The following is a legislative update from Republican State Rep. Shannon Latham, representing portions of Franklin, Hamilton, Story and Wright counties in Iowa House District 55:
Iowa House Releases “Tough-On-Crime” Package
Work during Week 3 of the 2026 Iowa legislative session focused on public safety, conservation, and community partnerships. House Republicans introduced a tough-on-crime legislative package aimed at holding repeat offenders accountable. The Commerce Committee advanced bills to strengthen Iowa’s energy and transmission infrastructure. The Ag Committee heard encouraging updates from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig about record-setting conservation efforts. I also welcomed educators and housing advocates to the Capitol.
Lawmakers continue to work intensively in subcommittees and committees because the first major legislative deadline, known as the “first funnel,” is Feb. 20. This deadline falls at the end of the sixth week of the 2026 legislative session. By this date, most bills and joint resolutions that originated in the Iowa House must be approved by House committees. Senate bills and joint resolutions also must be approved by Senate committees, or they will no longer be considered this session. Exceptions to this deadline are bills that have been referred to Ways & Means or the Appropriations Committees.
Tough-On-Crime Legislative Package
Iowa House Republicans this week released a slate of tough-on-crime legislative proposals to ensure Iowa does not become a haven for career criminals. The first bill, which is awaiting a bill number, implements a “Three-and-Done” Strike System. This legislation creates a cumulative strike system for repeat offenders, triggering a mandatory minimum 20-year sentence without parole once a career criminal reaches three full strikes. The tiered-strike system outlined in this bill ensures that once individuals choose a pattern of dangerous criminal behavior, they are sentenced accordingly.
The second bill is a pretrial accountability and bail reform act. The major components of the bill include inflation-adjusted bail schedules, justification for deviation, restricting Promise to Appear (PTA), and fact-checking pretrial release. These reforms close the gaps in excessive judicial discretion that have allowed career criminals to return shortly after arrest.
Committee Action
This week I managed two bills that passed through the Commerce Committee and will now be placed on the House Debate Calendar:
- HSB 526 requires agricultural land restoration following the construction of a 200-kilovolt electric transmission line. Originally based on the Governor’s 2025 Energy Bill, this bill states that electric transmission owners must repair tile as soon as possible and follow best conservation practices.
- HF 736 opens interstate highway rights-of-way for transmission siting by doing three things. First, the bill removes unnecessary restrictions on placing transmission lines in interstate rights-of-way. Second, the bill promotes timely and thorough coordination between transmission developers and the Iowa Department of Transportation. And third, the bill establishes clear criteria for project approvals and improves confidence in the transmission permitting process.
In this week’s Agriculture Committee meeting, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig reported 2025 was another record-breaking year for Iowa agriculture. Iowa farmers lead the nation in corn, egg, pork and biofuels production. Iowa farmers also are conservation leaders, adding more buffer and filter strips, grassed waterways, water quality wetlands, conservation tillage, bioreactors, pollinator habitat, terraces and saturated buffers than any other state.
The pace of conservation adoption continues to accelerate as resources are added. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) supported more than $34.3 million in soil and water cost-share, nearly $7.2 million more than last year’s record. Twenty-six wetland projects – the most in a single year – were initiated in 2025. There was record demand last year for the state’s cover crop cost-share program. An estimated 8,000 Iowa farmers and landowners are participating in conservation programs with cover crop acres up to 3.8 million, 484 completed saturated buffers and bioreactors, and 147 wetlands in development.
(TOP PHOTO: “It was a pleasure to meet on Jan. 26 with Tony Hiatt, superintendent from Northwood-Kensett (pictured in the back beside Rep. Jane Bloomingdale) and Mike Krueger, superintendent for West Fork High School (seated in the Speaker’s chair). They participated in the School Administrators of Iowa Day on the Hill.”
1 thought on “Rep. Shannon Latham discusses “tough on crime” bill in Iowa Legislature”
Iwonder if she told the superintendents they are going to have to cut more from their budgets this year because the Republicans are giving all the money to private schools.