February 14th is the final day for legislators to request bill drafts from the Legislative Services Agency. The House cancelled all subcommittee and committee meetings on Tuesday following the passing of their colleague Representative Martin Graber. Graber was first elected to the Iowa House in 2021 and was serving in his second term representing House District 100.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers

Both the House and Senate considered legislation to regulate pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in subcommittees. In 2024, legislation was passed to increase transparency by requiring more information to be made publicly available. House Study Bill 99 and Senate Study Bill 1074 would place additional regulations on PBMs, specifically prohibiting a PBM from reimbursing a pharmacy for an amount less than the national average drug acquisition cost or the Iowa average acquisition cost.

Proponents of the legislation argued the bill will lower prescription drug prices and reduce the rate of pharmacy closures in rural Iowa due to PBMs not always reimbursing pharmacies for the full cost of a drug prescribed to patients. Opponents of the bill argue that the legislation will result in higher prescription drug prices for Iowans to cover the costs of increasing pharmacy reimbursement rates.

Casino Moratorium

Last week, the House debated House File 144. The legislation would implement a 5-year pause on the issuance of any new gaming licenses in the state. The legislation came forward after contention regarding the proposed casino in Linn County. The House adopted HF 144 with a 69-31 vote. The bill was referred to the Senate State Government Committee, where it received approval from the 3 member subcommittee Tuesday morning. The legislation failed to advance out of the full State Government Committee Tuesday evening and effectively died.

On Thursday, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission voted 4-1 to award a gaming license to the Cedar Crossing Casino proposal near downtown Cedar Rapids. State Government Chair Senator Rozenboom released the following statement after choosing not to bring forward HF 144 in full committee.

“Today, I chose not to bring forward HF 144 in committee. I am no fan of gambling, and my decision not to advance this legislation should not be considered in support of casino expansion. According to my conversations, this bill did not have enough support from Senate Republicans to advance all the way through the Senate process. In the interest of moving this session forward to other issues of critical importance to Iowans, I have no plans to reconsider the legislation for the remainder of this session.”

Other Bills of Interest

Senate Study Bill 1051 provides a defense from civil liability for failure to warn in regard to pesticides if a product label complies with federal labeling requirements. The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and advanced out of subcommittee on Wednesday with a 2-1 vote.

Senate Study Bill 1065 was introduced by the Governor and assigned to the Senate Education Committee. The legislation requires schools to adopt policies limiting the use of personal electronic devices during school hours. The bill was approved in subcommittee on Wednesday.

House Study Bill 67 prohibits the Iowa Utilities Commission from considering climate change when determining whether to grant a permit for a hazardous liquid pipeline. The bill received subcommittee approval on Wednesday and advanced out of the House Commerce Committee with a 15-8 vote on Thursday.

Next week: Both chambers will focus on sending a supplemental state aid (SSA) package to the Governor before the upcoming deadline. SSA is a state-funded program that provides money to school districts and area education agencies. The legislature sets the state percent of growth, which is then used to calculate the state cost per pupil for the upcoming school year. The legislature must pass an SSA package 30 days after the Governor’s Condition of the State.

House Study Bill 138 was introduced on Thursday and would establish a state percent of growth of 2.25%. The Senate advanced Senate File 167 out of the Senate Education Committee on January 30th, which would set SSA at 2%.

The first funnel deadline where bills must be passed out of committee in their originating chamber to remain eligible is March 7.

Upcoming Chamber Legislative Activities

February 19 - Chamber Legislative Reception, 5:00-7:00 p.m., Embassy Suites Downtown Des Moines.

February 22 - Legislative Coffee, 9:00-10:13 a.m., Wilson Middle School