This bill modifies the types of costs that counties can pay for using their local emergency medical services (EMS) trust funds. It expands the eligible expenditures to specifically include the salaries and wages of emergency medical care providers who deliver EMS. This change would allow counties that have established these voter-approved funds to use them to cover personnel costs for their EMS staff, directly affecting both the counties and their emergency medical care providers.
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Public Safety
This bill makes several changes related to emergency services provided by cities. It clarifies that cities can provide compensation, stipends, or benefits to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical care providers even if they hold other city offices. The bill also allows a currently serving city council member to be appointed as a volunteer fire chief, provided they abstain from voting on their own appointment. Furthermore, it permits cities to establish dedicated funds or reserve accounts for acquiring and maintaining major equipment for police, fire, rescue, and emergency medical services. These funds will receive insurance settlements or other payments for damaged emergency equipment, with a provision for reimbursing the city's general fund if it covered initial repair or replacement costs.
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Public Safety
HB 652 protects confidential communications between public safety officers (including police, firefighters, EMTs, dispatchers, and correctional staff) and peer support counselors during crisis or wellness sessions. It prohibits counselors from disclosing these communications in disciplinary proceedings, administrative investigations, or legal cases, except when the communication involves a crime plan, an explicit threat of harm, or mandatory reporting requirements like child abuse. The bill explicitly states such communications cannot be used as evidence in fitness-for-duty evaluations or formal investigations. This law aims to encourage open dialogue about mental health by ensuring confidentiality for officers seeking peer support.
HF 2280 expands Iowa's $250 individual income tax credit for emergency medical services personnel to include non-certified first responders who meet specific qualifications. The bill requires the Department of Revenue to establish rules defining these qualifications under Chapter 17A. It also applies the credit retroactively to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, covering past tax filings. This change directly affects emergency medical personnel who currently lack certification but perform first responder duties.
SF 2347 allows Iowa cities to establish a property tax fund for emergency medical services (EMS) after voter approval. Cities must meet specific conditions: they cannot have an existing EMS district (Chapter 357G), participate in an emergency response district (Chapter 357J), or be in a county already levying a similar tax under Chapter 422D. The bill authorizes cities to impose a maximum property tax rate of $0.75 per $1,000 of assessed value, subject to a 60% voter approval threshold at a city election. This fund would cover EMS costs, including those listed in Chapter 422D.6, and the tax can be terminated using the same voter approval process.
HF 2007 creates a program providing state grants to small rural police departments (serving ≤10,000 people) and volunteer fire departments to cover costs for emergency medical technician (EMT) training for their personnel. Departments must demonstrate a need for EMT services in their area and commit to deploying trained staff, with grants covering tuition, equipment, and certification fees. The state appropriates up to $100,000 annually (2026-2030) from the general fund to fund these grants, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Grantees must submit annual reports on personnel trained and program impact, with a final evaluation due to the legislature by December 2029. The program expires on July 1, 2030.
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State Budget
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Emergency Management
Public Safety
This bill requires Iowa cities and counties to provide full-time employment benefits - including health insurance, pensions, and retirement plans - to public safety employees (police, firefighters, emergency medical staff) and volunteers (reserve officers, volunteer firefighters, emergency medical providers) who work at least 32 hours per week. It overrides previous rules that might have excluded these workers from benefits based on part-time status. The state will cover all costs through a new fund created in the state treasury, with cities/counties submitting cost documentation for validation. The policy applies starting July 1, 2025, for all affected cities and counties.
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Public Safety
HF 307 expands the types of costs counties can pay from their emergency medical services (EMS) trust fund. It specifically adds the salaries or wages of emergency medical care providers (as defined in existing law) to the list of eligible expenses, alongside current allowable costs like equipment. This change affects counties that have established EMS funds through local tax measures authorized by voter approval. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment, allowing counties to use fund money to cover staff compensation for EMS providers.
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Public Safety
HSB 98 modifies rules for city emergency services. It clarifies that volunteer firefighters and emergency medical care providers may receive small payments or benefits while holding compatible city offices, and allows current city council members to serve as volunteer fire department chief with council approval (requiring them to abstain from voting on their own appointment). The bill establishes a dedicated fund for police, fire, rescue, and emergency medical equipment, requiring insurance payouts for damaged equipment to be deposited into this fund rather than the city's general budget. Cities may also transfer leftover funds to a reserve account for future equipment purchases, with specific rules for handling reimbursements from general fund spending.
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Public Safety
HF 156 increases the maximum annual tax rate townships can levy for fire and emergency medical services. Specifically, it raises the limit from 40.5 cents to 91 cents per $1,000 of taxable property value for townships without fire/EMS service agreements with special charter cities and with populations below 300,000. This change directly affects those townships by allowing them to collect higher local funding for these essential services. The bill modifies Iowa Code section 359.43 to update the tax rate thresholds, without altering existing higher limits for townships with city agreements (54 cents) or in counties over 300,000 population (67.5 cents). The policy change provides additional financial flexibility for eligible townships to support fire and emergency medical services.
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Public Safety
