It was a quieter week at the Iowa State Capitol as we reach the final stretch of the 2025 legislative session. As the first year of a general assembly, session is scheduled for 110 days, and this year, that day falls on Friday, May 2. While legislators may continue working beyond this date, their per diem payments end, providing an incentive to finish their work for the year. In Iowa, it is not uncommon for the legislature to continue to convene beyond this date, and the legislature will likely continue beyond that May 2 date this year.
The Senate debated Monday through Wednesday but sent members home without debating on Thursday. The chamber passed 20 bills, sending eight to Governor Reynolds and 12 to the House. Meanwhile, the House debated all four days and passed 44 bills, sending 15 to the Governor and 29 to the Senate. Bills seeing action this week include:
| Number | Bill Description | Action |
| SF 513 | Removes the requirement that a parent must pay for their child’s post-secondary education in a divorce settlement. | Passed Senate 43-4, Passed House 85-6, Goes to Governor |
| HF 978 | Establishes a Psilocybin Production Licensing Board, amended to clarify member qualifications, insurance coverage requirements, and eligible conditions. | Passed House 84-6, Goes to Senate |
| HF 1001 | Establishes a Rural Attorney Recruitment Assistance program, amended to strike language prohibiting participating attorneys from using other loan repayment and forgiveness programs. | Passed House 86-6, Goes to Senate |
| HF 1019 | Exempts toilet paper from sales and use taxes. | Passed House 82-11, Goes to Senate |
There are still several large outstanding bills the legislature is still considering, such as ones relating to property taxes, tax credits, and energy. However, it is becoming increasingly likely that the legislature may choose to pull back on comprehensive policy reform and wait to address the outstanding issues until next session. Leadership continues to strategize how to prioritize legislative work in the remaining days of session and coordinate with members to determine what can be passed this year.
Budget Update
Annually, the legislature is required to approve the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. In Week 13, Governor Kim Reynolds introduced several budget bills adjusted to reflect the reduction in the March Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) numbers. As anticipated, the Governor has issued a mostly status quo budget.
The legislature is not required to adopt the Governor’s budget bills. Rather, both the House and the Senate are working on developing their budget language based on internal targets. No numbers have been shared publicly, but the lack of major floor action indicates serious work is being done behind the scenes.
Governor Signs Series of Bills
At the end of Week 14, Governor Reynolds signed a series of bills into law.
| Bill Number | Bill Title | Date Signed |
| SF 619 | A bill for an act relating to the natural hazard mitigation financing program, the disaster recovery housing assistance program, the disaster recovery new housing program, post-loss assignment of benefits, the licensing and regulation of adjusters, appraisers, and umpires, and the Iowa economic emergency fund, and providing penalties, making appropriations, and including effective date and applicability provisions. (Formerly SF 591, SSB 1188.) Effective date: 04/22/2025, 07/01/2025. Applicability date: Conditional, 01/01/2024. | 04/22/25 |
| HF 924 | A bill for an act relating to the minimum age for acquiring or carrying weapons. (Formerly HSB 262.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| HF 860 | A bill for an act prohibiting state and local regulations on fuel-powered equipment based on the equipment’s fuel source. (Formerly HSB 214.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| HF 857 | A bill for an act relating to solicitation by a financial institution using prescreened trigger lead information from a consumer report. (Formerly HSB 150.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| HF 647 | A bill for an act relating to the place of trial for certain criminal offenses. (Formerly HSB 49.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| HF 367 | A bill for an act relating to family interactions during an ongoing child in need of assistance proceeding. (Formerly HSB 40.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| HF 363 | A bill for an act relating to the final disposition of remains. (Formerly HSB 16.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| HF 314 | A bill for an act authorizing the waiver of preplacement investigations and reports in certain adoption proceedings. (Formerly HSB 41.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| HF 309 | A bill for an act relating to the review by the Department of Inspections, appeals, and licensing of certain deficient practices by nursing facilities. (Formerly HSB 1.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| SF 460 | A bill for an act relating to home inspections, including persons authorized to perform home inspections and requirements for independent home inspection reports, providing penalties, and making penalties applicable. (Formerly SSB 1144.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| SF 397 | A bill for an act relating to assaults, including assaults on persons engaged in certain occupations and inmate assaults on Department of Corrections employees, and providing penalties. (Formerly SSB 1058.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| SF 266 | A bill for an act relating to theft, forgery, and fraud involving a gift card, and providing penalties. Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
| SF 166 | A bill for an act relating to bank utilization of filing services offered by the secretary of state. (Formerly SSB 1034.) Effective date: 07/01/2025. | 04/18/25 |
The full list of bills signed in 2025 can be viewed here.
Soil Temperature Update
According to Iowa State University Soil Monitoring, the current soil temperatures around the state range from the mid-40s to above 60 degrees, with temperatures continuing to rise. There is only one week left until the legislative per diem runs out, so non-farming legislators are likely to join their farmer colleagues in pushing for adjournment.
What’s next?
Next week marks the 110th day of session. If the chambers wish to adjourn on time, or close to it, they will need to publicly release their budgets and begin immediate work on the passage of those bills. However, legislators may also attempt to pass bills related to energy, property taxes, unemployment taxes, and tax credits yet this year.
The full 2025 Session Timetable can be found here.
