State Capitol Report

February 8, 2025

As of February 7, state legislators have sponsored 769 bills. There are more than double that number being processed. Legislators still have another five days to request a bill (February 14). After that date, only committee chairs and leaders can sponsor bills.

There are only four weeks left before the first “funnel” deadline. Bills must be voted out of their originating committee by March 7, or they are dead for the remainder of the year. There are a few exceptions, including bills that deal with taxes or budgets. 

This week started off on a sad note, with Rep. Martin Graber's funeral. Rep. Graber passed away suddenly on January 31. He had represented House District 100 (Lee County) since his election in 2020. A special election will be held to fill his seat on Tuesday, March 11. This is the second special election in 2025. Mike Zimmer was elected to former Senator (now Lt. Governor) Chris Cournoyer seat in Senate District 35.

Two weeks ago we mentioned the HHS presentation on Medicaid rate "right sizing." There has been significant push back against this proposal to set all Medicaid rates at 85% of the Medicare rate. This caused most behavioral health rates to drop, while allowing physician and dental rates to go up. This is now far from a done deal and it appears legislators are not happy to see their work over the past several years to increase behavioral health rates be negated. Budgets won't start to be developed until mid-March, so there is still a lot of time for this discussion to evolve.

Bill Watch List

A full list of bills tracked for IPA can be found here. Here are a few notable bills:

• A subcommittee had been set for HSB 86, which allows psychologists with appropriate training to be included in the list of professionals able to do sports concussion protocols. This is an IPA priority bill. The subcommittee was cancelled due to Rep. Graber's funeral, but we are hoping to get it rescheduled soon. If you support this bill, let the subcommittee members know (Rep. Tom Moore, Rep. Steve Bradley, Rep. Tracy Ehlert).

• PsyPACT is back in 2025; HF 255 was introduced this week. IPA has been trying to address patient safety concerns with the compact without success. IPA continues to oppose this until those issues can be worked out.

• Subcommittees dealing with various aspects of mental health commitments and hospitalizations have advanced bills to:
• Add "psychiatric deterioration" as a reason for involuntary commitments (HF 123).
• Require hospitals to discharge a person with a 30-day supply of medication (HF 124).
• Allow ARNPs and PAs to attest to a witnessed commitment evaluation if the evaluating provider is unavailable or unwilling to attend the hearing (HSB 85).

• HF 177 is safe from the first funnel, having been voted out of the House Judiciary Committee last week. It increases penalties for assaults against health care workers, including psychologists.

• Also safe from the first deadline is HF 163, which requires schools to create multi-disciplinary threat assessment teams to intervene with students who are flagged as a possible risk. The bill makes sure students receive appropriate services and allows governmental agencies to share information to reduce risk to the student and others in the school.

• The House Commerce Committee unanimously approved HF 5, which removes caps on autism insurance coverage. 

The Iowa Senate announced last week they were deadlocked on the casino moratorium (HF 144). The state's Racing & Gaming Commission voted (4-1) in favor of granting Cedar Rapids a new casino license. They broke ground on the project Friday, making sure the Legislature doesn't change its mind.

IPA's 2025 Priorities:

• Protect limits on the release of raw data and psychological test materials. This protects patient privacy and the validity of psychological tests.

• Oppose expansions of scope of practice into psychological services by unqualified providers and oppose any interstate psychology compacts that do not require adherence to Iowa laws. This protects public safety and ensures quality of care.

• Add licensed psychologists with specialty training in neuropsychology or concussion management to the list of licensed providers in Iowa’s sports concussion and brain injury protocols. Their specialized training improves care and provides schools with more options. 

• Get the public policy priorities one-pager here.

Ways to Support IPA Priorities:

• Introduce yourself to legislators at a local public forum - list here.
• Email our priorities to your legislators - and offer yourself as a resource.
• Email your legislators about a bill in the bill tracker.

Your Bill Tracker

Click above to see status of important bills, or create your own report 

with a custom download.

Town Halls & Public Forums

Find a local event with your state or federal elected officials here.