By the numbers: How many new laws were passed in Iowa this year? (2024)

Caleb McCulloughJournal Des Moines Bureau

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the last bills of the 2024 session into law last week, wrapping up the year’s lawmaking season that began in January.

This year, lawmakers passed, and Reynolds signed, more than 180 new laws affecting policy areas like education, taxes, agriculture and health care.

Here is a breakdown of the new Iowa laws signed this year, by the numbers.

Number of new laws: 185

Reynolds signed 185 bills into law this year.

Of those laws, 137 were passed with broad bipartisan support in the Legislature, gaining at least two-thirds of the votes from minority Democrats in each chamber. Forty-eight were passed by majority Republicans largely along party lines.

Most new laws take effect July 1, but some were written to take effect immediately.

Thousands of changes to law

According to theLegislative Services Agency, the new laws this year added up to about 2,870 individual changes to Iowa Code. While some new laws added new sections to Iowa Code, most amended sections that already existed.

There were 255 cases of brand new sections being added to Iowa Code, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Language was added to existing sections 220 times.

The new laws amended existing sections of code more than 1,800 times and removed sections of code 422 times.

What do the new laws cover?

Education:Sixteennew laws deal with education, from kindergarten through higher education. This includes Reynolds’ chief policy goal this year, tooverhaul the state area education agenciesthat provide special education support to school districts. Other laws sought to improve school safety by incentivizing infrastructure improvements andallowing trained school staff to carry guns at school.

Government:Twenty-two new laws deal with the organization or the responsibilities of state or local government. These include a law to reorganize andreduce the number of boards and commissions in the state, ban local government involvement in guaranteed income programs and change the rulemaking process for state agencies.

Health care:Twenty of the new laws signed this year deal with health care. Mental health care has been a focus of lawmakers in recent years, and this year Reynolds signed a law tounify the state’s mental health and substance use treatment networksinto one behavioral health network, split among seven local regions. Other laws includeexpanding postpartum Medicaid coveragewhile lowering the eligibility limit and regulating pharmacy benefit managers.

Crime:Seventeenof the new laws this year created new crimes or altered existing criminal penalties. Lawmakers passed bills creating crimes like looting, organized retail theft, grooming and harassment with deepfake images.

Justice and police:Another 23 laws make changes to the state's court system or police policy. These include allowing county attorneys to carry firearms, changes to public jury information and changing the retirement benefits system for sheriffs.

Business and workforce:Sixteennew laws deal with business regulation and economic development. Among these laws arenew regulations on hempand tobacco products, an incentive program formajor economic growth projects, and a law to expand work-based learning opportunities.

How were they signed?

Reynolds held several public signing ceremonies over the last few months, commemorating the enactment of laws she proposed as part of her legislative agenda.

The first bill Reynolds signed into law publicly was her proposal to overhaul the state area education agencies, an issue that took several weeks before majority Republican lawmakers came to an agreement on how to reorganize the state’s special education network.

She held three other public signings during the session:

A bill to repeal gender balance rules forstate boards and commissions

A bill to impose new restrictions onforeign owners of farmland

A bill to change county veterans’ commissions

After the session, Reynolds signed 10 more bills in public ceremonies. They included additional cuts to the individual income tax, a redesign of the state’s mental health care system and regulations onlabeling of meat alternatives.

Reynolds signed two bills in private ceremonies this year. One law that grants ahigher legal scrutiny to freedom of religion caseswas signed in April at a private event hosted by the conservative evangelical group The Family Leader.

The other bill, which requires a review of the state’ssocial studies education standardsand will require teaching on key U.S. and world historical events, was signed at Beit Shalom Jewish Community in Davenport with members of the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities and Quad-Cities lawmakers.

The rest of the bills were signed privately and announced in large batches over the last few months.

Where were bills signed?

Some public bill signings this year were held in Des Moines, in Reynolds’ office or the main Capitol rotunda. Other bills were signed outside the Capitol, at schools, farms and other areas affected by the new laws.

Reynolds signed the following bills outside the Capitol this year:

A bill granting higher legal scrutiny to freedom of religion cases, signed at a Family Leader dinner

A bill to change county veterans' commissions, signed at at the Stoney Creek Hotel in Johnston

A bill to improve early literacy results, signed at Adel DeSoto Minburn Community School District in Adel

A bill to require certain topics in social studies classes, signed atBeit Shalom Jewish Community in Davenport

Bills to require accurate labeling of meat alternative products and exempt certain livestock sales from income tax, signed at Blomme Farm in Ladora

A bill to reorganize the state's behavioral health care system, signed at Foundation 2 Crisis Services in Cedar Rapids

A bill to require an accessibility study at state parks, signed at Big Creek State Park in Polk City

A bill to send more funding to charter schools, signed at Horizon Science Academy in Des Moines

Number ofvetoes: 1

Reynoldsvetoed one bill this yearover concerns about an unintended loophole to open meetings laws left open by a last-minute amendment.

The bill would have increased the penalty for violating Iowa's open meetings law to up to $12,500 for a knowing violation and up to $2,500 for unknowingly violating the law.

Government transparency advocates had concerns about an amendment to the bill that created an exemption for members of a government body to attend a political or civic event without being in violation of open meetings rules. The amendment did not include a qualification that policy cannot be discussed at those gatherings, leaving an "enormous loophole" in the law, those groups said.

In her veto letter, Reynolds said the amendment was "unnecessary and will cause confusion."

“Open meetings laws need to be clear; otherwise, their application and enforcement will be inconsistent and varied," Reynolds said in the letter.