Iowa Bills

This Iowa bill (SF 2423) establishes a clear process for making care facility placement decisions when an adult patient cannot consent to their own care. It defines "person authorized to consent" with a priority order (spouse, adult children, parents, adult siblings) and requires physicians to certify a patient's inability to consent if no representative can be located. The authorized person can then arrange facility transfers, apply for health insurance (like Medicaid or Medicare), and access necessary financial/health records under strict privacy rules. The bill directly affects adults in care facilities who lack decision-making capacity, care facilities, and the designated family members making placement decisions.

HF 2713 modifies several education policies in Iowa. It increases funding for charter schools by adding supplements for teacher leadership, salary, professional development, and early intervention to the standard per-pupil amount. The bill also requires charter schools to contribute to the Iowa public employees’ retirement system and designates them as local education agencies for federal funding. Additionally, it establishes rules allowing students from nonpublic or charter schools to participate in public school athletic programs under specific conditions, including paying equivalent fees. These changes apply to school budget years starting July 1, 2026.

HF 29 caps annual fur dealer license fees at $50 for both Iowa residents and nonresidents, directly affecting fur dealers operating in Iowa. Currently, residents pay $264 annually and nonresidents pay $586.50 annually (or $292.50 for one day/location), with nonresidents from states without reciprocity paying higher fees. The bill replaces existing fee structures by establishing a flat maximum fee, regardless of residency or reciprocity agreements. This change simplifies licensing costs but significantly lowers fees for most dealers compared to current administrative rules.

HF 1050 modifies how certain aboveground storage tanks are assessed for property tax purposes. The bill specifies that aboveground storage tanks with a capacity of 91,000 gallons or less will no longer be assessed and taxed as real property, regardless of their use. This change directly affects property owners with such tanks and local taxing authorities. The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies retroactively to assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.

This bill exempts sales and use taxes on building materials, supplies, equipment, and services used to construct a regional water trail system by a specific type of nonprofit corporation. To qualify for this tax exemption, the nonprofit must be organized under Iowa law, have a majority of its board members appointed by state political subdivisions, and be responsible for implementing a regional recreational and dam safety plan. The tax relief applies retroactively to January 1, 2025, covering purchases made on or after that date for projects involving written construction contracts.

This Iowa bill establishes a formal program for managing and recycling specific types of batteries, such as portable and medium-sized ones, while excluding items like car batteries and small electronics. It requires manufacturers and retailers to join an approved stewardship plan by 2028 to continue selling covered batteries, ensuring these products are marked with producer identification. The legislation also creates a system of designated collection sites for the public to drop off batteries and sets up rules to calculate how effectively these programs collect and recycle materials.

This bill is a resolution that formally honors Senator Julian Garrett for his 15 years of service in the Iowa Senate. It recognizes his legislative history and public contributions but does not change any laws or policies.

This bill updates Iowa's administrative rules by removing outdated provisions related to agency procedures and replacing them with new uniform rules that will take effect on July 1, 2026. It directly affects state agencies by rescinding over 100 existing administrative rules that previously covered topics like rulemaking processes, petitions, and contested cases, while ensuring those old rules remain in effect for any legal proceedings started before the new date. The legislation also allows agencies to create emergency rules if they need to comply with legal obligations or determine a rule is necessary, without requiring a regulatory analysis, though this emergency rule authority ends on July 1, 2026.

This Iowa bill modifies property tax rules and budget limits for state and local governments, affecting cities, counties, and other public entities that levy property taxes. It establishes a new cap on general fund reserves, limiting unassigned funds to 35% of prior year expenditures starting in fiscal year 2027, and creates a new property tax levy limit that allows annual increases of up to 102% for existing property valuations. The legislation also updates audit requirements for local governments, clarifies how unliquidated obligations are recorded, and excludes school districts from certain reserve and levy limitation provisions.

HF 2357 is a statutory cleanup bill that updates Iowa's legal code to correct outdated phrasing, grammar, inconsistencies, and redundancies across multiple sections. It directly affects all state laws referenced in the amended code sections, including definitions of terms like "gender" (clarifying it does not equate to gender identity), requirements for collecting vital statistics by gender, population data standards, opioid crisis funding allocation, and programs promoting historic landmarks and arts funding. Key provisions include amending Section 4.1A to distinguish "gender" from "sex" in legal contexts, updating budget preparation rules in Section 8.3, and revising how population data is certified under Section 9F.6. The bill makes no new policy changes but ensures existing laws are clear, consistent, and reflect current practices. It passed unanimously in the Iowa House on March 2, 2026.

This bill (HF 2345) modifies Iowa's public employees' retirement system (IPERS) by allowing IPERS to share a member or beneficiary's legal name with the state treasurer to help locate them. It changes the requirement for IPERS to provide members with annual statements of retirement credits to quarterly statements covering the prior four months. The bill also adds a new payment option for retirees: receiving monthly retirement payments via a reloadable payment card without an administrative fee, alongside existing electronic deposits or paper warrants (which incur fees). These changes directly affect current and future IPERS members and retirees.

HF 2522 removes specific requirements for public officer insurance policies in Iowa that currently mandate the state be the beneficiary and the policy cover injuries to corporations or individuals. The bill eliminates provisions in Code section 64.3(4) that previously required insurance policies (used instead of bonds) to name the state as beneficiary and serve the "use and benefit" of injured parties. This change directly affects Iowa public officers who obtain insurance policies in lieu of surety bonds. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment, streamlining the insurance policy requirements without altering the underlying purpose of protecting the public.