Iowa Bills

introduced · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2682: A bill for an act relating to grid-enhancing technologies and reconductoring, including study and reporting requirements.

This Iowa bill (HF 2682) requires public utilities and transmission companies operating electric lines in the state to study grid-enhancing technologies and reconductoring opportunities. Starting January 1, 2027, and every three years after, these entities must submit public reports to the Iowa Utilities Commission analyzing the feasibility of projects that could increase transmission capacity, reduce congestion, support renewable energy, improve reliability, or lower line losses. The studies must cover costs, implementation timelines, and how projects align with specific grid improvement goals like reducing siting conflicts or serving new customers. Municipal utilities, cooperatives, and single-customer transmission lines are exempt from this requirement.

Topics ✓ Energy

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2692: A bill for an act relating to confidential public records, including seals and signatures of licensed architects, licensed landscape architects, and registered interior designers.

HF 2692 clarifies that the seals and signatures required for professional work by licensed architects, landscape architects, and registered interior designers are confidential records under Iowa law. However, it explicitly states that the plans or specifications bearing these seals or signatures are **not** considered confidential unless other law specifies otherwise. This change affects how public records requests apply to technical submissions from these licensed professionals. The bill makes a specific administrative adjustment to existing public records rules without altering the public access status of the underlying plans.

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2708: A bill for an act relating to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and causing injury, and providing penalties.

HF 2708 modifies Iowa's penalties for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) that unintentionally causes injury. It creates a new aggravated misdemeanor charge for OWI causing injury that does not meet the legal definition of "serious injury" (e.g., minor harm not requiring surgery or severe disfigurement). A first offense carries up to two years in jail and fines of $855-$8,540, while a second or subsequent offense becomes a class D felony punishable by up to five years in jail and fines of $1,025-$10,245. This bill directly affects individuals convicted of OWI causing non-serious injury, adjusting penalties to better align with the severity of the harm caused.

Topics ✗ Criminal Justice ✓ Transportation

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2663: A bill for an act relating to cancer research, and making appropriations.

HF 2663 appropriates $2 million to fund a University of Iowa study on the underlying causes of cancer rates in Iowa, and $3 million to the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants supporting clinical cancer research and improving access to cancer research trials for Iowa residents. The funds would cover research costs at the university and allow the health department to provide grants to public or private organizations running cancer research programs. This is a funding measure for research infrastructure, not a direct healthcare service or treatment program.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Healthcare

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2665: A bill for an act relating to radon mitigation requirements and tax credits, including retroactive applicability provisions, and making appropriations.

HF 2665 requires new single-family and two-family residential construction (after adoption) to include passive radon mitigation systems in the building code. It creates a tax credit of up to $1,000 for homeowners and renters to cover the cost of installing radon mitigation systems, applying retroactively to tax years beginning January 1, 2025. For rental properties, tenants can test for radon (with results ≥4 picocuries per liter triggering landlord action), and landlords must install mitigation systems within 90 days or face lease termination with rent refunds. The bill also appropriates $100,000 for free radon test kits available to homeowners and renters through the state health department.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Environment ✓ Healthcare

introduced · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2675: A bill for an act relating to the peace officer, public safety, and emergency personnel bill of rights.

HF 2675 establishes specific procedural rights for Iowa peace officers, firefighters, EMTs, corrections staff, and other public safety personnel during formal investigations into complaints. The bill requires agencies to provide officers with a written summary of complaints before interviews, access to relevant incident reports and evidence without delay, and audio recording of all interviews. It guarantees officers the right to have legal counsel or union representatives present during investigations and disciplinary proceedings, while protecting confidential communications between officers and their representatives. The bill also prohibits using interview responses against officers in criminal cases and mandates that disciplinary decisions include providing full investigative reports upon request. This applies directly to all certified public safety personnel employed by Iowa municipalities, counties, or state agencies.

Topics ✗ Criminal Justice ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2688: A bill for an act relating to investment requirements for data center businesses that claim certain sales tax exemptions and sales and use tax refunds.

