The Senate held floor debate every day last week, passing primarily non-controversial bills. The House debated on Tuesday and Thursday, and held meetings for both the Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Governor Reynolds announced she directed the Department of Health and Human Services to submit a federal waiver regarding Medicaid work requirements. The waiver requests that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services establish work requirements for able-bodied Iowa recipients.

“It has always been a priority of mine to make sure our government programs reflect a culture of work. It is common sense and good policy,” Gov. Reynolds said. “If you are an able-bodied adult who can work, you should work. We need to return Medicaid back to its core purpose—to provide coverage to the people who truly need it.”

The waiver aligns with pending legislation recently passed by the Iowa House of Representatives. Senate File 615 implements work requirements for Medicaid recipients with the following exemptions:

• A person under 19 years old
• A person who is over 64 years old
• A person who is disabled
• A person who is medically frail or medically exempt under Medicaid
• A caretaker of a dependent child under six years old
• A woman with a high-risk pregnancy
• A person receiving unemployment benefits
• A person participating in substance use disorder treatment

The bill also allows for individual exemptions to be approved. The Senate passed the bill with a party-line 33-16 vote on March 25^th, the House amended the bill, approved it with a 61-35 vote the following day. The Senate must vote again on the bill conforming to the House amendment before it is sent to the Governor.

Disaster Relief

During the Condition of the State, Governor Reynolds introduced a proposal to provide emergency financial assistance to Iowans more quickly. Senate File 619 was introduced in February in both the House and Senate and advanced through the legislative process. The bill gives the Department of Management the ability to access 10% of the Economic Emergency Fund each year to be used to assist in recovery efforts in counties where the governor has issued a disaster proclamation. The bill also allocates $11.6 million from the Economic Emergency Fund to the Iowa Finance Authority to be used for the Disaster Recovery Housing Assistance Fund following last year’s flooding.

"Iowa faced devastating tornadoes and historic flooding in spring 2024, leaving families, farms, businesses, schools and entire communities in peril," Reynolds said in a statement. "Our state was granted three presidential disaster declarations in just two months' time, and our relief programs were vital for helping us rebuild. I look forward to signing the disaster relief bill when it gets to my desk, helping protect Iowans from future emergencies."

The Senate unanimously adopted the legislation on April 16^th, the House voted 91-1 the following day with Representative Mark Cisneros, a Republican from Muscatine, voting no.

 

Other Bills of Interest

 

Senate File 621 directs IEDA to establish the Iowa Major Events and Tourism Fund to provide communities with grants for site selection and application fees related to major events. The bill was unanimously approved by an appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday.

Senate File 369 requires 9-12^th graders the pass the US citizenship test starting in the 2026-2027 school year. The proposal was originally included in the Governor’s math curriculum bill but was later removed and run independently. The bill passed the Senate with a 38-7 vote on Monday before the House adopted it with a 60-33 vote on Thursday.

House File 706 clarifies Iowa’s open meetings and records law. On Thursday, the Senate amended the bill to include language limiting access to the Iowa Capitol security cameras and ID card records from the open records law. The floor manager of the amendment argued the amendment protected the safety of legislators and state employees. The Senate voted 34-13 on the amended bill.

Senate Joint Resolution 9 was proposed by Attorney General Brenna Bird and was unanimously passed by the House this week. The bill was previously approved by the Senate in March. SJR 9 would allow child victims to testify remotely during court proceedings. AG Bird pushed for the constitutional amendment after an Iowa Supreme Court ruling in 2024 found it was unconstitutional for children to testify against their accursed abusers without facing them in court. The amendment must pass a second consecutive general assembly before going on the ballot in 2027 for voter approval.

This week: The House and Senate will likely debate this week.

The 110^th day of the session, and the final day for legislators to receive per diem expenses, is May 2^nd.