Iowa's Legislative Session Ends, To Everyone's Relief

 

Some of us have to live with the consequences of
another legislative session

(5/7/2026) Iowa's public approval of President Donald Trump has dipped to 42 percent in 2026, according to the World Population Review; that puts us only slightly above the national average, and in the middle of the pack of states. That's pretty remarkable, given that our politics have flowed bright red since the 2014 cycle. We can't even gerrymander our congressional districts to help Republicans, because they already hold all four U.S. House seats. Yet early polling--which should be read tentatively, as the election of 2026 is six long months away--shows Democrats with a legitimate shot at the governorship, as well as one or more U.S. House seats, and if that's the case, they might capture a house of the state legislature for the first time in over a decade.

That might account for the particular intensity of the legislative session just concluded. Members of the Democratic minority reported a chaotic closing weekend. My senator, Liz Bennett, reported on the final Saturday morning:

In 12 years, this is the worst and most disorganized I've seen the Iowa legislature. Over 24 hours in this building, here overnight, HOURS between votes, and some of the mot important bills haven't even been agreed upon yet. The majority party (who is in control of the entire government) should've adjourned last night, allowed people to rest while their leadership got things together, and called legislators back when they were ready.

Another senator, Art Staed, a member of Corridor Urbanism back in the day, told KCRG-TV:

This Session was under Republican leadership only, Republicans fighting amongst themselves while the rest of the Capitol suffered. Iowans also suffered with very little public input into these final bills.... Drafters were making mistakes which caused delays. I am absolutely certain we will need to correct some of these poorly thought-out bills next Session (which doesn't begin until January 2027). Why on earth were we working on all of those policy bills that late in Session? Should have been focused on the budget and key areas only.

Once legislators were back on the floor, one Republican bill sponsor cited the source of his information as "AI."

Republicans seemed especially eager to consolidate their policy gains and remind their supporters that their hatred for other people remains as unbridled as ever. A more constructive approach might have been to show that they recognize and care about economic, health, and environmental problems affecting the state, especially the parts of the state where their support is strongest. But maybe it's too late for that.

This is what they did this year at the Capitol (more coverage and longer lists at Barton 2026, Opsahl and Draisey 2026):

• Clear public good 
• water quality initiatives [definitely a problem, though questions about adequacy and whether a restart is better than pursuing previous policy cf. Dorman 2026]
• funds for pediatric cancer research, requiring radon mitigation systems in new homes
• better access to subacute mental health care
• Helping their friends
• tax exemption for nuclear power companies
• shifts money from school districts to charter schools
• omnibus agriculture bill including tax relief and increased support
• bans Chinese, Russian, or North Korean ownership of health care facilities
• looser training requirements for foster parents, regulations on homeschooling
• allows health care practitioners and organizations to opt out of procedures for reasons of conscience
• state officials can carry firearms anywhere on Capitol grounds
• Sticking it to people they don't like
• "three strikes" minimum sentences for prior criminal offenders
• forbids local governments from enacting civil rights protections beyond what's in Iowa code, or issuing identification cards, or having revenue growth above 2 percent
• limits access to abortion drug mifepristone
• restrictions on WIC and SNAP benefits
• requiring universities invest in state innovation programs
• English proficiency required for truck drivers
• Limits lawsuits against farmers for greenhouse gas emissions
• removes availability of HPV vaccine to minors without parental approval
• restricts access to bail

At the end of this session, we're at the same place when I wrote this last year, or when I wrote this in 2019. Iowa faces persistently low economic growth, despite cutting taxes every year. Incidence of cancer is increasing. Population is growing slowly, but in most of the state it's shrinking. Educated young people are leaving the state. Add on global issues like climate change, economic inequality, and control of new technology. Yet year after year, session after session, our Republican-dominated legislature pulls this grandstanding.

Maybe electing some Democrats will focus everyone's minds. Maybe it won't. It could be that, as Jonathan V. Last argues on a national level in The Bulwark this week, American politics has become so "enshittified" that any policy action to improve the "user experience" has become politically impossible.  It could be argued that any party with a 33-17 edge in the state Senate and a 67-33 edge in the state House, 16 years in control of the governorship, along with control of almost every executive position, is doing something right. And yet things don't get better.

NEWS COVERAGE:

Tom Barton, "Five Issues That Defined Iowa's 2026 Legislative Session," Cedar Rapids Gazette, 4 May 2026

Robin Opsahl and Brooklyn Draisey, "The 2026 Legislative Session is Over. Here's What Passed, Failed, and What is Already Iowa Law," News from the States, 4 May 2026