor of state, ethics and campaign disclosure board, offices of governor and lieutenant governor, department of inspections, appeals, and licensing, department of insurance and financial services, department of management, Iowa public employees' retirement system, public information board, department of revenue, secretary of state, tr | Senate Appropriations Report | 05/13/2025 | Nay |
| SF412 | A bill for an act relating to property law, including rent, rental agreements, notice requirements, and possession of property. (Formerly SSB 1047.) | Shall the bill pass? | 05/12/2025 | Nay |
| HF639 | A bill for an act relating to hazardous liquid pipelines, including common carrier requirements, proceedings under the Iowa utilities commission, including commission member attendance at hearings and informational meetings, including allowing certain persons to intervene in such proceedings, including sanctions on intervenors in contested cases, and permit, permit renewal, and operation limitations, and including effective date and applicability provisions. (Formerly HF 240.) | Shall the bill pass? | 05/12/2025 | Yea |
| HF639 | A bill for an act relating to hazardous liquid pipelines, including common carrier requirements, proceedings under the Iowa utilities commission, including commission member attendance at hearings and informational meetings, including allowing certain persons to intervene in such proceedings, including sanctions on intervenors in contested cases, and permit, permit renewal, and operation limitations, and including effective date and applicability provisions. (Formerly HF 240.) | Shall amendment S–3165 to amendment S–3064 be adopted? | 05/12/2025 | Nay |
| HF711 | A bill for an act relating to the practice of barbering and cosmetology arts and sciences, including establishment training programs, schools of barbering and cosmetology arts and sciences, and course of study. (Formerly HF 49.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/12/2025 | Nay |
| HF975 | A bill for an act relating to matters under the purview of the economic development authority and the Iowa finance authority including the strategic infrastructure program, brownfield, grayfield, and redevelopment tax credits, community attraction and tourism, vision Iowa, sports tourism marketing, the historic preservation tax credit, homelessness, the title guaranty board, arts and culture, and the Iowa reinvestment Act and including applicability and retroactive applicability provisions. (For | Shall the bill pass? | 05/12/2025 | Nay |
| HF975 | A bill for an act relating to matters under the purview of the economic development authority and the Iowa finance authority including the strategic infrastructure program, brownfield, grayfield, and redevelopment tax credits, community attraction and tourism, vision Iowa, sports tourism marketing, the historic preservation tax credit, homelessness, the title guaranty board, arts and culture, and the Iowa reinvestment Act and including applicability and retroactive applicability provisions. (For | Shall amendment S–3161 be adopted? | 05/12/2025 | Yea |
| HF1025 | A bill for an act relating to certain state highways not designated as part of the interstate road system, including the operation of implements of husbandry on such highways, and including applicability provisions. (Formerly HF 394.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. Applicability date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/12/2025 | Yea |
| SF646 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations involving state government entities associated with agriculture, natural resources, and environmental protection. (Formerly SSB 1230.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 | Shall the bill pass? | 05/12/2025 | Nay |
| SF647 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the education system, including the funding and operation of the department for the blind, department of education, and state board of regents, and including contingent effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1231.) Effective Date: Conditional, 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/12/2025 | Nay |
| SF657 | A bill for an act related to state taxation and finance and other related matters, by creating, modifying, and eliminating tax credits and tax incentive programs, providing for penalties, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1205.) Effective date: 06/06/2025, 07/01/2025, 12/31/2025, 01/01/2026. Applicability date: 01/01/2017, 01/01/2025, 01/01/2026. | Senate Ways And Means Report | 05/12/2025 | Nay |
| HF856 | A bill for an act prohibiting public entities from engaging in certain activities relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating a private cause of action, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HSB 155.) Effective date: 05/27/2025, 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 05/09/2025 | Nay |
| HF979 | A bill for an act relating to vehicles operating with a permit for excessive size or weight, and providing fees. (Formerly HF 696, HSB 202.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 | Senate Ways And Means Report | 05/09/2025 | Yea |
| SF655 | A bill for an act relating to the creation of land redevelopment trusts.(Formerly SF 45.) | Senate Ways And Means Report | 05/09/2025 | Yea |
| SF654 | A bill for an act relating to wildlife, including the treatment of beaver dams, identification for traps, snares, and tree stands, and maximum fur dealer license fees, and making penalties applicable.(Formerly SF 260, SSB 1093.) | Senate Ways And Means Report | 05/09/2025 | Yea |
