Government : Eleventh Week of the 2025 Legislative Session

As we continued with floor debate in the 11th week of session, we passed several policies that have been in public discussion for a while. One of these was a priority of Governor Kim Reynolds and an issue we have discussed many times over the last several weeks. House File 782 is the Governor's proposal on cell phones in schools. It requires schools to adopt policies that regulate and restrict cell phone use by students during school hours and in the classroom. Cell phones and social media provide a number of distractions throughout the day and take away focus from what is going on in the classroom. With this bill, we can get students to put their attention back on what is important.

We also passed Senate File 507, which prohibits city and county governments from engaging in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities unless directed by state or federal law and eliminates practices that encourage treating people differently based on certain characteristics. Everybody should be treated with respect and dignity, and when hiring, we should be focused on finding the best, most qualified people for those roles. Iowans want their local governments to be focused on providing services effectively and efficiently, and this bill ensures city and county governments are hiring people based on merit and working to the best of their ability.

Senate File 394 passed the Senate on Wednesday, blocking out-of-state trial attorneys from preying on Iowans and convincing them to file frivolous lawsuits that could have dire consequences for farmers, our state's agriculture industry, and anyone who eats food. This bill simply says a pesticide company cannot be sued for what is on their labels, which have strict federal restrictions they must follow. There are a number of regulations companies have to abide by in order to sell their products, and a number of restrictions of what can and cannot be on the labels on their products. This bill does not prohibit any Iowan from suing the company if they can prove they get sick from the product. It only prohibits lawsuits based upon a label, which the company must label according to federal regulations. These pesticides, used by farmers all over the state because of their effectiveness, are a crucial tool for farmers as they work day and night to provide affordable food all across the world. This bill is an important protection for Iowa's farmers and our vital agriculture industry.

The Value of Work

Protecting the value of work is what inspired Senate File 615, requiring able-bodied individuals on taxpayer-funded health care work a minimum of 80 hours a month to continue receiving benefits. This bill only applies to those who are 19-64 years old, able-bodied and eligible to work, and includes exceptions for those who are not able to work, such as someone who is pregnant, medically exempt, or disabled. The bill requires the Iowa Department of Human Services to request a waiver from the federal government to implement work requirements as a condition to continue to receive Medicaid.

A department review found as many as 100,407, or 58.5 percent, of Iowans receiving expanded Medicaid coverage are identified as not working and a majority of them could be working at least part time. That number is an astoundingly high amount of able-bodied people receiving health care provided by working taxpayers and demonstrates why this bill is critical to pass. People who can work, should. Taxpayer dollars are limited, and money spent on individuals who can work and choose not to reduces the resources available for those people who are unable to work and truly need the assistance.

The goal of this bill is to encourage individuals to work and gain the life skills necessary for self-reliance and responsibility. Many sectors of the Iowa economy are in serious need of workers. More people joining the workforce would significantly improve both the lives of those people now working to provide for themselves with the intrinsic benefits of work, but also the economy at large by filling the jobs so many employers in Iowa have.

Reform Worth Doing

On Wednesday, the Senate held a subcommittee on Senate Study Bill 1208, the massive property tax overhaul released a few weeks ago. After years of band-aids and small fixes, the legislature passed the first step in providing relief to Iowa property taxpayers in 2023. Senate Study Bill 1208 is the next step in that process, proposing a complete overhaul of the property tax system and making it better for taxpayers, businesses and local governments.

This week, the Tax Foundation released a study on Iowa's property tax system, providing valuable background information and insights into both the current system and the proposal discussed this week. The Tax Foundation writes, between 2018 and 2024, "Taxes levied on these properties increased from $4.91 billion to $5.99 billion (not including special districts and assessments), a growth of 21.97 percent." Since our 2023 bill, we have heard from many local governments that they were being punished and they don't have any money to provide services. However, this study pointed out that between 2018 and 2024, tax growth in some counties grew as much as 94%. One county, whose elected officials have regularly decried property tax reform since 2023, had the second highest tax growth in the state at 77%. The counties with the highest growth in property taxes were counties whose population during that time roughly stayed the same or got smaller. These numbers are why we are consistently hearing from Iowans that they are looking for relief and looking for solutions.

The Tax Foundation continues, saying "From the outset, Iowa's property taxes have been on the higher side. … Still, Iowa stands out (after Nebraska) from its regional competitors, if not nationally, for its relatively high property taxes." Senate Republicans have been focused on making Iowa a competitive state, where people want to live and work and build their lives. We have made a lot of progress on making our state competitive. Making Iowa an affordable place to buy and keep your home is one of those things on the agenda to achieve that goal.

Senate Study Bill 1208 aims to bring more transparency, predictability and fairness to the property tax system for Iowa taxpayers. It eliminates the rollback, an antiquated system that often causes uncertainty, and implements revenue limitations to rein in spending and bring relief to Iowans and their families. This bill helps provide the relief Iowans are desperately asking for and continue making Iowa a better state for people to call home.

The Tax Foundation concluded the study by saying, "After decades spent on rollbacks and other fixes that didn't quite work, Iowa lawmakers are on the right track… Phasing out the rollback and replacing it with well-designed levy limits will address the inequities of the rollback (across geographies and classes of property) and constrain the growth of property tax burdens across all 99 counties. That's reform worth doing."