Today, Governor Kim Reynolds released the following statement regarding the conclusion of the 2026 legislative session:
“As I reflect on the end of my final legislative session, I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve accomplished together on behalf of Iowans this year. With only a modest 1.4% increase to the state budget, Republicans are delivering big for Iowans.
“We kept our promise by passing meaningful property tax relief and reform, estimating nearly $4 billion in savings over the next six years. By capping local government revenue growth at 2% with clear and responsible guardrails, this plan brings certainty and discipline to a system that needed both. We’re also quadrupling the Homestead Tax Exemption, raising it to $20,000 so more of a home’s value is protected against taxes. And by lowering school levies while fully maintaining school funding, the state is stepping up to carry a greater share of the responsibility, easing the burden on Iowa taxpayers while keeping our commitment to strong public schools. Finally, we created First Home Iowa tax-deductible savings accounts to help young Iowans begin preparing for homeownership.
“We strengthened educational freedom by ensuring more equitable state funding follows students who choose public charter schools and expanding access to both academic and extracurricular opportunities. We approved the University of Northern Iowa, home to Iowa’s largest teacher education program, as a new charter school authorizer to grow high-quality options while maintaining strong accountability. We also expanded access to Iowa's statewide voluntary preschool program, helping reduce waitlists and ensure more families can benefit from high-quality early learning.
“We took intentional steps to make Iowa a healthier state by refocusing food assistance programs on nutrition, eliminating certain dyes and additives from school foods, and requiring medical schools and continuing medical education to include nutrition courses. Limiting screentime and increasing daily physical activity for elementary students will help young Iowans establish lifelong healthy behaviors. And by allowing psychologists licensed in other states to practice in Iowa, we will expand our health care workforce and improve access to care.
“We supported strong and stable families by reforming foster parent training to ensure more foster homes are available for children in need. We also made child care assistance permanent for child care workers, providing them a reliable, affordable way to remain in the workforce and ensure access to quality child care for working families across our state.
“And we passed a comprehensive plan to improve water quality in Iowa, a $319 million investment over the next 12 years.
“Throughout my time in office, the commonsense, conservative policies we’ve enacted will ensure our state remains strong, prosperous, and vibrant for generations to come. That has been my commitment to Iowans since day one, and I will continue to serve with that same purpose during my final months in office.”
Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer released the following statement:
“Governor Reynolds’ record of strong conservative leadership puts Iowa families ahead. The comprehensive property tax reform package that passed this session makes homeownership even more affordable in our state. Expanding school choice means families have more options to ensure their children receive the education that is best for them. Prioritizing nutrition and healthy behaviors will improve health and well-being for Iowans of all ages.
“Over nearly a decade, Governor Reynolds’ vision for Iowa has become a reality—low taxes, a strong economy, education freedom, vibrant communities, and endless opportunities. I’m proud to serve alongside her and support policies like these that serve to further enhance the quality of life in our state.”
Governor Reynolds’ 2026 Legislative Priorities:
Property Tax Reform: Saves Iowa property taxpayers $4.2B over 6 years by limiting the growth of local government and broadening the taxbase. Caps local government revenue growth at 2% with narrow exceptions. Quadruples the Homestead Tax Exemption over 3 years while holding school districts harmless. Retains exemptions for veterans and seniors. Accelerates the SAVE transfer to property tax relief, beginning in Fiscal Year 2027. Transfers Business Property Tax Credit funding to the Taxpayer Relief Fund. Allows online posting of tax notices and shifts the burden of proof to assessors in disputes with homeowners. Increases the taxable value for multi-residential dwellings while also increasing rental credits for elderly and disabled Iowans. Reforms TIF districts and creates First Home Iowa Accounts to promote homeownership. (SF 2472)
Charter School/School Choice Package: Directs per pupil funding to follow students that attend charter schools, grants public charter school students access to the same academic and extracurricular offerings as their traditional public school peers, adds UNI as a charter school authorizer and expands access to statewide voluntary preschool. (HF 2745)
MAHA: Bans certain food dyes and additives from school meals, directs Iowa Health and Human Services to continually request federal approval for Healthy SNAP and Healthy Summer EBT programs, reduces the amount of digital instruction time in classrooms, creates weekly requirements for elementary student physical activity, and adds nutrition education requirements for prospective and currently licensed physicians. (HF 2676)
Pediatric Cancer Research Funding: Invests $3 million for pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa. (SF 2480)
Economic Development: Modernizes Iowa’s economic toolkit, positioning the state to compete for high-quality jobs and long-term investment. Creates the new EDGE program to support high-value headquarters and corporate growth, strengthens existing incentive programs like MEGA and BIG, and ensures workforce investments are directly aligned with employer needs and long-term competitiveness. (HF2799)
Uniform Rules: Eliminates 305 chapters, 1,215 pages, and 580,516 words from Iowa’s administrative code. (SF 2463)
Judicial Magistrates: Aligns magistrate positions to meet workload needs, allows magistrates to serve in multiple counties, adjusts judicial officer salaries, and revises statutory minimums. (HF 2706)
Anti-Illegal Immigration: Requires use of SAVE to confirm citizenship and immigration status for professional licenses, requires E-Verify to determine employment eligibility for new public hires, strengthens pre-trial and bail penalties for some criminal offenses by illegal immigrants, and requires Iowa voters swear U.S. citizenship under penalty of perjury. (SF 2218)
Flags at Half Staff: Requires all cities, counties, or any other political subdivision to lower U.S. and Iowa flags to half-staff when directed by proclamation from the governor. (SF 2430)
City Ordinances: Amends the Iowa Civil Rights Code to require cities and counties to only have local ordinances for protected classes allowed at the state level. (SF 579)
Prior Authorization & Certificate of Need Changes: Makes it easier for health care professionals to deliver services to Iowans and makes it easier to expand access to health care services (HF 2635)
Biodiesel EO Codification: Requires vehicles leased or rented by the state to gain written support from the manufacturer to use B-20 diesel or higher. (HF 2671)
Business Court: Establishes a business court to resolve complex commercial and business litigation through the court system. (SF 639)
Public Assistance Oversight: Directs the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to seek waivers to strengthen the integrity of the SNAP program, comply with the federal OBBBA, and accept online premium payments from Medicaid members. (SF 2422)
Codifying the Childcare Assistance Pilot: Makes permanent the pilot that offers child care assistance for child care workers. (HF 2514)
Foster Care Trainings: Makes it easier to become a foster parent by removing the rigid 30-hour training requirement and allowing HHS to tailor trainings specific to the prospective foster parent. (SF 2096)
Pregnant Female Terminology: Changes “pregnant person” to pregnant female in code. (HF 2253)
Protecting Women and Life: Requires that a pregnant woman seeking a chemical abortion must be prescribed necessary medication by a physician and defines a miscarriage as an unintended termination of a pregnancy which is reported as a fetal death. (HF 2788)
Greenhouse Gas Liability: Limits civil or criminal lawsuits against individuals or businesses based on claims that their greenhouse gas emissions caused climate-related harm. (HF 2527)
Postsecondary Pathways: Removes unnecessary barriers by establishing a common community college course numbering that streamlines the attainment and transfer of course credit, supports program completion and aligns secondary CTE funding to high-skill, high-demand, high-wage jobs. (HF 2610)
Talented and Gifted: Aligns state requirements with national best practices for identifying gifted and talented students, ensuring all students are evaluated for participating in a TAG program. Positions Iowa as one of the first states to support automatic enrollment in accelerated ELA and math. (SF 2220)