The legislature met their second legislative funnel deadline this week. This means that policy bills that did not receive floor approval in their originating chamber and advance through committee in the opposite chamber are ‘dead’ and not eligible for further consideration. There are exceptions to the funnel for Ways and Means, Appropriations, and Leadership bills. Additionally, chamber rules allow for procedural exceptions such as placing bills on the Unfinished Business calendar, which allow for bills to remain eligible for consideration beyond the funnel.
Dead or Alive?
A handful of priority bills, including proposals from Governor Kim Reynolds on private school scholarships (SF2369) and workforce (HF2279) (which includes unemployment and tort reform), did not meet the legislative funnel benchmark.
“We’re still in the process of trying to find compromises and trying to work things through the process… I’ve made some moves to different committees to keep things alive and keep the conversations going,” House Speaker Pat Grassley said Thursday. Lawmakers have several options to resurrect a bill if it does not meet a funnel deadline, including adding policy to other bills via amendment or include policy in budget proposals.
On Wednesday evening after a motion to consider failed on the House floor that would have amended provisions of the Governor’s workforce bill onto a Senate bill being considered by the House, the bill was ultimately deferred on. Reynolds told reporters Wednesday there were still several options to pass her tort reform and unemployment proposal. “We’re looking at different ways to get something across the finish line. If it gets pulled, we’ll figure out another place to put the bill.”
Filing Deadline for the June Primary–Statewide Offices
The deadline for filing for the June primary is today, March 18. Deidre DeJear officially filed to run for the Democratic nomination for Governor on Tuesday of this week. Governor Reynolds announced her reelection for Governor and officially filed last week.
Below, find a chart identifying candidates that have filed their paperwork with the Secretary of State as of the morning of Friday, March 18. Candidates have until 5pm tonight to file with the Secretary of State.
| Governor | Republican | Kim Reynolds |
| Democratic | Deidre DeJear | |
| Secretary of State | Republican | Paul Pate |
| Democratic | Joel Miller | |
| Democratic | Eric Van Lancker | |
| Auditor of the State | Republican | May Ann Hanusa |
| Democratic | Rob Sand | |
| Treasurer of the State | Republican | Roby Smith |
| Democratic | Michael Fitzgerald | |
| Secretary of Agriculture | Republican | Mike Naig |
| Democratic | John Norwood | |
| Attorney General | Republican | Brenna Bird |
| Democratic | Tom Miller |
Filing Deadline for the June Primary–Statehouse
The deadline for filing for the June primary is today, March 18. Redistricting makes this election year particularly interesting, as many elected officials (higher than average) announce that they are retiring or plan to seek another elected office.
All House seats are up for election in November (House seats are up for election every two years). Typically, when two sitting House members wind up in the same district, one will move to another district, announce their retirement, or seek another elected office. Currently, there are a few districts where current sitting House members will be facing off in a primary:
- New House District 53 Republican Representatives Dean Fisher and David Maxwell have both filed to run
- New House District 66 Republican Representatives Steven Bradley and Lee Hein have both filed to run
- New House District 87 Republican Representatives Jeff Shipley and Joe Mitchell have both filed to run
The Senate primary process post-redistricting is more complicated. Senators are elected to four-year terms and half of the Senate is up for election every two years, either the even-numbered districts or the odd-numbered districts. Redistricting impacts this staggered election year cycle by occurring just two years after an election for half of the seats in the Senate by changing the boundaries and numbering of the Senate districts. In the redistricting process, districts are drawn without regard to where incumbents live (following the Constitution and statutory process for redistricting); but then the districts are numbered with an effort to put Senators who are in the middle of a four-year term into a holdover district. Iowa law provides that certain senate incumbents shall be allowed to continue serving for a four-year term without being subject to an election during the first general election following redistricting. However, in no event will an incumbent senator be allowed to serve a six-year term without an intervening election.
In 2022, odd-numbered Senate districts are up for election. Even-numbered districts are up for election if:
- Two incumbents live in the same district
- The district is open (no incumbents live within the new boundaries)
- The incumbent in the district is at the end of a four-year term
All Senators who ran and were elected in 2018 must run again, regardless of their district (even/odd). A Senator who was elected in 2020 can holdover in an even-numbered district who two incumbents if the other incumbent moves, announce their retirement (by the third Wednesday in February), or seek another elected office.
As of today, nine even-numbered seats will be up for re-election in 2022 along with the 25 odd-numbered seats.
