After relatively short weeks of floor action and light debate calendars in both chambers, there is progress towards pushing the legislature toward adjournment. Last week’s Senate debate calendar contained several high-profile issues, including property taxes and the Governor’s Iowa “MAHA” bill, and the Senate Appropriations Committee met to pass several budget drafts after announcing a target in Week 12.
On the other side of the rotunda, the House is holding out on releasing budget targets and has limited its action on appropriations bills, specifically those related to health and human services, until the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) answers lawmakers’ questions. With less than two weeks left until April 21 and the scheduled end of session, legislators must reach deals on key issues and pass budgets before adjourning and turning their attention to the June primaries and November general election.
2026 Budget Tracker
Before adjournment, the legislature must approve the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget process in Iowa is split into several different budget bills that are sorted by topic area. The Senate has advanced bills with the Governor’s recommendations and released the majority party’s targets last week. On Wednesday, the Senate advanced those “Governor” bills out of committee and is planning to amend their proposals into each of those bills prior to their passage.
House Republicans have yet to release their budget targets, but have started to release some budget bills as they are ready. Unlike the Senate, the House is releasing their proposals initially instead of moving the Governor’s bills out of committee first.
This table displays the topic area, budget bills related to the topic, and the last bill action taken by the originating chamber.
Iowa Property Tax Legislation Passes Senate
The Senate took up its version of the property tax legislation (SF 2472) on Wednesday, amending it substantially on the floor. Amendment S-5172 maintains many of the original provisions of the bill, most notably the 102% limit on most local government property tax revenue with a carve out for new growth and inflation.
Major changes made in the amendment include keeping some of the residential rollback, adding changes to tax-increment-financing (TIF), striking the senior unencumbered home exemption, maintaining the school foundation levy at current levies, and adding the FirstHome Account program from the Governor’s and House’s bills.
The bill passed the Senate 41-4 as amended. Senator Tony Bisignano spoke on behalf of the Democratic caucus to express that while this bill is not ideal, but to the caucus, it is the best version out there and appreciated being included in the conversation. In his closing comments, the floor manager, Senator Dan Dawson, echoed that this is not the final product, but it is a good-faith effort to find the solution.
Substantial differences remain between the House and Senate. Some provisions within the Senate bill that are not in the House bill are:
- Having the 102% cap be flexible if inflation is high
- The reintroduction of the multi-residential property tax category
- An extra senior homestead exemption that increases with age
- Raising the gas tax
- Allowing an increased local-option-sales-tax
Both chambers and the Governor must now work together to reach a solution between their proposals.
Iowa Make America Healthy Again Act
The Senate took up HF 2676, or the “Iowa Make America Healthy Again Act” (MAHA), on Wednesday afternoon. This legislation would implement wide-ranging education, health, and nutrition reform. The Senate worked from the House version of the bill and passed a large amendment to modify several provisions. HF 2676 with the Senate amendment would:
- Require the Board of Medicine to adopt rules to require certain practitioners to complete continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health.
- Require Iowa medical schools to require students to complete at least 40 hours of coursework on nutrition and metabolic health.
- Direct the Department of Health and Human Services to implement a SNAP waiver program.
- Provide authority to the Director or Director’s designee to define healthy foods.
- Implement public school meal standards for districts providing food and beverages to students.
- Require nonpublic schools receiving state funding for meals to fulfill the same requirements.
- Amend all references of epinephrine “auto injector” to “delivery system.”
- Makes over-the-counter ivermectin available.
- Outline student instructional technology standards, limiting digital instruction to 60 minutes per school day for K-5 and requiring school districts to adopt a written K-5 technology use policy.
- Convenes a working group for the impact of technology on cognitive learning.
- Require physical education curriculum to include the Presidential Physical Fitness Test.
- Establish a Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact.
The bill passed the Senate as amended along party lines (30-15) and will head back to the House for consideration. Identical versions of the MAHA bill must pass both chambers for it to become law.
Nicotine and Vapor Product Taxation
Legislation to address Iowa’s high cancer rates and to incentivize healthy behavior in Iowans has been an ongoing conversation throughout the 2026 legislative session. SF 2480 (formerly SSB 3193) was released this week and seeks to regulate and tax alternative nicotine and vapor products. The bill would impose a five-cent tax on distributors (proportional to container size or liquid amount) and deposit the revenues into the Health Care Trust Fund, directing $3 million annually to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital for pediatric cancer and related matters.
In the committee meeting on the bill, legislators on both sides of the aisle expressed that this is a starting point, but the tax on alternative nicotine and vapor products should be higher. The bill was passed 13-6 in the Appropriations Committee and will be eligible for floor debate in the Senate next week.
Iowa Farm Bill Passes House
The House debated HF 2748, referred to as the Iowa Farm Bill, on the floor Wednesday evening. The legislation is an omnibus bill, originally proposed by Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, which addresses a wide range of agricultural issues, including the powers and duties of the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, commodities, the use of agricultural land, and taxes on agricultural products.
