The Iowa Legislature returned after the first funnel deadline in Week 8 and the pace shifted as the Iowa House and Senate spent more time on floor debate and attention shifted to Ways and Means and Appropriations bills and preliminary budget discussions. Meanwhile, the Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) convened, and a new Iowa legislator was elected in a special election.
Week 9 Session Snapshot
After the first funnel deadline in Week 8, both chambers spent the majority of the week in respective caucuses and debating bills on the floor. The Senate enjoyed a shortened week, finishing floor work on Wednesday and most members leaving for their districts that day. The House debated each of their normal business days, wrapping up work on Thursday and returning for a gavel-in, gavel-out session on Friday morning.
In Week 9, the House passed 38 bills, sending 34 to the Senate and 4 to the Governor. The Senate passed 18 bills, sending 14 to the House and 4 to the Governor. Of these bills, several are listed below:
Revenue Estimating Conference
The REC met on Thursday, March 13, which will greatly impact the development of the FY 2026 budget. The REC estimated a 6% overall revenue decline for FY 2025, lowering the total number of $9.13 billion and reducing the FY26 estimate to $8.7 billion. Lower revenue was expected due to the phase-in of recent income tax cuts, but the REC reiterated the state’s strong financial position, despite some uncertainty at the federal level.
For context, the budget released by Governor Reynolds was approximately $9.4 billion and would dip into the reserve funds. By law, the Governor is required to use the adjusted numbers released by the REC for the final proposed budget. In a statement on the March 13 REC meeting, Governor Reynolds expressed:
“We cut taxes to let Iowans keep more of their hard-earned money and that’s exactly what today’s REC numbers reflect. With $2.05 billion in the ending balance, $961.2 million in reserve funds, and $3.75 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund, Iowa remains on a strong, fiscally sustainable path.”
While this information will guide conversations about the FY26 budget, the Medicaid Estimating Conference does not meet until March 25, and a large increase is anticipated. Because of this, we expect minimal movement on the budget until the end of the month when a fuller budgetary picture is available to the legislature.
Special Election Results
After the sudden passing of Representative Martin Graber earlier in session, Governor Reynolds set a special election date for March 11 in Iowa House District 100, which takes up most of Lee County. In a close race, Republican Blane Watkins beat Democrat Nannette Griffin by a vote of 2,749 to 2,574, and House Republicans returned to the 67-33 seat balance secured at the end of the November 2024 election season.
The Republican margin of victory was much closer than expected as Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the district by 27%. This follows the special election to fill Lieutenant Governor Cournoyer’s senate seat in February where Democrat Mike Zimmer was elected to the Iowa Senate from a district that Donald Trump won by 21%. Republicans are happy to have kept HD-100 red, but there is growing intrigue as to what extent these special election results can be replicated by Iowa Democrats in the next general election in November 2026.
What’s next?
With the first funnel behind us, the next major deadline is the second legislative funnel on April 4. Bills must pass through a committee in the opposite chamber from which they originated, which also means they must be passed by either the full House or Senate. An exception to this rule is if a “companion” bill has passed committee in each chamber, those bills are considered through the second funnel. Also, appropriations, ways and means, and administrative rules bills are “funnel-proof” and exempt from this deadline.
The full 2025 Session Timetable can be found here.
