January 31, 2025

This Week at the Statehouse

Iowa lawmakers are focused on legislation to establish a casino moratorium until July 2030, with restrictions on new licenses beyond that period. Both House and Senate bills aim to protect existing casinos in border and rural counties. The House bill has passed, and the Senate bill is expected to be considered next week. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission will meet on February 6 to make a decision on Cedar Rapids’ application.

How to Read Legislative Link

Includes all bills that have been identified by the Government Affairs team as potentially affecting cities. Bills are organized as follows:

• Bills with Upcoming Subcommittee Meetings
  

  • These bills will be heard in subcommittee next week. Please review for any impacts to your community for us to know as we attend and testify at these meetings. If you would like to testify yourself, we are happy to assist you.

• Newly Introduced Bills of Interest
  

  • We expect these bills to have a direct influence on local government, but may not affect all communities the same. Let us know of impacts to your city!

• Bills of Interest
  

  • These bills have not been debated the past week at the statehouse, but the Government Affairs team continues to monitor them.

• “FYI” Bills
  

  • These bills may have indirect effects bron your community, but are not the primary focus of the League at this time. We want you to be able to elevate issues in this category to us in case they need to be monitored more closely.
    

Legislation with Scheduled Subcommittees

HF 50 | ATE Funds

• Requires local authorities that use automated traffic enforcement systems to send any extra money they make from traffic citations, after covering their operating costs, to the state's Road Use Tax Fund. Additionally, these authorities must report their earnings and expenses related to the system to the Department of Transportation each month. This change aims to ensure that more funds are directed towards improving transportation infrastructure.

HSB 82 | City Civil Service Reform Act

• This bill prohibits cities with a civil service commission from creating citizen review boards for police conduct. It also changes the rules for how civil service employees can be removed or disciplined, and it establishes new procedures for appealing those decisions. Additionally, it allows employees who win their appeals to recover reasonable legal fees and costs.
  

HF 75 | Property Tax Abatement for Surviving Spouses of Emergency Services Members

• This bill allows the surviving spouse of an emergency services worker who was killed in the line of duty to apply for a property tax abatement on their home. To qualify, the spouse must provide proof of the member's death being related to their job and meet certain criteria. The bill also outlines the process for applying and the conditions under which the tax relief can be granted.

Newly Introduced Bills of Interest

HF 157 | Special Election Procedure for City Office Vacancies

• Allows eligible electors of a city to petition for a special election to fill a vacancy in an elective city office only if the remaining balance of the unexpired term is at least one year. This change aims to clarify the conditions under which a special election can be requested following a council appointment.
  

HF 156 | Increase in Township Tax Levy for Fire and EMS

• Proposes to increase the maximum annual tax levy for townships without fire protection or emergency medical service agreements from 40.5 cents to 91 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, allowing them to better fund these essential services. The bill also maintains higher levy limits for townships with specific agreements or those located in counties with populations of 300,000 or more.
  

SF 139 | Redevelopment and Nuisance Property Remediation

• Expands the redevelopment tax credit program to include grayfield sites over 50,000 square feet in communities with populations under 30,000, and establishes financial assistance for cities to remediate nuisance properties and abandoned buildings, with provisions for loans and forgivable loans. Additionally, it broadens eligibility for funding assistance to include cities with populations between 5,000 and 30,000 for addressing abandoned buildings.
  

HSB 96 | Local Sales and Services Tax Expenditures

• Allows cities and counties to use local sales and services tax revenues to make payments to nonprofit entities that are exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, provided these entities offer public services within the respective city or county. This expands the permissible expenditures of local sales and services tax funds to support community-based nonprofit organizations.
  

SF 165 | Length of Service Award Programs for Emergency Responders

• Authorizes municipalities to establish length of service award programs for volunteer fire fighters, emergency medical care providers, and reserve peace officers, providing tax-deferred benefits and funding through a grant program supported by appropriations from the sports wagering receipts fund. The bill includes provisions for eligibility, funding matches, and the establishment of a grant fund to support these programs.
  

SF 156 | Regulation of Private Spaces in Public Entities

• Requires state entities to designate private spaces within their facilities for use only by individuals of the same biological sex, with specific exceptions for certain circumstances. The bill establishes penalties for violations, including civil penalties for state entities and misdemeanor charges for individuals who enter spaces designated for the opposite biological sex.
  

SSB 1073 & HSB 98 | Emergency Services Compensation and City Council Roles

• Allows cities to provide lawful compensation, including stipends and benefits, to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical care providers without conflict of interest concerns, permits city council members to serve as chiefs of volunteer fire departments with council approval, and establishes provisions for creating funds to manage costs associated with major equipment for emergency services. Additionally, it outlines the handling of payments received for damaged emergency services equipment, ensuring proper allocation to designated funds.
  

SSB 1072 | Government Bodies Definition Regarding Open Records

• Amends the definition of "government body" in Iowa's open records law to include instrumentalities of cities and townships, thereby subjecting them to open records requirements and associated civil penalties. It also establishes that public officers or employees who falsify records that become public can be charged with a class "D" felony.
  

Bills of Interest

SF 33 |  Sick Leave Credit for Retired Law Enforcement Officers

SF 17 | Iowa Forest 7 Fruit-Tree Reservation Tax Exemption Act

Other Bills For Your Information

SSB 1063 | Lead Service Line Disclosure Upon Home Sale

SSB 1074 & HSB 99 | Pharmacy Benefits Managers

HSB 104 | Next Generation 911 Systems Transition

SSB 1061 | Amendments to Public Funds Deposit Eligibility for Financial Institution

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).