Rep. Glenn Grothman

Safe Routes Act of 2025 This bill directs the Department of Transportation to waive vehicle weight limits for covered logging vehicles, thus allowing logging vehicles to travel on interstate highways in certain circumstances. The term covered logging vehicle means a vehicle that (1) is transporting raw or unfinished forest products, including logs, pulpwood, biomass, or wood chips; (2) is traveling a distance not greater than 150 air miles on interstate highways from origin to a storage or processing facility; and (3) meets state legal weight tolerances and vehicle configurations for transporting raw or unfinished forest products within the state boundaries in which the vehicle is operating.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes how individual investors in mutual funds (regulated investment companies) are taxed on certain dividends. It allows investors to defer paying tax on capital gain dividends that are automatically reinvested in additional fund shares through a dividend reinvestment plan. The deferred tax is recognized later when the investor sells shares or upon their death. It also establishes that shares acquired through this reinvestment are treated as held for over one year from the start, potentially qualifying for long-term capital gains rates. The rule applies only to individual investors (not estates, trusts, or dependents claimed by others).

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits federal funding, support, or approval for research using human fetal tissue obtained from induced abortions. It allows research on tissue from miscarriages (under 20 weeks) or stillbirths (20+ weeks) under existing Public Health Service Act rules, and permits development of new cell lines for vaccines or genetic vectors if not derived from abortion tissue. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to restrict federal research to tissue from miscarriages or stillbirths and clarifies definitions for terms like "miscarriage" and "stillbirth." It directly affects federal agencies like the NIH and researchers relying on federal grants for biomedical studies.

Maddy summaryThis bill clarifies how retirement plan managers must handle shareholder voting on company issues. It requires them to act solely in participants' economic interests when voting proxies, but does not mandate voting every proxy. The bill creates a "safe harbor" allowing plans to skip voting on small holdings (under 5% of assets) or unrelated proposals without violating fiduciary duty. It takes effect January 1, 2026, directly affecting retirement plan managers, not individual investors.

Maddy summaryHR 1940, the Tanning Tax Repeal Act of 2025, removes a federal excise tax on indoor tanning services. It directly affects tanning salons and businesses providing these services by eliminating the tax they previously paid. The bill repeals Chapter 49 of the Internal Revenue Code, which imposed the tax, and the change takes effect for services provided after the bill becomes law. This is a straightforward tax repeal with no new requirements or funding mechanisms.

Maddy summaryHR 1866, the GUARD Act, prevents federal funding under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act from being awarded to any state that discriminates against parents or guardians who oppose gender-affirming medical, social, or legal changes for minors. The bill requires states to avoid adverse actions against such parents if they believe a minor's gender identity claims conflict with their biological sex at birth, regardless of medical diagnoses. States violating this provision could face legal action by affected parents to halt funding and recover funds. The law directly affects parents opposing gender-affirming care for minors and alters federal grant enforcement for child welfare programs.

Maddy summaryThis bill nullifies specific Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules and notices related to "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing," including the 2015 final rule, 2021 interim rule, and 2023 proposed rule, as well as a 2015 notice about housing disparity assessments. It prohibits federal funding for a geospatial database tracking racial disparities in housing access or community housing inequities. The bill requires HUD to consult with state, local, and public housing agency officials to develop recommendations for fair housing implementation, mandating consensus-based reporting and public comment periods. This directly affects local governments, state housing officials, and public housing agencies by limiting federal oversight of local zoning decisions and housing policy enforcement.

Maddy summaryHJRES 65 is a congressional resolution disapproving an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 104419). The resolution blocks the IRS rule that established procedures for supervisory approval of penalties imposed on taxpayers. If passed, this resolution would immediately invalidate the IRS rule, preventing it from taking effect. The bill directly affects the IRS’s penalty enforcement process and taxpayers subject to IRS penalties. This is a procedural disapproval measure, not a new tax law.

Maddy summaryThis bill protects firearm trace data maintained by the ATF's National Trace Center and related licensee information from public disclosure under FOIA. It directly affects licensed firearms dealers, state/local governments, and other entities that handle this data. Key provisions include adding a new FOIA exemption for this data, imposing fines of $10,000-$25,000 for unauthorized disclosures, and allowing licensed dealers to sue for triple damages or $25,000 per disclosure. The law also prevents sovereign immunity from blocking such lawsuits and specifies that fines apply per individual disclosure.

Maddy summaryThis bill reinstates a deduction for unreimbursed work-related expenses that were eliminated under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It allows employees to deduct 85% of unreimbursed expenses for food, lodging, travel, or transportation incurred while performing job duties, instead of the previous 100%. The deduction is now calculated using a 1% floor of adjusted gross income (down from 2%), making it more accessible for lower-income workers. This change directly affects employees who pay for these costs out-of-pocket without reimbursement from their employers. The bill takes effect as if it were part of the 2017 tax law, with a one-year window for claiming refunds.