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Iowa Legislators Back to Work

Plain Language Summary 

  • The Legislature will meet for 110 days.
  • The session will end around May 2.
  • Disability advocates will have legislative days on January 29.
  • Legislators have until February 14 to ask for bills.
  • Bills need to be voted out of committee by March 7.
  • Come to our Capitol Chats to learn more - sign up here.
  • Look at a picture that shows how a bill becomes a law.

The Iowa Legislature is starting the third week of the 2025 legislative session which lasts for 110 days. Legislators are paid a salary and also paid for their expenses while they are working at the Capitol in Des Moines. This is called a “per diem.” Their per diem expenses run out after 110 days, so that is why we say it is a 110-day session.  A few things to remember as we dive into this week’s report:

Important Dates

  • January 29 
  • 2-4 pm (State Capitol Rotunda): Iowa DD Council Legislative Reception
  • 2:30 pm (State Capitol Rotunda): Allies in Advocacy Press Conference on employment
  • 4:30-6 pm (State Historical Building): Allies in Advocacy Legislative Reception

  • February 14: Final day for legislators to request bills (committee chairs may still request study bills after this date).


  • March 7:  First deadline (called a “funnel”). Bills must be voted out of committee by this date (except for tax and budget bills).


  • April 4: Second “funnel” deadline. Bills must be voted out of committee in the second chamber (so House bills out of Senate committees and Senate bills out of House committees). 


  • May 2: 110th day of session (the "last day" - legislators lose staff and “per diem” expenses).


What is a “funnel”?  Check out our handy diagram that shows the path a bill takes to become law here. You can learn even more in our new guide Who Represents You?

Hand with finger pushing on green button with checkmark in it.

Ways to Keep Up-to-Date



Friday, January 31 (Noon-12:30 pm)

Friday, February 14 (Noon-12:30 pm)

Friday, February 28 (Noon-12:30 pm)

Friday, March 14 (Noon-12:30 pm)

Friday, March 28 (Noon-12:30 pm)

Friday, April 11 (Noon-12:30 pm)

Friday, April 25 (Noon-12:30 pm)

Friday, May 9 (Noon-12:30 pm)


Important Bills to Watch

Plain Language Summary 


  • Students with seizure disorders would be safer at school (House File 102/Senate File 111).
  • Students with disabilities may not be safe in schools if school nurses are replaced by athletic trainers. This is allowed by House Study Bill 10.
  • Comprehensive transition programs would be more affordable to young adults with disabilities (House File 97/Senate File 14).
  • Senate File 80 makes sure coaches treat students with disabilities fairly.
  • More Iowans with disabilities could afford acupuncture for pain relief under Senate File 87.
  • Voters would have to prove their citizenship if House File 99 passes.
  • Read more about these and other bills here.
  • You can email your legislators about bills important to you here.

As of January 24, legislators have introduced 391 bills. That's an average of 56 bills for each working day. Look for that to speed up in the coming weeks. We expect to see a new employment bill (similar to last year’s Work Without Worry bill) introduced this week!  


  • House File 102 & Senate File 111 are the “Seizure Safe Schools” bills. They require schools to develop seizure action plans, train staff to respond to someone having a seizure, and make sure someone in the school is trained to administer seizure medication. The Iowa DD Council supports these bills because they make sure children with seizure disorders will be safe at school.  The bills are in the House and Senate Education Committees. They will eventually be assigned to smaller subcommittees.


  • We now have a House bill (House File 97) to match the Senate’s Comprehensive Transition Program scholarships bill (Senate File 14).  These bills are in the House and Senate Education Committees. The bills make comprehensive transition and postsecondary programs more affordable to families and may encourage other schools to create these programs. Subcommittees will be assigned in the next week. These bills are our Bill of the Week. This year we are sending the Bills of the Week directly to legislators and have created Advocate Talking points to help you take action.
Thumbnail of Bill of the Week on Comprehensive Transition Programs - click for PDF.
Thumbnail for Advocate Talking Points for Comprehensive Transition Programs - click for PDF.
  • Senate File 80 may seem familiar - it did not make it out of committee in 2024. Under this bill, the lead special education teacher for a student’s IEP (individualized education plan) would determine if the student with a disability is able to play a school sport. The coach of the sport would not be the person making that decision. This makes sure a teacher who knows the student is making these decisions. This bill is also in the Senate Education Committee.


  • Last week we highlighted House Study Bill 10. This bill allows a school district to hire an Athletic Trainer instead of a School Nurse. This is a big concern to parents of children with disabilities who rely on medical expertise to ensure the safety of their children while at school, help with medical equipment, and administer medications. This week the subcommittee assigned to this bill decided to pass it, so it will move on to the full House Health & Human Services Committee



  • House File 99 would require all voters to prove they are US citizens before being allowed to register to vote. That means showing birth certificates and other documents. The bill also requires voter cards, driver’s licenses, and other government IDs to list a person’s citizenship status on them. This bill would make it harder for Iowans with disabilities to register to vote and may be confusing to people. This bill is in the House State Government Committee.
Photo of advocates talking to their legislators at the capitol.
Alex Watters asks a question at a disability forum

Ways to Advocate


  • Introduce yourself to legislators at a local public forum - find one here.


