Iowa legislators held a marathon session Saturday and Sunday to finish up the 2026 session, ending with a property tax deal and measures on warrant resolution clinics and abortion medication, as well as a budget compromise.
The Iowa House began its final session at 8:31 a.m. Saturday, and gaveled out at 6:11 p.m. Sunday. In the Senate, lawmakers kicked off at 9:11 a.m. Saturday, ended their “day” of debate at 11:06 a.m. Sunday and reconvened from 3:24 p.m. to 7:07 p.m. Sunday to pass the final bills of the session. The shutdown came 12 days after the 100-day session’s targeted end, leaving lawmakers working without per diem expense pay.
Lawmakers were negotiating multiple pieces of legislation and final funding agreements as they spent more than 32 hours at the State Capitol. But by far the most consequential deal was being struck on property taxes — an issue laid out by House and Senate Republican leadership, as well as by Gov. Kim Reynolds, as the number-one item to address during the 2026 legislative session.
A deal was reached on property taxes through SF 2472, which incorporates components from earlier proposals put forward by House and Senate Republicans, as well as the governor.
House Speaker Pat Grassley said the final bill represents two years of work to find the best solution to reducing property tax costs in Iowa.
“We made a commitment to Iowans that this was going to be our leading priority, and we wanted to make sure Iowans saw true property tax relief that was sustainable, that was immediate, it was long term as well, and that’s something we’re extremely proud of,” Grassley told reporters Sunday. “We’ve worked with the Senate, we’ve worked with the governor for two years now to deliver this. I think what you just saw, it’s going to be something that really transformed the property tax system.”
Reynolds also praised accomplishments from the state legislative session, including the deals negotiated on several issues, such as property taxes as well as water quality, that passed in the final days of session.
“As I reflect on the end of my final legislative session, I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve accomplished together on behalf of Iowans this year,” Reynolds said in a statement. “With only a modest 1.4 percent increase to the state budget, Republicans are delivering big for Iowans.”
Democrats offered a different perspective as the 2026 session ended. Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner said the end of the session means “Iowans can finally breathe a sigh of relief,” as lawmakers will no longer be passing measures that will raise their costs of living, healthcare and childcare.
“As the legislative session ends, so does the harm,” Weiner said. “We could have worked together – unfortunately, those opportunities were few and far between.”
The final slate of bills was passed Sunday afternoon and evening, more than a full 24 hours after lawmakers arrived at the Capitol Saturday to begin their “last” day. Here are some of the other bills advanced in the final hours of the 2026 session:
Abortion pills
After a politically charged debate, the Senate approved HF 2563 Sunday, a bill that would restrict access to abortion-inducing medications like mifepristone through telehealth and mail-order prescription services. The legislation adds that medical treatment for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies could not be construed as abortion procedures under state law.
Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, argued the measure was for the safety of women, citing the potential to access unknown “poison” on the internet, without adequate information about safety and side effects.
Democrats who opposed the bill argued that requiring an in-person medical appointment for a prescription would put a greater burden on rural Iowans who may have to wait weeks or months for an appointment and who may have to travel significant distances to visit an OB-GYN physician.
“We have more and more rural health deserts. Labor and delivery rooms continue to close,” Weiner said. “Telehealth has become a lifeline for so many in this state, especially, but not only in rural Iowa, but if you’re a woman in a rural area where you would have to travel an hour and a half and can’t get an appointment, what are your options?”
Remarks from Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, who is running for U.S. Senate, sparked partisan vitriol. Wahls, pointing out that mifepristone was being treated differently in the bill from drugs used to end an ectopic pregnancy, asked Schultz what those kinds of drugs were called.
“I’m not going to let you trap me in that way,” Schultz said.
“They’re called abortion-inducing drugs,” Wahls said.
“Senator, possible congressman, I’m not going to let you make me part of your commercial,” Schultz said, leading to admonishments toward Wahls from Senate President Amy Sinclair about confining the debate to the topic of the bill.
Wahls also drew fire from Republicans by arguing that raw milk, which Republicans have worked to legalize, has been shown to create greater health hazards for pregnant women and fetuses than mifepristone does for women.
Sen. Cherilynn Westrich, R-Ottumwa, called the comparison “insulting.”
