May 16, 2025

This Week at the Capitol

• The Legislature adjourned Sine Die in the early hours of Thursday, May 15. 
  

• This Legislative Link will be the last weekly update as we transition to an interim schedule. 
  

• Stay tuned for the League’s list of New Laws of Interest…

League's Priority Legislation

• HSB 328 / SF 651 | Property Tax System Overhaul 

  • Ultimately, the Legislature did not advance a property tax reform bill in either the House or Senate this session.

    • As the first year of a General Assembly, these bills will remain viable next session, so work will need to continue by League staff and members over the summer.

    • The League is working with county assessors to secure parcel-level data with which we will work to model the current language over the interim to be able to inform communities and legislators of the impact on their communities.

• HF 1037 | TIF Overhaul

  • Last Friday, May 9, the Senate amended a TIF bill (SF 652, now HF 1037) that would significantly affect TIF moving forward. Among several other provisions, it would:

    • Remove the school foundation levy completely from any newly formed TIF agreements after January 1, 2026.

    • For perpetual TIF districts, the bill would limit the revenues able to be held by the city to 75% of the total increment generated by the district for 15 years after the bill is enacted, and then 60% after that.

    • Phase in a limitation on the total assessed property value within all Urban Renewal Areas of a city to 20% of the city’s total property value by 2047.

  • This League registered in opposition to this bill on the basis that we were unable to advise the Legislature on the various impacts to communities across the state, and because of an expected outsized impact on smaller cities due to the percentage limitations to URAs imposed by the bill.

    • This bill passed the Senate on May 13 but was ultimately not taken up by the House.

    • The League encourages cities to share their TIF success stories with their lawmakers. If you need help in doing so, the Legislative Affairs team is here to help you!

Legislation That Advanced

SF 303 | Consumer Firework Regulations

• To the Governor

• Prohibits local governments from restricting consumer fireworks on July 3, July 4, and December 31.

• This bill will be effective July 1. If your city currently has fireworks ordinances, you will need to update your community's ordinance for this coming Independence Day!
  

HF 856 | Prohibition of Funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

• To the Governor. 

• Prohibits state entities from using funds for establishing or supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion offices. Allows individuals to report violations and seek civil action against state entities for non-compliance. Exempts certain activities from the prohibition, such as legal compliance offices and academic course instruction.
  

HF 1002 | Volunteer Emergency Services Length of Service Award Program

• To the Governor. 

• Allows cities to establish a Length of Service Award Program for volunteer firefighters, volunteer EMS providers, and reserve police officers to receive a benefit of $500 annually with funds matched by the state.
  

• Keep an eye out for June’s Cityscape for more detailed information!
  

SF 659 (Standings Appropriations) | Emergency Communications Services

• To the Governor.

• Division XII grants the Iowa 911 Program the authority to charge local 911 service boards for undefined “reasonable costs” associated with delivering 911 traffic to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).
  

SF 659 (Standings Appropriations) | Statewide Fire Marshall Study

• Division X directs the state fire marshal to conduct a study of fire protection services to analyze whether a structure of county-wide fire protection services would maximize fire protection coverage and emergency response times.
  

HF 1017 | Actions Taken by Certain International Organizations

• To the Senate.

• Declares that rules, regulations, fees, taxes, policies, or mandates of the United Nations, its agencies, or the World Economic Forum are not binding on Iowa and prevents Iowa state entities from enforcing or implementing such actions.
  

You can view all editions of Legislative Link at iowaleague.org/resource/legislative-link.

Like our membership, the Iowa League of Cities is a non-partisan, service-oriented organization that does not participate in elections, make campaign contributions, or have a political action committee (PAC).