  • Talk/email your legislators about a bill in the bill tracker.



  • When you talk to your elected officials, offer yourself as a resource.
QR code to scan to take action - also can click on it.

The Learning Curve

Plain Language Summary 


  • All legislators serve on committees.
  • One out of three members of the Health & Human Services (HHS) Committee is new.
  • Nearly half of the House and Senate Education Committee members are new.
  • There are a lot of new members of the HHS and Education budget committees.
  • New committee members need to learn alot. You can help educate them.

All legislators serve on committees. New members of a committee have to learn the issues quickly, because they only have four months to pass laws each year. They don’t have a lot of time to do research on the issues, so they rely on lobbyists and advocates to help them. This year the Health/Human Services and Education Committees and Budget Subcommittees have a lot of new members. This is both a challenge (because of the learning curve) and an opportunity. Advocates can help educate them during this learning curve.


If you are represented by one of these new committee members, now is a good time to reach out to them and offer yourself as a resource. Remember, you are the expert because your story is uniquely yours. Your story can help legislators understand the real world impact of the laws they are debating.


Health & Human Services Committee: One in three members are new to the committee.


  • New Chairs: Sen. Mike Klimesh & Rep. Carter Nordman (new to the committee)
  • New Vice Chair: Rep. Brett Barker (new legislator)
  • Other New Members:
  • Sen. Doug Campbell (new legislator)
  • Sen. Claire Celsi
  • Sen. Mark Lofgren
  • Sen. Mike Pike (new legislator)
  • Sen. Kara Warme (new legislator)
  • Rep. Traci Ehlert
  • Rep. Dan Gehlbach
  • Rep. Chad Ingels
  • Rep. Rob Johnson (new legislator)


Education Committee: Nearly half of the Education Committee is new this year.


  • New Chair: Sen. Lynn Evans
  • New Vice Chair: Rep. Samantha Fett (new legislator)
  • New Ranking Member: Rep. Heather Matson
  • Other New Members:
  • Sen. Doug Campbell (new legislator)
  • Sen. Mike Pike (new legislator)
  • Sen. Tom Shipley
  • Sen. Cindy Winckler
  • Rep. Chad Behn (new legislator)
  • Rep. Eric Gjerde
  • Rep. Robert Henderson
  • Rep. Craig Johnson
  • Rep. Barb Kniff McCulla
  • Rep. Elinor Levin
  • Rep. Jeff Shipley
  • Rep. Ryan Weldon (a new legislator)
  • Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell


Health & Human Services Budget Subcommittee:

  • New House Chair: Rep. Ann Meyer
  • New Senate and House Vice Chairs: Sen. Mike Klimesh & Rep. Tom Moore
  • New House Ranking Member: Rep. Josh Turek
  • Other new members:
  • Sen. Kara Warme (new legislator)
  • Rep. Brett Barker (new legislator)
  • Rep. Austin Baeth
  • Rep. Kenan Judge
  • Rep. Matthew Rinker


Education Budget Subcommittee:

  • New House & Senate Chairs: Sen. Jesse Green & Rep. Austin Harris (new to committee)
  • New Senate Vice Chair: Sen. Lynn Evans
  • Other new members: 
  • Sen. Sandy Salmon
  • Sen. Zach Wahls
  • Rep. Brooke Boden
  • Rep. Samantha Fett
  • Rep. Heather Hora
  • Rep. Monica Kurth
Graphic of invite to webinar



Medicaid Webinar


Join us for a discussion about possible changes to Medicaid funding and what it could mean to you!


Friday, February 7 

12:00 - 1:00 pm 

Zoom Webinar


Click here to register! 

New Guide: Who Represents You


You can see photos and read more about each of Iowa’s 150 legislators in our new guide,  Who Represents You?. The new guide also includes information about the people representing Iowa in Congress.


Note: The Guide is in draft form until Tuesday's special election in Senate District 35. This is the election to fill the seat of former Senator, now Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer.

Get the Guide!

Bills of the Week

WEEK 2: Comprehensive Transition Program Scholarships - HF 97/SF 14

Bill of the Week & Advocate Talking Points

In Case You Missed It:


WEEK 1: Autism Insurance Coverage - HF 5

Bill of the Week & Advocate Talking Points


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Advocate Resources


Bill Tracker

Action Center

Calendar & Legislative Town Halls

Guide to the Iowa Legislature

Advocacy Toolkit

infoNET is the disability policy project of the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council and its network of Iowans with Disabilities in Action.

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This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $774,176 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.