The Senate returned to regular business this week, with three days of debate and dozens of bills passing through the Chamber for consideration. The funnel narrowed the slate of eligible bills, but there are still some big issues left to manage. Here’s the lay of the land after the first funnel:
It’s important to note that this list does not include everything in front of the Legislature this year. There are still a couple of big, complicated issues out there. Such as…
The reason why you don’t see a bullet point on the list above talking about property taxes is because bills that deal with taxes are considered “funnel-proof,” meaning they don’t have to adhere to the same calendar deadlines as other policy bills.
As a reminder, there are three property tax reform proposals from the majority party in front of the Legislature at this time. HSB 596 from the House Republicans, SSB 3001 from the Senate Republicans, and SSB 3034 HSB 563 from the governor.
The House has already held subcommittee hearings and advanced the House Republicans’ and the governor’s bills. On the Senate side, the governor’s bill went through a subcommittee this week. The Senate Republican bill will likely be scheduled for sometime next week.
Each of the existing proposals includes different elements, so it is still unclear what we will actually vote on in a final bill. If we can get a simpler, more predictable system that prioritizes taxpayers over corporations, ensures local governments can continue to provide the essential services that Iowans want, and encourages investment in the state, then you will see broad bipartisan support. We won’t support another giveaway to corporate interests or the wealthy that leaves working families and communities shortchanged.
Like tax bills, budget bills are not subject to the funnel deadline. The state budget is usually the last, but arguably most important, work the Legislature does each year. It’s a complicated process under the best of circumstances – but we are not operating under the best of circumstances.
In 2025, Republican lawmakers passed a budget that spent $1.26 BILLION more than we took in, creating a massive deficit crater. In doing so, they are breaking two of their own budgeting rules: never spend more than the state takes in and never use one-time money to pay for ongoing expenses.
We know that the majority party is planning to pass another billion-dollar deficit this year, digging our hole even deeper and leaving the mess on a new governor’s desk in 2027. They argue that they “planned” for this, but the reality is they didn’t. The original five-year projections we saw in 2025 have been off by over $1.3 billion thus far, and the governor decided not to include any projections in her budget book at the beginning of this session.
If the situation weren’t difficult enough, Senate Republicans are also pushing a bill that would allow them to pass the buck if they fail to pass a budget, kicking the can down the road and abdicating their responsibility.
All of this is to say that, while the funnel narrowed things somewhat, we still have a lot of work ahead of us this session.