Which bills survived the Iowa Legislature’s first key deadline?

DES MOINES — In 2025, Iowa lawmakers were prolific in their introduction of legislation. Last year, legislators introduced more pieces of legislation in the first two months of the session than they did in the entirety of four of the previous five years.

That was child’s play, it turns out.

This year, state lawmakers introduced 2,901 pieces of legislation through Friday, blowing past the 2,031 they introduced before the first “funnel” deadline a year ago.

When asked by reporters this week what was his main takeaway from the legislative session thus far, Sen. Mike Klimesh, a Republican from Spillville who is in his first session as Senate majority leader, responded with a lighthearted reference to the number of bills introduced.

“We have a lot of bills. There’s a lot of bills,” he said, adding later, “Yeah, just a lot of bills.”

And yet, once again, only a portion of those bills remain eligible starting Monday. Lawmakers at the end of the week reached the session’s first funnel deadline: policy bills had to be passed by a committee — the second step in the state lawmaking process — in order to remain eligible for consideration moving forward. Any bill that did not reach that level is now considered ineligible, or “dead.”

The funnel deadlines do not apply to bills on tax policy or budget bills, which can be considered at any time. Also, legislative leaders have multiple procedural tools at their disposal if every they wish to resurrect a “dead” bill.

What follows is a highlight list of bills that emerged during the session so far and whether they advanced or died in the first funnel.

PASSED THE FIRST FUNNEL

Property rights/eminent domain:

Banning eminent domain for CO2 pipelines HF 2104

Allow hazardous liquid pipeline projects to amend approved routes HF 2104 (as amended)

Abortion:

Medication abortion limitations HSB 704, SSB 3115

LGBTQ issues:

Limiting local government civil rights protections HSB 664

Shielding parents from child abuse charges for anti-transgender choices HSB 669

K-12 education:

Eliminating all vaccine requirements for K-12 students HF 2171

Ban teaching gender ID, sexual orientation through 12th grade HF 2121

Pilot program for separate buildings for students with behavioral issues SF 2181

K-12 social studies curriculum requirements HSB 714

Increasing U.S. government instruction requirement for high school graduation HSB 594

Statewide K-12 school dress code HSB 681

License revocation for teachers who “publicly celebrate” political violence HSB 682

Require U.S. citizenship verification of all K-12 school employees SSB 3015

Increased penalties for academic resume fraud HF 2091

K-12 students’ free expression rights HF 2106, SF 2062

Full per-pupil funding to public charter school students HSB 676

Resolution encouraging dismantling of U.S. Department of Education SJR 2008

Higher education:

Authorize community colleges to add 4-year degrees HSB 533

Freeze regent university students’ tuition at freshman year rate HSB 549

Requiring regent students to take American history and government courses HSB 543

Prohibit DEI courses or content at regent universities HSB 542

Only regent board members on presidential search committees HSB 538

Direct regent universities to sign President Trump’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” by 2026 HSB 548

Bar regent universities from H-1B visa hires from “foreign adversary” HSB 536

Requiring annual reports on antisemitism on regent campuses HSB 646, SSB 3095

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Libraries:

Ban partnerships between schools and libraries HSB 636

Transferring library oversight to city councils HSB 720

Immigration:

Verifying citizenship during voter registration SSB 3045

Verifying citizenship when applying for driver’s license SSB 3024

Requiring citizenship verification for public assistance HSB 696

Requiring verification of state government workers’ citizenship using E-Verify HSB 663

Public safety/judicial:

No deferred judgment for major public worker theft HF 2574

20-year mandatory minimum sentence for habitual offenders HSB 666

DNA collection upon arrest for felony charges HSB 571

Allowing sex crime victims to request lifelong no-contact order HSB 570

Designating kratom as Schedule I controlled substance HSB 508

Restricting when judges can set bonds below standard schedule HSB 641

Collecting, publishing data on judges’ practices HSB 631

Increased penalties for speeding 100 mph-plus SF 2030

Ban on LED lights on or under vehicles HF 2022

License plate reader regulations HF 2555

Require license plate reader operators to delete images within 30 days HF 2161

Using comparable law enforcement positions for setting sheriffs’ salaries SF 2029