Ahead of floor debate, several amendments were filed, including two particularly contentious amendments. H-8342 amended Amendment H-8292 to add hemp to the new agricultural tourism provision, which passed 54-36. Amendment H-8293 to incorporate a division on septic treatment systems failed by a narrow margin of 41-48.
Ultimately, HF 2748 was amended, passed the chamber with a vote of 81-8, and sent a message to the Senate. The Senate has its own version of the Iowa Farm Bill, SF 2465, currently on the Appropriations calendar, so the future of this version of the Iowa Farm Bill is uncertain.
Governor Reynolds Signs Bills into Law
On Thursday, Governor Reynolds issued a press release announcing the signing of the first large batch of legislation. The release specifically called attention to HF 2514, a bill for an act making children of childcare workers in Iowa eligible for the state Child Care Assistance Program. Other bills signed into law include:
- HF 2215: A bill for an act relating to natural resources, including office locations of the Director of Natural Resources, state park user fee pilot programs, the delegation of powers and duties concerning state preserves, and age requirements for hunting deer with pistols or revolvers.
- HF 2232: A bill for an act relating to life insurance, permissible third parties, and financial exploitation of eligible adults.
- HF 2349: A bill for an act relating to the final disposition of human remains.
- HF 2356: A bill for an act establishing the state public defender’s pilot project to implement innovative models of child welfare legal representation as the project to preserve families.
- HF 2497: A bill for an act relating to peer-to-peer car sharing programs.
- HF 2506: A bill for an act relating to prizes awarded by licensed qualified organizations.
- HF 2515: A bill for an act relating to deferred or suspended sentences for cases involving sexual exploitation of a minor.
- HF 2558: A bill for an act relating to the definition of public improvement for purposes of public construction bidding.
- HF 2564: A bill for an act relating to a pregnant minor’s legal capacity to consent to the provision of certain medical care.
- HF 2571: A bill for an act relating to the Iowa rules of criminal procedure including commitment hearings following an acquittal based on insanity.
- HF 2582: A bill for an act relating to investigations of insurance fraud related to adjusters, appraisers, and umpires, and license and financial responsibility requirements for adjusters, and including effective date provisions.
- HF 2671: A bill for an act relating to matters under the purview of the Department of Administrative Services, including rules for capitol complex events and the compatibility of passenger vehicles rented or leased by the state with biodiesel blended fuel classified as B-20 or higher, and including effective date and applicability provisions.
- HF 2720: A bill for an act relating to dissolution of marriage, including name change requests.
- SF 572: A bill for an act prohibiting the licensure of certain entities of the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to establish, conduct, or maintain a hospital or health care facility.
- SF 2114: A bill for an act relating to intimidation with a dangerous weapon and making penalties applicable.
- SF 2137: A bill for an act relating to the definition of qualified education expenses.
- SF 2190: A bill for an act relating to the use of the title physician assistant and physician associate.
- SF 2198: A bill for an act relating to the authority of an attorney in fact under a durable power of attorney for health care.
- SF 2214: A bill for an act relating to the installation of transmission lines on highway rights-of-way.
- SF 2215: A bill for an act relating to the applicability of the standard nonforfeiture law for individual deferred annuities to contingent deferred annuities.
- SF 2340: A bill for an act relating to the authority of counties and cities to regulate the installation or use of battery-charged security alarm systems on non-residential properties.
- SF 2369: A bill for an act relating to county and city regulation of accessory dwelling units.
- SF 2416: A bill for an act relating to interviews conducted with a child subsequent to a report of child abuse.
- SF 2418: A bill for an act relating to drainage districts and levees, including district parcel records, and including effective date provisions.
The signing of these bills brings the total number of bills signed into law to 29 for the 2026 legislative session.
2026 Iowa Legislative Retirements
State legislators retiring from office address the chambers in retirement speeches as session moves to a close. In the House, five legislators have spoken on their time in public office, signaling movement toward the end of the 2026 legislative session. The Senate has yet to yield the floor to any retiring legislators for their addresses.
Soil Temperature Update
Iowa’s legislative calendar is historically based around the planting and growing season, allowing farmers to serve in the legislature and tend to their land. The legislature historically adjourns around the time when the soil temperature is high enough to begin fieldwork for the new growing season. Corn and soybean planting can generally begin once the temperature reaches the low to mid-50s.
According to Iowa State University Soil Monitoring, current soil temperatures around the state are slightly below 40 degrees in the northwest, solidly in the 40s in the central portion of the state, and near or above 50 degrees in the southern half of the state.
What’s next?
With less than two weeks until the scheduled 100th day of session, legislators appear eager to reach deals on outstanding issues and budgets. However, the House has yet to take floor action on property taxes and to introduce several budget bills. Legislative leaders will focus on resolving these remaining issues and an agreement on a final budget for the Governor to sign within 30 days of sine die.