| SF652 | A bill for an act relating to economic development and housing by modifying provisions concerning economic development programs and modifying provisions concerning Iowa's urban renewal law, and including applicability provisions.(Formerly SSB 1214.) | Senate Ways And Means Report | 05/09/2025 | Yea |
| SF653 | A bill for an act relating to the historic preservation tax credit available against the individual and corporate income taxes, the franchise tax, and the insurance premiums tax.(Formerly SF 170.) | Senate Ways And Means Report | 05/09/2025 | Yea |
| SF656 | A bill for an act allowing property owners to temporarily opt out of solid waste collection and disposal services, and providing penalties.(Formerly SF 589, SSB 1190.) | Senate Ways And Means Report | 05/09/2025 | Yea |
| SF651 | A bill for an act relating to local government property taxes, financial authority, and budgets, modifying appropriations, and including effective date, applicability, and retroactive applicability provisions.(Formerly SSB 1227.) | Senate Ways And Means Report | 05/08/2025 | Yea |
| SF650 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations from the rebuild Iowa infrastructure fund and technology reinvestment fund, providing for related matters including county payment for district court furnishings, establishing the Iowa major events and tourism program and fund, and eliminating the sports tourism marketing program and fund, and including effective date provisions.(Formerly SSB 1238.) | Senate Appropriations Report | 05/06/2025 | Nay |
| SF649 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the department of veterans affairs and the department of health and human services, and related provisions and appropriations, including aging and disability services; behavioral health, public health, community access and eligibility; the medical assistance program, state supplementary assistance, Hawki, and other health-related programs; family well-being and protection; state-operated specialty care; administration and compliance; tra | Senate Appropriations Report | 05/06/2025 | Nay |
| SF648 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the judicial branch including judicial officer salaries and interpreter or translator fees, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1233.) Effective date: 06/20/2025, 07/01/2025. | Senate Appropriations Report | 05/06/2025 | Nay |
| SF647 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the education system, including the funding and operation of the department for the blind, department of education, and state board of regents, and including contingent effective date provisions. (Formerly SSB 1231.) Effective Date: Conditional, 07/01/2025. | Senate Appropriations Report | 05/06/2025 | Nay |
| SF646 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations involving state government entities associated with agriculture, natural resources, and environmental protection. (Formerly SSB 1230.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 | Senate Appropriations Report | 05/01/2025 | Nay |
| SF645 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations for the economic development of the state, including to the economic development authority, Iowa finance authority, department of workforce development, and the state board of regents and certain regents institutions, and extending the repeal date for the housing renewal pilot program. (Formerly SSB 1236.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 | Senate Appropriations Report | 04/30/2025 | Nay |
| SF644 | A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations to the justice system, providing for properly related matters including indigent defense and representation, the corrections capital reinvestment fund, and a corrections federal receipts fund, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1232.) Effective date: Enactment, 07/01/2025 Applicability date: 07/01/2023 | Senate Appropriations Report | 04/30/2025 | Nay |
| SF643 | A bill for an act relating to certain state highways not designated as part of the interstate road system, including the operation of implements of husbandry on such highways, and including applicability provisions.(Formerly SF 568, SSB 1187.) | Senate Appropriations Report | 04/30/2025 | Yea |
| HF297 | A bill for an act relating to certain emergency services provided by a city. (Formerly HSB 98.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/29/2025 | Yea |
| HF299 | A bill for an act relating to the provision of information relating to immunization exemptions. (Formerly HF 34.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/29/2025 | Nay |
| HF530 | A bill for an act authorizing a member of the general assembly, judicial officer, attorney general, deputy attorney general, or an assistant attorney general to be issued a professional permit to carry weapons. (Formerly HSB 166.) | Shall the bill pass? | 04/29/2025 | Yea |
| SF474 | A bill for an act relating to services and support for youth, including treatment, physical assessments, and behavioral health evaluations for youth involved in juvenile delinquency and child in need of assistance proceedings; the licensing and certification of certain residential facilities; the provision of home and community-based services and habilitation services to certain youth by residential programs; administration and supervision of juvenile court services; and the suspension of Hawki | Shall the bill pass? | 04/29/2025 | Yea |