Below, find charts that identify candidates that have filed their candidate paperwork with the Secretary of State as of the morning of Friday, March 18. Candidates have until 5pm tonight to file with the Secretary of State.
Senate Candidates
| Senate District | Party | Ballot Name(s) |
| District 1 | Republican | Rocky De Witt |
| Democratic | Jackie Smith | |
| District 2 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 3 | Republican | Lynn Evans |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 4 | Republican | Tim Kraayenbrink |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 5 | Republican | David D. Dow |
| Republican | Dave Rowley | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 6 | Republican | Jason Schultz |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 7 | Republican | Kevin Alons |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 8 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 9 | Republican | Tom Shipley |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 10 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 11 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Lisa Fleishman | |
| District 12 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 13 | Republican | Cherielynn Westrich |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 14 | Republican | Jake Chapman |
| Democratic | Sarah Trone Garriott | |
| District 15 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 16 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 17 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Grace Van Cleave | |
| District 18 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 19 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Tyler Stewart | |
| District 20 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 21 | Republican | Mike Bousselot |
| Democratic | Todd Brady | |
| District 22 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 23 | Republican | Jack Whitver |
| Democratic | Matt Pries | |
| District 24 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 25 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 26 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 27 | Republican | Annette Sweeney |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 28 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 29 | Republican | Sandy Salmon |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 30 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Whitney Mixdorf | |
| District 31 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 32 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 33 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 34 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 35 | Republican | Chris Cournoyer |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 36 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 37 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 38 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 39 | Republican | Edward Bernie Hayes |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 40 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 41 | Republican | Kerry Gruenhagen |
| Republican | Alan Weets | |
| Democratic | Deb VanderGaast | |
| District 42 | Republican | Charlie McClintock |
| Republican | Colman Silbernagel | |
| Democratic | Bruce Gardner | |
| Democratic | Jessica Wiskus | |
| District 43 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 44 | Republican | Adrian Dickey |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 45 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | John Raley | |
| Democratic | Janice Weiner | |
| District 46 | Republican | Dawn Driscoll |
| Democratic | Kevin Kinney | |
| District 47 | Republican | Barry Long |
| Republican | Scott Webster | |
| Democratic | Mary Kathleen Figaro | |
| District 48 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 49 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Cindy Winckler | |
| District 50 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate |
House Candidates
| House District | Party | Ballot Name(s) |
| District 1 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 2 | Republican | Robert Henderson |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 3 | Republican | Thomas Jeneary |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 4 | Republican | Skyler Wheeler |
| Republican | Kendal Zylstra | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 5 | Republican | Dennis Bush |
| Republican | Zachary Dieken | |
| Republican | Thomas Kuiper | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 6 | Republican | Megan Jones |
| Democratic | James Eliason | |
| District 7 | Republican | Mike Sexton |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 8 | Republican | Ann Meyer |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 9 | Republican | Henry Stone |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 10 | Republican | John Wills |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 11 | Republican | Brian Best |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 12 | Republican | Steven Holt |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 13 | Republican | No Canididate |
| Democratic | No Canididate | |
| District 14 | Republican | Jacob Bossman |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 15 | Republican | Rebecca Wilkerson |
| Republican | Matt Windschitl | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 16 | Republican | David Sieck |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 17 | Republican | Paul Dykstra |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 18 | Republican | Thomas Jay Moore |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 19 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 20 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Josh Turek | |
| District 21 | Republican | Brooke Boden |
| Democratic | Joe Kerner | |
| District 22 | Republican | Stan Gustafson |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 23 | Republican | Ray Bubba Sorensen |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 24 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 25 | Republican | Hans Wilz |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 26 | Republican | Mark Chelgren |
| Republican | Austin Harris | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 27 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Kenan Judge | |
| District 28 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Sonya Heitshusen | |
| Democratic | Tom Walton | |
| District 29 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Brian Meyer | |
| District 30 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Eddie Mauro | |
| Democratic | Megan Srinivas | |
| District 31 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 32 | Republican | Mark Brown |