“But when the gentleman, when the senator from Johnson, conflates freedom milk with the risks and harm that can come from attempting to kill a human life, I find it a bit insulting that that is seen as equal. I believe that killing a human life is a big deal, and it needs to be a big deal,” she said.
Schultz referred to mifepristone repeatedly as “poison” and blamed the Biden administration for its availability by mail order. “Ladies and gentlemen, in 1920 [sic] or in 2023 there was a gentleman not fully capable of the job, and yet, supposedly, according to the media and a bunch of people, he got elected the president. He was in the White House and surrounded by nonaccountable, anonymous individuals of his choosing, or not. We had … what do they call them? Executive orders, autopen signed because he was not capable of signing his own.”
The bill passed on a vote of 30-11.
The House passed the bill Friday, the same day similar restrictions requiring in-person prescriptions for mifepristone took effect nationally through a U.S. appeals court decision.
Income tax constitutional amendment
SJR 11 contains language Iowans are expected to see on the Nov. 3 general election ballot asking voters if they would support an amendment to the state constitution that would require approval from a supermajority of the Iowa Legislature to enact any future increases to the state’s individual and corporate income tax rates.
To make it onto the 2026 general election ballot, the resolution had to be passed by two consecutive general assemblies. Both chambers passed the measure in the 2024 session, and the Senate passed it again in 2025. The measure passed the House Sunday afternoon.
This proposal was one of the lengthier debates lawmakers held Sunday, as Democrats introduced 10 amendments to the proposed constitutional amendment. Most of the Democrats’ proposals centered on the idea of adding a two-thirds majority vote requirement for the Legislature to approve other taxing and spending proposals, such as when considering legislation to raise taxes on groceries or the state sales tax, as well as when lawmakers are considering using money from the Taxpayer Relief Fund.
Nine of the 10 amendments — one amendment was withdrawn — were voted down by House Republicans. Some of the amendments were ruled “not germane” to the bill, while Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, said other proposals that would change or add language to the resolution would prevent the measure from appearing on the ballot in the upcoming midterm election.
Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, speaking on an amendment to require a supermajority to approve increasing funding for the Education Savings Account (ESA) program, disputed Republicans’ argument that nothing can be added to the proposal in order to get it on the November ballot.
“Friends, it came to us in April of 2025,” Konfrst said. “So if we’re in such a hurry, why are we just now considering it? … You might have visited the Secretary of State’s office and taken constituents there to look at the constitution. And they always brag about how it’s one of the shortest constitutions in the country, and so we don’t take amending our constitution lightly. And so, if we’re going to do something as serious as amend our constitution, let’s make sure that we take the time to consider all the questions we want to ask our voters [if] they’d like to have a say in.”
While Democrats criticized the timing of bringing the constitutional amendment up for debate in the House — debate happened during hour 30 of House lawmakers’ session that began Saturday — Wills said this measure was important for lawmakers to discuss.
“You know what? It’s worth it,” Wills said. “It’s worth it for us to do a good policy for the state of Iowa. It’s worth it for us to be here to put forward good policy that benefits every single Iowan. Because every single Iowan will benefit by having this resolution on the ballot.”
Wills emphasized that lawmakers’ approval of the resolution Sunday does not mean the language will be added to the state constitution. A simple majority of voters must approve the language for it to be added.
Warrant resolution clinic ban
The Senate sent HF 2787 to the governor’s desk to ban “warrant resolution” clinics aimed at allowing people with outstanding arrest warrants for low-level offenses to resolve them and schedule court dates without facing arrest and going to jail. Republican lawmakers moved to ban the program after a woman who had participated in a first-ever clinic offered by Polk County was arrested a week later and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a Des Moines woman.
Democrats argued against eliminating the option for warrant clinics, which they said was useful in helping to resolve court backlogs and the cost of jailing people for offenses like missed court dates or unpaid traffic tickets. “I would have liked to have seen us say that this is tragic, but let’s put a moratorium on this. Let’s study it. Let’s see what we can do better. See what we can do to make it better than just this big, huge step — no more clinics from this one situation,” Sen. Renee Hardman, D-West Des Moines, said.
Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, argued that the measure was needed to protect the public from violent offenders. “It is undeniable that there was one warrant clinic held and afterwards one murder. It is my hope that we can continue to work together to find ways to expedite justice for the victims of crimes, as well as for the punishment of offenders. But that this was a failed experiment, and somebody lost their lives, and this is the response that is appropriate from the state to take today,” he said.