Gun regulations:

Allowing firearms in locked vehicles on school grounds SF 2263

Allowing firearms in vehicle during student drop-off and pickup HF 621

State and local government:

Incentives for professional football stadium SF 2252

Removing or repealing affirmative action requirements in state government HSB 668

Iowa “America 250” celebrations HSB 742

Shortening legislators’ per diems SF 2209

State budget extension in case of legislative impasse SSB 3176

Requiring legislative approval for major state rules changes SF 2314

Reimbursing elected officials for security measures HSB 644

End requirement for historical research centers in Des Moines and Iowa City SSB 3033

Bar local governments from issuing ID cards HSB 552

Require local governments to follow governor’s flag-lowering proclamations HSB 634

Organizations that represent government bodies subject to open records law SF 503

Local health board consolidation SSB 3135

Miscellaneous:

Request waivers for food assistance requirements, allow over-the-counter Ivermectin HSB 694

Naming portion of highway for fallen Iowa National Guard soldier HF 2478

Age verification for pornography sites HF 2274

Require parental consent for minors receiving HPV vaccine SF 304

Parental consent for using tanning beds under 18 HF 524

Increased penalties for threats against judges HSB 564, SSB 3087

Eases requirements for magistrate assignments HSB 722

Allowing address confidentiality for elected officials HF 2061

Allowing health care institutions to reject services or medications on moral or ethical grounds HF 571

Subacute mental health care regulations HF 2220, SSB 3083

Requiring English proficiency for commercial truck drivers HSB 699

Eliminating requirement for sprinklers in townhomes with six or fewer units SF 310

Allowing peer-to-peer car-sharing programs HSB 602

Online-only hunter safety courses HF 2020

Ban on attempts to alter weather SSB 3010

Requiring licensure for massage therapists HSB 671

All electric customers to invest in community solar projects HSB 629

Radon mitigation requirements for new construction HF 82

DID NOT ADVANCE

Classifying abortion as homicide HF 2316

Establishing felony charges for doctors who perform abortions HF 2332

Removing libraries’ exemption from state obscenity law SF 2119

Requiring parental consent for “material harmful to minors” at libraries HF 2309

Releasing child’s library checkout records to parents HF 2136

Requiring vaccine manufacturers to forego federal liability protections HF 2287

Repeal casinos’ exemption from public smoking ban HF 781, SF 2051

Including non-carbonated drinks in recycling deposit law HSB 661

Create committee to recommend whether Iowa should absorb Illinois border counties HF 2141

Prohibiting the Iowa Supreme Court from determining constitutionality of new state laws SJR 2002

Loosening restrictions on gun ownership for individuals with past addiction SF 2257

Issue gun permit to carry to state legislators SF 2153

Prohibiting land acknowledgments by regent universities HSB 535

Cigarette tax increase SSB 3145

Allow nursing home residents and families to video monitor their room SSB 3080

Requiring aircraft detecting light systems on wind turbines HF 2081

Limiting public vaccination requirements HF 2368

Creating crime of financial gain from fraudulent polling HF 2377

Keep requirement for historical research centers in Des Moines, Iowa City HF 2025

Request waiver to create state health insurance exchange HSB 721

Increased surcharge for emergency communications services SF 2022

Alternative options to no-fault divorce SF 2172

Limiting mobile home rent increases to one annually HF 481

Limiting mobile home landlords’ ability to cancel rental agreements HF 482

Make black bears a protected species HF 2099

IPERS revoked for felons SSB 3051

Allowing bond votes during primary elections SSB 3026

Allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine HF 2056

50 percent mandatory minimums SF 2011

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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