A recap of week five at the Capitol

Welcome Second Amendment supporters!

2A Day at the Capitol is an annual Second Amendment advocacy event held at the State Capitol in Des Moines. Hosted by the Iowa Firearms Coalition, it brings together gun rights supporters, lawmakers, and speakers to celebrate and defend Second Amendment rights, learn about the legislative session, and engage directly with legislators.

A shout out to our amazing local supporters who traveled to Des Moines for the event and especially the keynote speaker, Sara Weaver, who shared her survival story of the 1992 federal siege at Ruby Ridge.

2026 Property Tax Bills

Momentum is growing on the three current property tax bills, especially for stronger controls on local revenue growth, with a 2% property tax cap emerging as a key focus. While the Senate, Governor, and House all aim to ease property tax burdens, they differ in how they approach limits on local government revenue, assessment changes, school funding, and TIF restrictions. The House proposal emphasizes transparency and structural discipline, enhancing disclosure and avoiding narrowly targeted exemptions.

Committee Updates

Labor and Workforce

During this week's meeting, Iowa Workforce Development Director, Beth Townsend, presented to the members the latest updates from IWD. The IWD program is helping people who have been laid-off, fired, or their company has been shut down. During this period of time that these people are unemployed, IWD comes in to help them find a sufficient job in order to provide for their family and themselves. So far, there have been over 928 apprenticeship programs made to help people in the state of Iowa.

Ag and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee

This week, Tracy Keninger presented on the Easterseals program, which supports farmers and farm family members who have acquired a disability though accident or illness, with accommodations that allow them to continue their way of life and live in their rural communities. This service is not available through any other entity in Iowa.

Veterans Affairs

This week, the House Veterans Affairs Committee advanced the below bills with bipartisan support. They now can be considered by the House floor or the House Appropriations Committee in the coming weeks:

Regent Tuition — House File 2132 provides free tuition to the regent schools for veterans with a permanent service-connected disability rating of 100%.

Service Animal Training Grant — House File 2180 establishes a $5,000 grant program to fund service animal training for veterans. Provides a $100,000 appropriation to establish the program.

Veteran Camping Discount — House File 2214 provides a 25% discount to rentals at DNR campsites, cabins, and rental facilities.

Veteran License Designation — House File 2279 allows individuals that have served in the National Guard, regardless of the number of active duty service days, to receive the veteran designation on their driver’s license. Currently, the individual must have served in the National Guard for at least 20 years or been deployed.

Education

As a member of the education committee, we always expect late nights prior to the rush of first funnel. This week was full of great legislation for our education system. One of the bills that I have been assigned as the "floor manager" is the classroom behavior bill. Here is a brief summary of it:

HF 2122 is a bill that strengthens classroom discipline policies by giving teachers more authority to remove students who engage in serious disorderly conduct, threats, intimidation, or abusive language. The bill passed out of the committee with an amendment that will bring further clarity to how school performance grades are determined so that schools do not get penalized for reporting incidents. It allows teachers to reconvene IEP meetings. Other top bills I have been working on include library, immunization, and DEI related bills.

Bills discussed/passed on Tuesday: HSB678 — HSB648 — HSB599 — HF2049 — HF2092

Bills discussed/passed on Wednesday: HSB679 — HSB607 — HSB610 — HSB646 — HSB714 — HF2124 — HSB681 — HSB682 — HF2122

Cancer Conversations

Cancer conversations around the dinner table and in the press have continuously increased since Iowa came under scrutiny as the state with the second highest cancer rates. As we all seek answers to this alarming statistic, doing our own personal research can go a long way. Something that is being noted is that tobacco is related to three out of the five top cancers in Iowa (prostate, colorectal — not only lung cancer) and alcohol is also related to three of the four (breast, prostate, colorectal, along with the indication of melanoma) out of five of the top cancers in Iowa.

Education

As funding to Iowa public schools has increased since 2014, it is clear that student enrollment in K-12 has decreased. At the same time, the number of employees has risen dramatically.

10 years of Safe at Home. A Commitment to Protect Survivors

Ten years ago, the Iowa Legislature unanimously passed a law creating Iowa’s Safe at Home program, a bipartisan effort to protect survivors of violent crimes. Administered by the Iowa Secretary of State, Safe at Home is an address confidentiality program designed to help survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, stay safe and rebuild their lives. Since its launch, 3,098 Iowans have participated in the program, most of them survivors of these crimes.

If you know someone who could benefit from Iowa’s Safe at Home program, encourage them to reach out to our dedicated staff. Learn more at safeathome.iowa.gov.

Carbon Pipeline Update

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved to repeal the 2009 “endangerment finding” which marks a major shift in federal climate policy. That finding, issued after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, had classified carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act and became the legal foundation for regulating emissions nationwide.

With that determination now repealed, the federal government is stepping back from treating carbon dioxide as a regulated air pollutant under that framework. Legal challenges are already underway, and the issue is likely headed back to the courts.

Here in Iowa, this development adds another layer of uncertainty to the proposed carbon capture pipeline by Summit Carbon Solutions. The entire justification for the pipeline has relied on the premise that carbon dioxide emissions must be captured and stored to meet federal regulatory standards and climate mandates. If the legal basis for regulating CO₂ continues to unravel, the foundation for projects built around those mandates becomes far less certain.

Upcoming Events

Coffee and Conversations (Formerly Eggs & Issues): Smokey Row Oskaloosa (109 S Market St. Oskaloosa, IA).

Feb. 28 — 8:30-9:30 a.m.

March 28 — 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Fairfield Chamber of Commerce Legislative Forum: Fairfield Library

Feb. 21 — 7:30 a.m.

March 15 — 7:30-9:00 a.m.

If you have any questions about these events, don't hesitate to reach out to me. Forums and events will be posted on my Facebook page as well as here in the newsletter!

Contact

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have. I love to hear from you and want to represent you accurately!

Website: https://www.helenaforhouse.com

Email: helena.hayes@legis.iowa.gov

Phone: 515.281.3221