With the fourth week of the 2026 legislative session underway, Iowa lawmakers continue to focus on two contentious issues: eminent domain and property tax reform.
The Iowa House recently advanced a bill that would ban the use of eminent domain for CO₂ pipelines, while Senate leaders have introduced a separate proposal outlining new requirements for pipeline companies seeking voluntary easements from landowners. Debate in both chambers is expected to echo disputes from last year.
Democratic State Senator Bill Dotzler of Waterloo is closely monitoring both debates and tells RadioOnTheGo News he is concerned about the ability of a private business to use someone’s property for its own gain.
“There’s an old saying, ‘get the elephant’s trunk underneath the tent.’ Once it gets in there, you can create a bigger problem down the road. And the real concern is what could happen after this once we broke the law that says you can’t do that for private. I’m okay for public use. And I know there’s some arguments there. The house file came across and the majority party brought that house file up and amended it, with their own bill. So that could limit the amount of amendments that could be passed on it. And we’re going to be butting heads, kind of like we did last year.”
Property tax reform is also a top priority, as rising taxes have put financial pressure on homeowners across the state. Dotzler notes much of the tax burden funds schools, public safety and infrastructure.
“We’re going to be looking at trying to work with the majority party on trying to do adjustments to make it work for everybody. But I do know in my district with property taxes jumping through the roof, people are deeply concerned and we’re having real issues with people meeting their budgets with all of a sudden the great big jumps in property taxes. It’s something that’s going to cause a lot of concern here at the Capitol. And we’re hoping that we can work in a bipartisan way.”
Multiple bills from the governor and legislative leaders are under consideration as lawmakers work toward bipartisan property tax reform.
Full interview below