HF 2688 requires data centers in Iowa that claim sales tax exemptions or refunds to invest 5% of the value of those exemptions/refunds from the previous year into qualifying businesses or innovation funds. This applies directly to data center businesses using specific tax exemptions under sections 423.3 and 423.4. If they fail to meet this investment requirement, the state cancels their tax exemption eligibility and requires them to repay all claimed exemptions/refunds as regular tax payments. The bill also updates annual reporting requirements for data centers to include details on exempt purchases and tax refunds starting in 2027.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes

introduced · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2668: A bill for an act relating to the regulation of public utilities, including virtual power plants and integrated resource planning.

HF 2668 requires Iowa's rate-regulated electric utilities to file integrated resource plans every five years starting in 2028, detailing 5- and 20-year energy strategies. It defines virtual power plants (VPPs) - collections of customer-owned energy systems managed centrally - as not public utilities, but mandates the commission create rules to approve VPPs only if they benefit customers in their service area. The bill also requires utilities to include detailed analyses of energy options, costs, reliability, and customer impacts in their plans, with public access to non-confidential data. This directly affects electric utilities and their customers by shaping how energy resources are planned, approved, and evaluated across Iowa.

Topics ✓ Energy

introduced · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2669: A bill for an act relating to driver’s licenses and nonoperator’s identification cards marked to reflect a holder’s nonapparent disability status, and including applicability provisions.

HF 2669 allows individuals with nonapparent disabilities - including autism spectrum disorder, mental disabilities, or developmental disabilities - to request that their Iowa driver's license or nonoperator ID card include a visible marking (like a butterfly design approved by the Department of Transportation) to indicate their disability status. When applying for or renewing a license or ID card, holders must specifically request this marking and may need to provide medical proof of their disability. The Department of Transportation will note the disability status in its electronic database for law enforcement access and must develop educational materials about the option. The bill takes effect on March 1, 2027, or when the new records system is implemented, and does not change existing marking for deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals.

introduced · Iowa · House Feb 23, 2026

HF 2693: A bill for an act relating to immunity from criminal or civil liability in cases involving the justifiable use of reasonable force.

HF 2693 provides legal immunity from criminal or civil liability for Iowans who use reasonable force in self-defense, defense of others, or protection of property. It creates a presumption that the person reasonably believed force was necessary to stop unlawful force, requires law enforcement to have probable cause before arresting someone for justified force, and mandates a 14-day pretrial hearing if immunity is claimed. During this hearing, the party challenging the immunity must prove it was not justified using clear and convincing evidence. The bill directly affects individuals using force in defensive situations and changes how such cases are handled by courts and law enforcement.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 23, 2026

SF 2024: A bill for an act relating to local government by modifying property tax credits and rent reimbursements, provisions governing abandoned mobile homes and personal property in rural areas, and tax sales.

This bill modifies Iowa's property tax credit system for low-income elderly and disabled residents, ensuring timely annual payments for property taxes or rent reimbursements. It streamlines the removal of abandoned mobile homes on rural property by allowing landowners or mobile home park operators to remove "valueless homes" (defined as abandoned homes with no market value) without court orders, requiring only 10 days' written notice to the county treasurer. The bill also updates tax sale rules to prevent splits or consolidations of land parcels during redemption periods or with unpaid taxes. These changes directly affect rural property owners, mobile home park operators, and low-income homeowners/renters.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Housing

in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 23, 2026

SF 2029: A bill for an act relating to the compensation of county officers.

This bill requires Iowa county compensation boards to set salaries for county officers (including sheriffs, auditors, and treasurers) using specific comparison benchmarks. For sheriff salaries, boards must use the statistical mean of salaries for comparable law enforcement roles in the state patrol, criminal investigation division, and city police chiefs in cities with populations within 1,000 people of the county's population. Boards must document their salary recommendations using data from other Iowa counties, other states, private sector, and federal government, and a majority vote is needed to approve the schedule. If counties fail to follow these rules, the Attorney General can sue to compel compliance via a writ of mandamus.

Bill results