A bill for an act relating to local laws implementing the Iowa civil rights Act of 1965, local civil rights commissions, and local civil rights agencies, and including effective date provisions.
SF 579 modifies how local civil rights commissions and agencies process complaints and sets terms for their commissioners. It requires complaints where a political subdivision is a party to be referred to the Iowa Office of Civil Rights. Any party can request a complaint be transferred to the Iowa Office of Civil Rights if it alleges an Iowa civil rights violation and remains unresolved after twelve months, with local agencies required to notify parties of this right. Local agencies must also cross-file complaints alleging state law violations with the Iowa Office of Civil Rights. Finally, the bill sets the term for commissioners appointed to local civil rights agencies or commissions at two years.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Mar 10, 2025
Signed Mar 10, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
Enrolled
→
Enrolled with Governor's Action
·
3 edits
·
Mar 10, 2026
MINOR
The bill was finalized and signed into law, transitioning from a draft legislative text to an official enrolled version with the Governor's approval. The substantive policy content remains unchanged, establishing rules for local civil rights commissions in Iowa.
Scope change
No change in scope; the document represents the final enacted version of the same legislation.
TECHNICAL
Removed draft formatting markers, page headers, and the placeholder signature line for the Governor's approval date.
Added the Governor's signature line and the official certification of enactment.
Reformatted the text from a vertical, line-by-line legislative markup style into a standard, readable paragraph format.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 26, 2025
How they voted
44–4
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 51
Mar 26, 2025
D
Democratic16
68% Yea
R
Republican35
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
41
Key actions
17
Committee
12
Amendments
7
Mar 10, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by Governor.
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate, yeas 29, nays 16.
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred with S-5075.
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Introduced
Amendment S-5081 to S-5075 filed, lost.
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Introduced
Message from House, with amendment S-5075.
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House, yeas 60, nays 26.
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Amendment H-8157 adopted.
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Introduced
Motion to suspend rules for immediate consideration of amendment H-8157, yeas 60, nays 26.
lower
Mar 4, 2026
Introduced
Amendment H-8157 filed.
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Introduced
Amendment H-8091 filed.
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Introduced
Amendment H-8073 filed.
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee vote: Yeas, 19. Nays, 1. Excused, 1.
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee report, recommending passage.
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee recommends passage.
legislature
Feb 19, 2026
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee Meeting: 02/23/2026 4:00PM RM 103.
legislature
Feb 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee: Wheeler, Wichtendahl and Williams.
lower
May 15, 2025
Committee
Rereferred to Local Government.
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee vote: Yeas, 19. Nays, 1. Excused, 1.
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report, recommending passage.
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee recommends passage.
legislature
Mar 31, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee Meeting: 04/01/2025 8:15AM RM 102.
legislature
Mar 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee: Jones, Bloomingdale and Wichtendahl.
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate, yeas 43, nays 4.
upper
Mar 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report, approving bill.
upper
Mar 10, 2025
Introduced
Introduced, placed on calendar.
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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