REP. HOLT: The 2025 Legislative Session

JOIN THE FIGHT!

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The 2025 Session of the 91st Iowa General Assembly ended early in the morning on May 15th, after a 22-hour day. We accomplished a great deal, and I cannot possibly cover every piece of legislation that was passed. In this edition of Freedom Watch, I will highlight what I consider to be the most consequential, as well as work that still needs to be done. Most legislation takes effect one week from today on July 1st, the beginning of the 2026 Fiscal Year, unless a bill specifically has a different implementation date. I will break legislation down by category in order to make it easier to follow.

Education:

• $105 Million increase in state funding to K-12 Schools
• House Republicans secured more than $4.7 million in additional investments for public schools through negotiation.
• House File 269: Freedom From Indoctrination Act – Ensures that no student is forced to take courses promoting ideological activism. (Did not advance in the Senate)
• House File 437: Center For Intellectual Freedom Act – Establishes a Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa to conduct teaching and research in the historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society. (Signed by Governor)
• House File 440: College Affordability Act – Contains several provisions to control the cost of college for students. (Signed by Governor)
• House File 782: No Phones During Instructional Time – Requires school districts to implement a policy that, at a minimum, prohibits the use of cell phones during instructional time. (Signed by Governor)
• Senate File 369: Civics Test For All High School Graduates – Requires high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship and immigration services naturalization civics test in order to graduate. (Signed by Governor)
• Senate File 583: School Safety Threat Assessment Teams – Requires schools to create a multidisciplinary threat assessment team to intervene when a student is exhibiting threatening behaviors. (Signed by Governor)
• Senate File 175: Fetal Development Instruction – Requires human growth and development curriculum in grades 5th -12th grade to include instruction related to human development inside the womb. Also known as the “Baby Olivia” bill. (Signed by Governor)

Return to Common Sense:

• House File 583: Removing Gender Identity As A Protected Class – Removed Gender Identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Code, returning Iowa code to biological truth by using scientific definitions for male, female, and sex and by requiring birth certificates designate sex at birth that cannot be changed. I floor managed this legislation. (Signed by the Governor)
• House File 1049: Taxpayer Dollars For Sex Reassignment Surgeries – Prohibits funds from being used for reimbursement for sex reassignment surgeries or associated procedures. Medicaid will still reimburse mental health therapy for Iowans with Gender Dysphoria. (Signed by Governor)
• House File 856: Replacing DEI with MEI (Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence) – Prohibits state entities and community colleges from using any funds to establish or support DEI offices. (Signed by Governor)
• Senate File 615: Work Requirements For Medicaid Expansion – Requires the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to request federal approval to include work requirements as a condition of Medicaid expansion. Iowa House Republicans believe that able-bodied Iowans on Medicaid who are able to work should do so. (Passed the House, Governor has Submitted Waiver to Feds)
• House File 954: Ensuring Only US Citizens Vote In Our Elections – Ensures that every voter in Iowa’s elections are US citizens. It does this by outlining efforts to clean the current voter rolls and verify the citizenship status of voters in advance of Election Day. (Signed by Governor)

Public Safety:

• House File 946: Immigration Enforcement – If a peace officer intentionally fails to comply with federal immigration law, they will be investigated by the Attorney General’s office, given the opportunity to comply, and if they don’t may be referred to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council for decertification. I floor-managed this legislation. (Passed in the House, did not advance in the Senate)
• House File 572: Cracking Down On Human Smuggling – Makes it a crime to “smuggle” someone who is in the country illegally. A person commits the crime of smuggling when they knowingly, for payment or anything of value, help a person in violation of federal immigration laws evade law enforcement. I floor-managed this legislation. (Passed in the House, did not advance in the Senate)
• House File 649: Improving Iowa Code Definitions Of Human Trafficking – Improves Iowa code around human trafficking to give more tools to our investigators and our prosecutors when tackling the issue of human trafficking. (Signed by Governor)
• Senate File 22: Distracted Driving – Changes Iowa’s texting while driving ban into a ban on using electronic devices while driving. Drivers can use their device hands-free. (Signed by Governor)
• Senate File 619: Governor’s Disaster Relief Bill – Allows Iowa’s Executive Branch to more easily utilize the state’s Economic Emergency Fund for disaster recovery by giving the Department of Management access to 10% of the fund each year. (Signed by Governor)
• House File 306: Increased Penalties For Providing Obscene Materials To Children – Protects children by increasing the penalties for the dissemination of obscene materials to a minor. (Signed by Governor) 
• House File 969: Cancer Coverage & Screening For First Responders – Expands the definition of cancer for the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System and the Special Services Members of IPERS. (Signed by Governor)

Supporting Iowa Families:

• House File 248: Adoptive Parental Leave – Requires employers to treat employees who have adopted a child 6 years old or younger the same way as those who have had a biological child in regard to parental leave policies. (Signed by Governor)
• House File 1049: Health & Human Services Budget – Increases foster care and adoption subsidy rates by about 5%. (Signed by Governor)
• House File 887: More Birthing Centers In Iowa – Removes the requirement that birth centers must obtain a certificate of need prior to opening or expanding their services. (Signed by Governor)

Protecting Freedom:

• HF639 & HF943 Protecting Landowners from Eminent Domain Abuse- For many in our Republican caucus, there is no greater priority than the call from landowners to protect their private property rights from eminent domain abuse by CO2 pipeline projects. This session we passed two bills containing many policies to provide those protections. This is not about opposing the pipelines but about opposing the use of eminent domain to construct the pipelines. Pipeline companies should not be able to use the heavy hand of government to abuse landowner rights for private gain.
• House File 943 prohibits the taking of agricultural land for a pipeline transporting liquified carbon dioxide. (Passed the House, did not advance in the Senate)
• House File 639 contains a number of policies aimed at protecting landowners. (Vetoed by the Governor; the fight will continue)
• House File 924: 2^nd Amendment Rights Of 18-Year-Olds – Inconsistencies in the law in how young adults’ 2^nd Amendment rights are treated have been ruled unconstitutional in recent court rulings. This legislation allows 18, 19 and 20 year olds to possess firearms, including pistols and revolvers, as it was in Iowa for many years until Democrats changed it. I floor-managed this legislation. (Signed by Governor)

Still To Be Done:

• Property Tax Reform – Getting data back on proposed changes to the system took longer than anticipated and we simply ran out of time. It is essential that we get this right and provide real relief, transparency, and voice for property taxpayers. It will be a top priority in the coming session.
• Protecting Property Rights – The House sent the Senate four bills over a four-year period, and they finally passed HF639 after being forced to take it up on the floor by twelve brave Republican Senators. After not providing any guidance or leadership on the issue, the Governor vetoed the bill. This fight is far from over. “Freedom and property rights are inseparable. You can’t have one without the other.”  – George Washington.

Happy 4^th of July everyone, and God Bless our great nation as we fight to restore the values that have sustained us since 1776.

Author: Steven Holt