With the seventh week of the legislative session now in the books and the first funnel deadline passed, Iowa lawmakers continue to focus on property tax reform and the state budget — both of which are exempt from funnel requirements.
Three property tax proposals remain under consideration: House Study Bill 596 from House Republicans, Senate Study Bill 3001 from Senate Republicans, and Senate Study Bill 3034/House Study Bill 563 introduced by the governor. The House has advanced both its proposal and the governor’s bill through subcommittee, while the governor’s measure has also been considered by a Senate subcommittee. The Senate Republican plan is expected to be scheduled in the coming days.
Meanwhile, budget discussions are ongoing. Senate Democrats this week raised concerns about projected deficits tied to prior spending levels and future revenue estimates. Republican leaders have previously said the state’s budgeting approach accounts for anticipated revenue changes. Lawmakers are expected to continue negotiations on both issues in the weeks ahead.
Full text from Iowa Senate Democrats below
Property Tax Reform
The Senate was back to regular business this week with three days of debate and dozens of bills passing through the Senate for consideration. The funnel narrowed the slate of eligible bills, but there are still some big issues left to manage.
The reason why you don’t see a bullet point on the list talking about property taxes is because bills that deal with taxes are considered “funnel proof,” meaning they don’t have to adhere to the same calendar deadlines as other policy bills.
As a reminder, there are three property tax reform proposals from the majority party in front of the Legislature at this time. HSB 596 from the House Republicans, SSB 3001 from the Senate Republicans, and SSB 3034/HSB 563 from the governor.
The House has already held subcommittees for and advanced the House Republicans’ and governor’s bills. On the Senate side, the governor’s bill went through a subcommittee this week. The Senate Republican bill will likely be scheduled for sometime next week.
Each of the existing proposals has different elements, so it is still to be determined what we will actually vote on in a final bill. If we can get a simpler, more predictable system that prioritizes taxpayers over corporations, ensures local governments can continue to provide the essential services that Iowans want, and encourages investment in the state, then you will see broad bipartisan support. We won’t support another giveaway to corporate interests or the wealthy that leaves working families and communities shortchanged.
The Budget
Like tax bills, budget bills are not subject to the funnel deadline. The state budget is usually the last, but arguably most important, work the Legislature does each year. It’s a complicated process under the best of circumstances – but we are not operating under the best of circumstances.
In 2025, Republican lawmakers passed a budget that spent $1.26 BILLION more than we took in, creating a massive deficit crater. In doing so, they are breaking two of their own budgeting rules: never spend more than the state takes in and never use one-time money to pay for ongoing expenses.
We know that the majority party is planning on passing another billion-dollar deficit this year, digging our hole even deeper and dropping the mess on a new governor’s desk in 2027. They argue that they “planned” for this, but the reality is they didn’t plan for this. The original five-year projections we saw in 2025 have been off by over $1.3 billion thus far and the governor decided not to include any projections in her budget book at the beginning of this session.
If the situation weren’t difficult enough, Senate Republicans are also pushing a bill that would allow them to pass the buck if they fail to pass a budget, kicking the can down the road and abdicating their responsibility.
All of this is to say that, while the funnel narrowed things down for us somewhat, we still have a lot of work ahead of us this session.
