Iowa Bills

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 6, 2026

HF 2320: A bill for an act relating to short-term rental property classification by cities.

HF 2320 allows Iowa cities to regulate short-term rental properties (like those listed on platforms such as Airbnb) for the first time. It permits cities to require property owners to register their short-term rentals and impose penalties for non-registration. Cities can also treat these properties as "lodging" to collect the existing hotel and motel tax, which they previously could not do under current law. This bill removes the current statewide prohibition on city regulation of short-term rentals. It directly affects cities seeking to manage these properties and property owners renting out dwellings for short stays.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 6, 2026

HF 2316: A bill for an act relating to the treatment of an unborn child for the purposes of damages for wrongful death, homicide and related crimes, and assault, making penalties applicable, and including effective date and applicability provisions.

HF 2316 amends Iowa law to define an "unborn child" as an individual organism from fertilization to fetal death or live birth, treating them as legal persons for specific purposes. It expands wrongful death damages to include the death of an unborn child, and creates new criminal provisions making homicide and assault against an unborn child subject to the same legal protections as crimes against born persons. The bill explicitly excludes unintentional harm or death resulting from life-saving medical procedures for the pregnant woman or miscarriages. This law applies only to incidents occurring on or after its effective date.

Topics ✗ Criminal Justice

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 6, 2026

HF 2318: A bill for an act relating to eligibility for unemployment benefits for participants in strikes or other labor disputes.

HF 2318 amends Iowa's unemployment benefits law to allow workers participating in strikes or labor disputes to receive benefits starting on the 15th day of the work stoppage. It removes the current disqualification for strikers and exempts them from the standard requirement to actively seek other employment during the strike. This applies to workers at the workplace where they were last employed, such as a factory or establishment. The bill does not change other eligibility criteria, like being able to work and available for work, but specifically waives disqualification and work search rules for strike participants after 14 days.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 6, 2026

HF 2121: A bill for an act prohibiting school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from providing any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender theory or sexual orientation instruction in grades seven through twelve.

This bill prohibits Iowa public school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from offering any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction about gender theory or sexual orientation to students in grades seven through twelve. It extends an existing ban that previously applied only to kindergarten through sixth grade to cover all middle and high school students. The law requires schools to remove such content from their human growth and development curriculum, which must instead focus on age-appropriate, research-based topics like health, safety, and disease prevention as outlined in other sections of the law. This is a direct policy change affecting school curricula in 7th-12th grades across participating schools.

Topics ✗ Education

in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 5, 2026

SF 2180: A bill for an act providing for the labeling of a package or wrapping holding food that includes a vaccine or vaccine material, and making penalties applicable.

SF 2180 requires food manufacturers and sellers to place a clear, conspicuous label on any packaged or wrapped food product containing FDA-approved vaccine or vaccine material as an ingredient. This applies specifically to processed human food where the vaccine material is part of the ingredients, not to the vaccine itself. Violating the labeling requirement is a simple misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $105-$855. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship enforces this rule and can seek court orders to stop violations. The bill aims to ensure consumers are informed about food products containing vaccine-derived ingredients.

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 5, 2026

HF 2288: A bill for an act relating to vaccination exemptions for certain students in clinical rotations and the qualification of postsecondary schools as eligible institutions for Iowa tuition grants.

This bill requires Iowa postsecondary schools offering health science programs (like nursing or medical training) to provide students with clinical rotation placements where they can skip certain vaccination requirements, upon request. It directly affects health science students needing clinical training and the schools they attend. Schools that fail to comply lose eligibility for Iowa tuition grants, which fund student financial aid. The law defines "clinical rotation" as supervised, credit-bearing healthcare training in facilities and updates eligibility rules for tuition grant programs.

Topics ✓ Education ✗ Healthcare

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 5, 2026

HF 2286: A bill for an act relating to education, including by modifying provisions related to the social studies curriculum, core curriculum, graduation requirements, area education agencies, and high school equivalency diplomas, and including transition provisions and effective date and applicability provisions.

HF 2286 replaces Iowa's social studies curriculum standards by directly adopting South Dakota's standards as the state's new requirements. It mandates specific content including U.S. government, U.S. history, and voting procedures (requiring one-half unit of government and one unit of history), while explicitly prohibiting "action civics" (defined as assignments encouraging political activism or advocacy). The bill modifies graduation requirements to include three years of social studies and removes the Iowa Department of Education's authority to set social studies content, directing schools to follow the adopted standards instead. This directly affects all Iowa public and accredited nonpublic schools, their students, and teachers implementing social studies curriculum.

Topics ✗ Education

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 5, 2026

HF 2285: A bill for an act requiring schools to establish and offer a junior fire fighter program to high school students.

HF 2285 requires all Iowa public school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, charter schools, and innovation zone schools to offer a junior firefighter program to students in grades 9-12. The program must teach about fire service work in a safe environment, build life skills like teamwork, and connect students with emergency responders to encourage future careers in firefighting. Schools can create the program themselves or partner with national organizations, and it may be offered as an extracurricular activity or part of career education. The bill specifies that schools will fund this requirement using existing state school foundation aid, with no new state funding needed for implementation.

Topics ✓ Education

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 5, 2026

HF 2291: A bill for an act relating to charging fees for examining and copying public records requested by members of the general assembly.

HF 2291 prevents Iowa state agencies from charging members of the legislature fees when they request to examine or copy public records they are legally allowed to access under existing law. The bill amends Iowa Code section 22.3 to create a specific exception, ensuring legislators face no fees for these requests - covering all public records accessible to the public under section 22.2, excluding those protected by confidentiality rules in section 22.7. This change applies directly to Iowa legislators and state agencies managing public records. The bill does not alter the standard fee structure for non-legislative requests. It is a procedural change focused on removing financial barriers for legislative oversight.

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 5, 2026

HF 2290: A bill for an act relating to the number of members required on the board of township trustees.

This bill (HF 2290) changes Iowa's law governing township trustee boards. Currently, townships with a taxable property valuation of $250 million or more must have five trustees, while others have three. The bill eliminates this distinction, requiring all townships to have exactly three trustee members regardless of their property valuation. This change applies uniformly to every township board across Iowa, simplifying the structure without altering other duties like fence viewing or meeting requirements.

in committee · Iowa · Senate Feb 5, 2026

SF 2193: A bill for an act requiring a water treatment plant to conduct a test of sewage sludge to detect the presence of a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance.

This bill requires Iowa wastewater treatment plants to test sewage sludge for perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) before applying it to farmland. If PFAS is detected, the plant must notify the landowner in writing, who can then refuse the sludge without legal consequences. The law directly affects wastewater treatment facilities and landowners using sludge for agricultural purposes. It creates a mandatory testing step and notification process to address potential PFAS contamination in soil.

Topics ✓ Environment

in committee · Iowa · House Feb 5, 2026

HF 2058: A bill for an act relating to the Iowa rules of criminal procedure, including subpoenas issued to law enforcement officers.

HF 2058 requires Iowa's Supreme Court to revise criminal procedure rules so that subpoenas for law enforcement officers to testify must include specific details: arrest time/date, citation number, case number, defendant's name, charges, and trial location/time. It also mandates that officers receive at least 30 days' notice before trial. This directly affects law enforcement officers who receive such subpoenas by providing clearer information and more preparation time. The revised rules must be submitted for review by October 14, 2026. The bill focuses on procedural transparency in criminal court proceedings.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill results