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:
Advancing Agriculture and Innovation
Week five of the legislative session focused on advancing policies that support Iowa’s agricultural community, strengthen economic growth and ensure responsible stewardship of public resources. This is also the week before the first legislative funnel, so most bills that originated in the House that fail to pass through both a House subcommittee and full committee are “dead.”
House Committees took action this week on legislation ranging from right-to-repair protections for farmers to statewide initiatives addressing cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Lawmakers also reviewed insurance trends impacting Iowa drivers and introduced measures aimed at improving accountability within public assistance programs. Alongside committee work, it was a pleasure to welcome constituents and student advocates to the Capitol to discuss their group’s priorities.
Committee Action
The House Agriculture Committee passed HSB 684, which mandates that original farm equipment manufacturers must make the same diagnostic and repair information, technical updates, embedded software, replacement, and diagnostic repair tools for Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) systems available to owners as they provide to authorized repair providers. The bill prohibits manufacturers from imposing unfair restrictions to access these materials and voids any contractual waiver of these rights.
Another bill that passed through the House Ag Committee is HSB 693. This legislation creates protections for defendants in Iowa from civil or criminal liability for any alleged actual or potential effects on climate resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. The immunity applies to emissions from agricultural and renewable fuel sources.
Commerce was presented with information on personal auto insurance rates from the Iowa Insurance Division. Iowa has some of the fastest-falling car insurance costs in the country, which is attributed to our state’s distracted driving law that has reduced car accidents. On average, car insurance premiums decreased by 25% in 2025.
HSB 609 passed the House Economic Growth Committee. The bill requires state agencies to collaborate on cyber and artificial intelligence issues. The workforce development board would establish a comprehensive initiative to address the state’s needs, including support for public school curriculum, internships, research, and grant programs. It would also ensure the state board of education would oversee the implementation of the curriculum related to cyber and artificial intelligence and require the department of education to develop and implement a statewide community initiative.
Each year the Iowa Legislature sets a percentage of growth, or the supplemental state aid (SSA) rate, that is applied to the amount of funding per pupil each community school receives for students in grades K-12. Schools rely on the SSA figure to create their budgets. The Senate proposed a 1.75% increase. The House Education Committee plans to amend the Senate bill early next week, so a floor vote wouldn’t happen before Thursday.
House Priorities
This week, the House introduced HSB 696 in Health and Human Services. This bill aims to protect the integrity and sustainability of Iowa’s public assistance programs. It empowers disabled Iowans by expanding eligibility for the Medicaid for Employed Persons with Disabilities program from 250% of the Federal Poverty Limit (FPL) to 300% FPL. This would allow more disabled Iowans to accept raises and promotions without fear of losing Medicaid coverage. This bill also protects the integrity of the system by codifying citizenship and qualified alien status as a universal requirement for all public assistance eligibility.