Regents innovation fund
The Senate sent SF 2453 to the governor’s desk. It would require state universities to invest 1 percent of their endowment fund assets in one of the state’s innovation funds for investment in Iowa-based startup ventures. The Senate accepted a House amendment clarifying that only unrestricted assets will be used for the investment and allowing endowment foundation boards to grant one-year waivers of investments in situations where fund capacity isn’t available or market conditions aren’t right for “prudent investment.”
IEDA bill
HF 2799 contains changes related to programs and work done through the Iowa Economic Development Authority, alongside a compromise reached on changes made to the state’s Industrial New Jobs Training (260E) Program.
The 260E program provides funding for businesses to create new jobs in Iowa through assisting employee training efforts. The program is financed using bonds issued by community colleges. When a proposal to eliminate the funding stream for bond repayment for the program was discussed earlier in the session, advocates representing higher education and businesses said the measure would hurt businesses seeking to expand their operations in the state.
The measure, as amended and passed through both chambers Sunday morning, does not eliminate the funding stream, but sets new restrictions on the bonding system, Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, told the House.
Lundgren said the withholding payments timeline for the bonding system is reduced from 10 years to seven years under the proposal, and reduces the administrative fee cap from 20 percent to 15 percent. Additionally, the proposal restricts the amount that can be bonded for training expenses under the 260E program to 70 percent.
The proposal also specifies what jobs and training programs qualify for the program, Lundgren said.
“We had heard that there were some types of businesses that maybe weren’t in compliance with what this program is intended [for],” Lundgren said. “We are looking at investing in new jobs here in the state of Iowa. And then we also talk a little bit about what isn’t included in this program, and that would be things like training, OSHA work, things like that. We’re looking at developing new career paths for folks here in the state of Iowa.”
The measure also includes an interim study committee to review if the state should continue bonding for the program.
Bousselot said, “count me as a skeptic for bonding as a mechanism for funding workforce training in 2026.”
“We can all agree that workforce training is critically important, but when you look at the facts, I think it’s time that this study [committee] takes a hard look at using 260E bonding,” Bousselot said. “… If you look at reports that have come out on 260E, a 2020 report found that there’s no clear evidence that those jobs add to the base employment or expand economic opportunity past the end of the contract.”
The measure also included language to have Iowa State University create a report that includes a load forecast and analysis of an electric transmission system expansion plan, and would establish the Headquarters for Expansion and Development for Growth and Employment (EDGE) Program to provide tax incentives for businesses headquartering in the state.
Standing appropriations
HF 2800, as amended, incorporates language from a variety of legislation discussed throughout the session, alongside some other measures negotiated in the final hours. It included a $3 million additional appropriation from the Sports Wagering Receipt Fund to go toward pediatric cancer research, which would also be funded through the 5-cent vape and nicotine product tax passed by lawmakers Saturday. Additionally, $1 million from the Sports Wagering Fund would go to the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative to support the Double Up Food Bucks program.
It also includes a provision having students at Iowa Board of Regents institutions take an introductory survey course in American history and in American government as part of general education or core curriculum requirements.
Additionally, it includes some changes put forward making changes to Iowa’s electrical code, including a limit that local governments could not adopt local electrical codes more restrictive than the national code. Democrats criticized these changes in both chambers as causing potential safety issues in Iowa homes, but Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, defended the shifts during Senate debate, saying the changes will make housing more affordable in Iowa.
“In Iowa, we want to build houses where young people can live in, and is not driven by special interests driving their products into the house in the name of safety,” Webster said. “It is a terrible thing. I’m tired of people profiting off the name of safety and saying, ‘it’s safer, it’s safer, it’s safer.’ Let’s bubble-wrap homes then. Let’s make stair treads three inches. At some point in time we have to make it affordable to live in the state and build a house in this country.”
Sen. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, also criticized the appropriations bill for containing a $25 million cut to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies that provide special education and other support services to Iowa schools, a system also subject to major changes in previous years.
Earlier in the year, the Legislature approved a $7.5 million cut to AEAs, she said, “and this particular bill adds another $25 million cut, bringing it to $37.5 million.”
This story was first published by Iowa Capital Dispatch. Robin Opsahl covers the Iowa Legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, and Kathie Obradovich is the editor of Iowa Capital Dispatch.
