HF 2266 would require Iowa employers to provide family medical leave to grandparents for specific family care needs related to their grandchildren, including the birth of a grandchild, caring for a grandchild with a serious health condition, and addressing military-related exigencies involving a grandchild. The bill modifies the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to extend these leave rights to grandparents, defining "employee" and "employer" as in federal law. Enforcement would be handled by the state department of inspections, appeals, and licensing using existing state procedures under Chapter 91A. This legislation directly affects Iowa grandparents who are employees and their employers by adding these specific leave protections to state law.
HF 2263 requires Iowa's Department of Health and Human Services to establish seven statewide peer-run respite programs. These programs must provide voluntary, short-term support for individuals experiencing emotional distress, mental health crises, or "life-altering challenges" (as defined in the bill), while operating independently from medical facilities and ensuring at least 51% of each program's board consists of people with lived experience of mental health conditions or similar challenges. The bill also limits clinical mental health services to under 10% of a program's total offerings and mandates that programs cannot be located on clinical or medical facility campuses. This legislation directly affects Iowans seeking crisis support and the state agency responsible for implementing these services.
HF 2258 requires most health insurance plans in Iowa to cover infertility diagnosis, treatment, and fertility preservation services (like egg freezing before cancer treatment). It mandates coverage for up to three completed egg retrieval cycles with unlimited embryo transfers (using single embryo transfer when medically appropriate), plus fertility medications on par with other prescription drug coverage. Religious employers may request an exclusion from this coverage if it conflicts with their beliefs, but must notify employees about the exclusion. The law applies to new or renewed health insurance plans issued on or after July 1, 2026, and excludes accident-only, dental, vision, and other specific coverage types.
SF 2133 modifies Iowa's requirements for school administrator licenses. It requires new applicants for an initial administrator license to have taught as a teacher in Iowa for at least five consecutive years (across no more than two school districts) before applying. The bill also mandates that current administrators holding initial or professional licenses must maintain an active teacher license to keep their administrator credential. These rules apply to all new applications and licenses granted after the bill's effective date.
SF 2134 updates Iowa's gambling laws to clarify social gambling rules and establish a new licensing system for poker card rooms. It expands social gambling to include card and parlor games like poker, bridge, and checkers (previously limited to games of skill), while creating a separate category for licensed poker venues. These venues must operate exclusively with poker variants (e.g., Texas hold 'em), charge a "rake" fee (capped by the gaming commission), and follow strict regulations on licensing, facility standards, and anti-money laundering measures. The bill directly affects social gamblers playing permitted games and operators seeking licenses for poker-only rooms, with licensing fees deposited into the state general fund.
This bill creates a regulatory framework for customer-based energy systems in Iowa, primarily affecting energy storage companies and power plant operators using distributed resources like solar, wind, and batteries. It defines "customer-based energy storage companies" (not classified as utilities if meeting specific criteria) and "customer-based power plants" (aggregated systems managing distributed energy). Key provisions require operators to coordinate with utilities, obtain commission certification, meet cybersecurity standards, protect consumer data, and operate within utility service areas. The Iowa Utilities Commission must establish operational protocols, certification processes, and market-based tariffs to benefit nonparticipating customers.
This Iowa bill revises rules for public utilities acquiring water, sewer, or storm water systems. It removes the $3 million purchase price threshold requiring Iowa Utilities Commission approval and mandates the Commission must find acquisitions won’t harm ratepayers of either the utility being acquired or the acquiring utility. The bill also requires the Commission to set ratemaking principles (including using net book value instead of fair market value for cost calculations) before approval, prohibits deferring these principles to later proceedings, and mandates a 10-year rate freeze if the acquisition increases average customer rates. These changes directly affect utilities seeking acquisitions and protect ratepayers from immediate cost increases.
SF 2149 allows residents of a school district to report to the county attorney if they believe a school board or superintendent adopted a policy violating state law. The county attorney can then sue the board members who voted for the policy and the superintendent to force compliance with state law, but not members who opposed the policy. If the county attorney wins, the court must grant the requested relief and award either $1,000 per defendant or the actual legal costs incurred, with the funds deposited into the county’s general fund for the county attorney’s use. This bill directly affects school board members, superintendents, and county attorneys in enforcing state law compliance.
SF 2166 requires anyone publishing electioneering communications (ads about candidates or ballot issues within 90 days of an election) that contain AI-altered content to include a clear disclosure stating "THIS CONTENT HAS BEEN MANIPULATED OR GENERATED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DOES NOT DEPICT REAL EVENTS." The bill specifies disclosure requirements based on format - like on-screen text for videos, spoken words for audio, or "AI generated" labels for social media posts - to ensure visibility. It excludes bona fide news reporting (if authenticity is questioned), satire, and platforms that provide AI content labeling tools. Violations carry civil penalties up to $5,000 per offense or a serious misdemeanor if intended to defraud, with enforcement handled by Iowa's ethics board.
This Iowa bill (SF 2159) requires commercial online platforms (like social media) to implement age verification for users under 18 when hosting content deemed "harmful to minors" or prohibited material. It defines prohibited material as child sexual abuse material, obscene content, and content harmful to minors that lacks age verification. Platforms must use approved methods (e.g., digital ID checks or third-party verification) to block minors from accessing such content, with strict rules against retaining user data after verification. Violators face civil lawsuits by minors or their guardians for actual damages, attorney fees, and minimum $5,000 penalties per violation.
This bill changes how school district boards appoint their top leader. It requires school boards to annually elect a separate "chief executive officer" who cannot be the superintendent, replacing the current rule that automatically made the superintendent this role. The change directly affects school boards and superintendents by creating a new annual election process for the chief executive position. Key provisions include removing the superintendent's automatic status as executive officer and mandating boards establish this new role through their rules.
This bill requires school district boards to follow Iowa's public records laws (Chapter 22) when handling requests for documents. If a school district denies access, individuals denied records can enforce their rights through Chapter 22's legal tools, including seeking court orders, monetary damages, or attorney fees. Repeat violations could lead to removal of school board members from office. The law directly affects school districts and anyone seeking public records from them, ensuring clearer enforcement of existing transparency rules.
