Articles Tagged: Iowa Legislature

Watch Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen delivering the annual Condition of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Iowa Legislature

Iowa is currently operating in a budget deficit, created in large part by a series of reductions in state income tax levels. In the current state budget year, the state’s general fund budget spending of $9.4 billion, is higher than the roughly $8.2 billion in state revenue.

Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday unveiled a legislative agenda focused on overhauling Iowa’s property tax system, tightening immigration and election enforcement, expanding health care access and continuing education reforms.

Companies constructing carbon sequestration pipelines would not be able to use eminent domain to acquire land for their projects under legislation being considered by Iowa lawmakers — the first piece of legislation in what's expected to be a prominent topic during the 2026 session.

Countering a bill the Iowa Department of Administrative Services prefiled in December to eliminate the mandate in Iowa Code that it maintain a historical resource center in Iowa City, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers Tuesday introduced a measure to ensure historical centers remain staffed and open in both Des Moines and Iowa City.

Watch Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Condition of the State address to the Iowa Legislature today.

Many Iowa lawmakers have listed rising local property taxes as a priority of their work in the 2026 legislative session.

Renewed action on property tax relief, a tougher approach to repeat violent crime, state spending, affordability and bipartisan calls for cooperation and civility were among the pledges and requests made by leaders during the first day of the 2026 session on Monday.

Iowa Sen. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, will propose legislation banning a Chinese-manufactured pesticide, saying he believes it could be linked to Parkinson’s disease, which he is battling.

A deal the State of Iowa reached with the University of Iowa last month to maintain public access to historical society documents in Iowa City — as required by Iowa Code — is only in place for six months, if not fewer, helping the state to comply with Iowa law just long enough to change it.

Educators are again asking for an increase of 5 percent in funding for Iowa public schools, saying it’s crucial for keeping up with inflation, managing increased operating costs and making up for decades of underfunding amid statewide declining school enrollment.

With higher education coming under a more permanent and scrutinizing legislative gaze last session with the establishment of a new standing committee in the Iowa House, chair Taylor Collins promised sustained focus on the state’s colleges and universities when the 91st General Assembly reconvenes on Monday.

Iowa’s long-term care system remains under mounting pressure from workforce shortages, high turnover and a wave of facility closures that have left vulnerable residents traumatized and at risk, according to a new report from the Iowa Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

After altering Iowa’s reproductive health care landscape in recent years through enacting a law restricting abortion access, state lawmakers will now see a new push to focus on the next target of anti-abortion advocates: the abortion pill.

A Johnson County District Court judge has denied the state’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges a new law requiring three Iowa counties to change how their supervisors are elected is unconstitutional.