| HF865 | A bill for an act modifying provisions related to the harassment or bullying of students enrolled in school districts or accredited nonpublic schools. (Formerly HF 149.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/29/2025 | Nay |
| SF616 | A bill for an act relating to the rights and obligations of certain state and local government entities in erecting, rebuilding, or repairing partition fences, including the allocation of moneys from accounts in the Iowa resources enhancement and protection fund.(Formerly SF 597, SF 432.) | Shall the bill pass? | 04/29/2025 | Yea |
| SF632 | A bill for an act providing for programs and regulations related to agriculture, including crop production, animal health, and agricultural processing, providing for powers and duties of the department of agriculture and land stewardship, providing fees, and providing penalties. (Formerly SF 522, SSB 1160.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/29/2025 | Yea |
| SF641 | A bill for an act relating to matters under the purview of the department of health and human services, including administrative services organizations, child foster care, child and dependent adult abuse, internal audit and examination information, and the region incentive fund in the mental health and disability services regional service fund, health maintenance organization's premium tax, and making appropriations and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly | Shall the bill pass? | 04/29/2025 | Yea |
| SF106 | A bill for an act relating to the conveyance of firearms in or on certain vehicles. Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Nay |
| SF146 | A bill for an act relating to the use or creation of bots to purchase event tickets on the internet, and providing civil penalties. (Formerly SF 49.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| SF175 | A bill for an act incorporating provisions related to pregnancy and fetal development into the human growth and development and health curricula provided by school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools to students enrolled in grades five through twelve. (Formerly SSB 1028.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Nay |
| SF288 | A bill for an act relating to students who are pregnant or who recently gave birth who attend state institutions of higher education governed by the board of regents and community colleges. (Formerly SF 12.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| HF395 | A bill for an act relating to approved courses of instruction for school bus drivers, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HSB 107.) Effective date: 01/01/2026. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| SF383 | A bill for an act relating to pharmacy benefits managers, pharmacies, prescription drugs, and pharmacy services administrative organizations, and including applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1074.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 Applicability date: 07/01/2025 | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Nay |
| SF383 | A bill for an act relating to pharmacy benefits managers, pharmacies, prescription drugs, and pharmacy services administrative organizations, and including applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1074.) Effective date: 07/01/2025 Applicability date: 07/01/2025 | Shall amendment S–3139 to amendment S–3138 be adopted? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| SF398 | A bill for an act relating to closing costs for a debt secured by an interest in land. (Formerly SSB 1103.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| SF423 | A bill for an act relating to deer hunting, including deer depredation and the purchasing of a youth deer hunting license and tag. (Formerly SF 331.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| SF491 | A bill for an act prohibiting the use of remotely piloted aircraft flying over farm property, and making penalties applicable. (Formerly SSB 1191.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Nay |
| HF885 | A bill for an act relating to deer and wild turkey hunting licenses for disabled veterans. (Formerly HF 692.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| HF835 | A bill for an act relating to school personnel training, including by implementing provisions related to emergency care planning, authorizations for assisting, and limitations of liability concerning students with epilepsy or seizure disorder, and requiring the department of education to convene a health care-related training for school personnel work group. (Formerly HF 102.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| SF573 | A bill for an act relating to motor vehicle glass repair, replacement, and insurance, making penalties applicable, and including applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1192.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. Applicability date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| SF635 | A bill for an act relating to the abatement of property taxes owed on property owned by certain volunteer emergency services providers and including effective date and applicability provisions.(Formerly SF 96.) | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| SF639 | A bill for an act creating a specialty business court, and including effective date provisions.(Formerly SF 570, SSB 1203.) | Shall the bill pass? | 04/28/2025 | Yea |
| HF440 | A bill for an act relating to tuition, degree programs, employment, and related matters pertaining to students enrolled at regents institutions. (Formerly HSB 51.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| HF549 | A bill for an act relating to the review of an officer-involved shooting case by a county attorney. (Formerly HF 42.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| SF445 | A bill for an act relating to early childhood education and care, including by modifying provisions related to the statewide preschool program, the child development coordinating council, programs for at-risk children, the responsibilities of the department of education, the early childhood Iowa initiative, and the state child care assistance program, establishing the child care continuum partnership grants pilot program within the department of health and human services, making appropriations a | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Nay |
| SF445 | A bill for an act relating to early childhood education and care, including by modifying provisions related to the statewide preschool program, the child development coordinating council, programs for at-risk children, the responsibilities of the department of education, the early childhood Iowa initiative, and the state child care assistance program, establishing the child care continuum partnership grants pilot program within the department of health and human services, making appropriations a | Shall amendment S–3136 be adopted? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| SF445 | A bill for an act relating to early childhood education and care, including by modifying provisions related to the statewide preschool program, the child development coordinating council, programs for at-risk children, the responsibilities of the department of education, the early childhood Iowa initiative, and the state child care assistance program, establishing the child care continuum partnership grants pilot program within the department of health and human services, making appropriations a | Shall amendment S–3135 be adopted? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| SF445 | A bill for an act relating to early childhood education and care, including by modifying provisions related to the statewide preschool program, the child development coordinating council, programs for at-risk children, the responsibilities of the department of education, the early childhood Iowa initiative, and the state child care assistance program, establishing the child care continuum partnership grants pilot program within the department of health and human services, making appropriations a | Shall amendment S–3134 be adopted? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| SF445 | A bill for an act relating to early childhood education and care, including by modifying provisions related to the statewide preschool program, the child development coordinating council, programs for at-risk children, the responsibilities of the department of education, the early childhood Iowa initiative, and the state child care assistance program, establishing the child care continuum partnership grants pilot program within the department of health and human services, making appropriations a | Shall amendment S–3133 be adopted? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| HF649 | A bill for an act relating to human trafficking including services and prostitution, and making penalties applicable. (Formerly HSB 189.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| HF710 | A bill for an act relating to roofs on private docks and required insurance. (Formerly HSB 163.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| HF793 | A bill for an act relating to fire fighter training and certification. (Formerly HF 265.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| HF933 | A bill for an act relating to pediatric palliative care centers, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HSB 267.) Effective date: 05/27/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| HF956 | A bill for an act relating to judicial branch administration, including judicial officer residency, judicial officer retirement age, remote proceedings, court reporter supervision and duties, and civil pleadings availability, and including applicability provisions. (Formerly HSB 259.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. Applicability date: 07/01/2025. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| HF994 | A bill for an act concerning quarterly reports on and payments of beer barrel and wine gallonage taxes, and including effective date provisions. (Formerly HSB 273.) Effective date: 01/01/2026. | Shall the bill pass? | 04/23/2025 | Yea |
| Committee | Position | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detail | Iowa Joint Capital Projects Committee | 4 | |
| Detail | Iowa Joint Fiscal Committee | 3 | |
| Detail | Iowa Senate Appropriations Committee | Ranking Member | 3 |
| Detail | Iowa Senate Commerce Committee | 11 | |
| Detail | Iowa Senate Ethics Committee | 4 | |
| Detail | Iowa Senate Health and Human Services Committee | 11 | |
| Detail | Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee | 12 | |
| Detail | Iowa Senate Ways and Means Committee | 13 |
| State | District | Chamber | Party | Status | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IA | Iowa Senate District 18 | Senate | Democrat | In Office | 01/14/2013 | |
| IA | District 64 | House | Democrat | Out of Office | 01/01/2003 | 01/16/2024 |
| IA | District 72 | House | Democrat | Out of Office | 01/08/2001 | 01/16/2024 |