| Democratic | Jennifer Konfrst | |
| District 33 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 34 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Ako Abdul-Samad | |
| District 35 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Sean Bagniewski | |
| District 36 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Jaylen Cavil | |
| Democratic | Chris Disbro | |
| Democratic | Shannon Henson | |
| Democratic | Austin Baeth | |
| District 37 | Republican | Greg Heartsill |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 38 | Republican | Jon Dunwell |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 39 | Republican | Mark Weatherly |
| Democratic | Rick Olson | |
| District 40 | Republican | Bill Gustoff |
| Democratic | Mackenzie Bills | |
| District 41 | Republican | Marvis Landon |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 42 | Republican | Garrett Gobble |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 43 | Republican | Brett Nelson |
| Democratic | Suresh Reddy | |
| District 44 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 45 | Republican | Brian Lohse |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 46 | Republican | Jeremy Freeman |
| Republican | Dan Gehlbach | |
| Democratic | Bridget Montgomery | |
| District 47 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Gary Clayton Overla | |
| District 48 | Republican | Phil Thompson |
| Democratic | Penny Vossler | |
| District 49 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Beth Wessel-Kroeschell | |
| District 50 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Ross Wilburn | |
| District 51 | Republican | Dave Deyoe |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 52 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 53 | Republican | Dean Fisher |
| Republican | David Maxwell | |
| Democratic | Sarah Smith | |
| District 54 | Republican | Joshua Meggers |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 55 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 56 | Republican | James Nelson |
| Republican | Mark Thompson | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 57 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 58 | Republican | Sean Galleger |
| Republican | Jim Wright | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 59 | Republican | Doug Campbell |
| Democratic | Sharon Steckman | |
| District 60 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 61 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 62 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 63 | Republican | Michael Bergan |
| Democratic | Tim Lecander | |
| District 64 | Republican | Anne Osmundson |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 65 | Republican | Shannon Lundgren |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 66 | Republican | Steven Bradley |
| Republican | Lee Hein | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 67 | Republican | Craig Johnson |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 68 | Republican | Chad Ingels |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 69 | Republican | Tom Determann |
| Democratic | Jennifer Hansen | |
| District 70 | Republican | Norlin Momsen |
| Democratic | Kay Pence | |
| District 71 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Lindsay James | |
| District 72 | Republican | Jennifer Smith |
| Democratic | Charles Isenhart | |
| District 73 | Republican | Susie Weinacht |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 74 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 75 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 76 | Republican | Tony Chavez |
| Republican | Derek Wulf | |
| Democratic | Kate Wyatt | |
| District 77 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Jeff Cooling | |
| District 78 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Sami Scheetz | |
| District 79 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Tracy Ehlert | |
| District 80 | Republican | Barrett Hubbard |
| Democratic | Art Staed | |
| District 81 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Craig Lynn Cooper | |
| District 82 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 83 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 84 | Republican | Thomas Gerhold |
| Democratic | Sara Yedlik | |
| District 85 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 86 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Dave Jacoby | |
| District 87 | Republican | Jeff Shipley |
| Republican | Joe Mitchell | |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 88 | Republican | Dustin Hite |
| Democratic | No Canidate | |
| District 89 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Tony Currin | |
| Democratic | Elinor Levin | |
| District 90 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Andrew Dunn | |
| Democratic | Christine Wolfe | |
| Democratic | Adam Zabner | |
| District 91 | Republican | Brad Sherman |
| Democratic | Elle Wyant | |
| District 92 | Republican | Jaron Rosien |
| Democratic | Ty Bopp | |
| District 93 | Republican | Gary Mohr |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 94 | Republican | Mike Vondran |
| Democratic | Phyllis Thede | |
| District 95 | Republican | Taylor Collins |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 96 | Republican | Mark Cisneros |
| Democratic | No Candidate | |
| District 97 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Ken Croken | |
| District 98 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | Monica Kurth | |
| District 99 | Republican | No Candidiate |
| Democratic | Dennis Cohoon | |
| District 100 | Republican | No Candidate |
| Democratic | No Candidate |
What’s Next?
With just over four weeks (less than 20 legislative workdays) until the 100th scheduled day of session, when the legislative per diem ends, the push to adjournment has begun in earnest. In that time, the chambers must reach an agreement on several priority legislative proposals, including:
- Renewable Fuels (HF2128)
- Workforce (Unemployment/Tort Reform) (HF2279/SF2275)
- Education Choice (SF2369)
- School Transparency (Curriculum/Library Books) (SF2364 and SF2205)
- Bottle Bill Changes (SF2122)
- Medical Freedom/Covid-19 Immunization Status Ban (HF2545)
The legislature will also have to approve the budget for the state for fiscal year 2023. The Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver made the following statement about the progress of the 2022 session:
“We feel like in the Senate, we’re in a really good spot. We got a huge priority done early in session with the ($1.9 billion state income tax cuts) bill, which was our No. 1 priority. All the governor’s priorities are still alive. … We felt like we’ve got our business done early, we’re in a good shape, and we’re looking forward to finishing the session stronger.”
