2026 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Eight

By: Matthew H. McKinney, R.G. Schwarm & Kelsey R. Schott

Capitol Update

The Iowa Legislature continued floor debate this week, taking up several high-profile policy measures, including a “tough-on-crime” package which cleared the Iowa House on Wednesday. The package includes HF 2542, which establishes a “three strikes” system for certain crimes. Under the bill, individuals who accumulate three points, assigned for felony or aggravated misdemeanor charges, would face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 20 years. Rep. Steven Holt (R - Crawford), the bill’s floor manager, said that the measure is intended to ensure people who repeatedly commit lawless actions will be removed from society and incarcerated. The bill was amended to remove theft, harassment, and possession of a controlled substance as qualifying offenses following discussions with other stakeholder organizations. The measure ultimately passed the House 68-23.

Two additional bills included in the House GOP package also passed Wednesday. Senate File 2399 (74‑19) requires judges to justify bond deviations, while HF 2719 (73‑19) establishes a public dashboard tracking judicial practices. All three measures now move to the Senate for further consideration.

This week also brought additional movement on property taxes. The Senate Republican proposal advanced through a Ways and Means subcommittee on Tuesday. Senate Study Bill 3001, introduced by Senator Dan Dawson (R - Pottawattamie), continues work that began last year when Senator Dawson and Representative Bobby Kaufmann (R - Cedar), then serving as the House Ways and Means Committee Chair, first proposed a comprehensive property tax reform plan. The package has evolved over time and includes changes to Iowa’s “rollback” system used to calculate property taxes, adjustments to levy limits, and an increase in the homestead property tax exemption. To help address potential impacts to local government revenues, the bill also indexes the state’s gas tax to inflation and would allow cities and counties to raise the local option sales tax, subject to voter approval.

As a part of Governor Kim Reynolds’ “Make America Healthy Again” policy initiative, HF 2676 passed the House on Tuesday by a vote of 65–30 following consideration of amendments related to physical education requirements, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) waiver language, and nutrition standards. The changes to the SNAP waiver would require Iowa to annually renew its request for a federal waiver to restrict certain SNAP purchases. Iowa’s current waiver, which took effect January 1, restricts Iowans from using SNAP benefits to buy foods defined as taxable by the IRS. Under HF 2676, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services would also be required to seek approval to prohibit SNAP funds from being used to purchase additional restricted items. It would also allow ivermectin to be sold over the counter without a prescription and restrict certain ingredients in school meals, including artificial food dyes and additives. The proposal now awaits further committee action in the Senate.