Here’s what 3 Iowa statewide elected leaders are proposing in 2026

The Iowa State Capitol as seen Jan. 9, 2026. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
January 12, 2026

Ahead of the 2026 legislative session, Iowa statewide elected officials have released proposals they hope lawmakers will address, including DNA testing for arrested individuals, increasing penalties for public employees and officials who steal public funds and combating business fraud.

Several offices, as well as state departments, have submitted legislative proposals leading up to the start of session, which begins Monday.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird held a news conference alongside former New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and other Iowa public safety officials where she announced her office’s aim to pass a measure known as “Katie’s Law” in Iowa.

This proposal, named after Katie Sepich, a 22-year-old University of New Mexico student who was killed in 2003, would require DNA be collected from criminal defendants after being arrested for a felony or aggravated misdemeanor charge — an expansion from current requirements that state DNA be collected only after a person is convicted.

Martinez said she supported the law as governor to allow criminals to be more quickly caught, pointing to Sepich’s murder as a reason for the need to collect this evidence. While law enforcement officers collected DNA evidence under her fingernails, as there was not a match in national databases for her murderer — Sepich’s killer was not arrested for more than three years after her death, after he submitted a DNA sample following his prison sentence for convictions of burglary, resisting arrest and fraudulent refusal to return leased property.

“Katie’s Law” will help bring criminals to justice quicker in cases like Sepich’s murder, Bird said.

“No family should have to wait years for answers about what happened to their loved one, and no criminal should ever get away with murder, rape or any other violent crime,” Bird said. “We need to give law enforcement the tools they need to investigate and to bring violent criminals to justice. Over 30 other states already have Katie’s Law — I think Iowa should too.”

Martinez, who signed an expansion to New Mexico’s law in 2011, said it has survived challenges up to the U.S. Supreme Court and is an important tool in closing cold cases.

“When we wait until conviction to collect the DNA, we give serial offenders a free pass between the time of their arrest and their final sentencing. We allow them to remain anonymous for periods of time and different crimes that they’ve already committed. Katie’s Law closes this window.”

Bird also proposed another measure she said will help victims of crimes in Iowa, which included provisions allowing victims of sex crimes to get lifetime no-contact orders, shortening the period of time required for sex offenders to notify local authorities of changes in their residence, work and vehicle and allowing crime victim counselors to share certain confidential information with law enforcement when there is a risk of immediate harm.

Bird said these changes are issues specifically brought up by crime victims and victim advocates as steps that could help prevent new traumatization and further crimes.

“We don’t take lightly the pain that victims endure, and we will take meaningful action and make sure that victims are safe and that their voices are heard,” Bird said.

Secretary of State’s office combats business fraud

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate also has a proposal in 2026 to help Iowans facing a different type of crime — business fraud.

In an interview with Iowa Capital Dispatch, Pate said his top priority in the 2026 session will be passing a measure to help protect Iowa homeowners from certain business crimes in which person creating a fraudulent business chooses a random individual and home address as their “registered agent.”

“They just randomly pick you and put your address down, so you’re now the registered agent — and that means any creditors or legal action gets directed to you,” Pate said. “This is very disturbing, obviously, because first thing I’m going to think, is there’s nothing good coming out of this, this is not a legitimate company. And it’s been very difficult to always find these, and more difficult even to dissolve them, because it’s a very cumbersome process.”

Pate said he plans to propose an “expedited process” for marking the business as illegitimate, which he said would allow his office to dissolve the company and take care of related issues so that “the consumer or the homeowner is not getting put in a bad position.”

While there have been instances of these crimes being reported around Des Moines metro and in other parts of the state, Pate said it is difficult to find numbers on how often this type of fraud is occurring due to underreporting from affected homeowners as well as the rate at which these fraudulent businesses are created and dissolved.

He said the proposal will aim to address an oversight in Iowa’s current system for effectively identifying and addressing these crimes.

“The frustrating thing is … in Iowa, we don’t have a real clear line of who should be out there as a point person on these things,” Pate said. “The attorney general handles consumer fraud, but when you talk about the business side, it’s a bit of a gray area. And I am not looking at becoming the attorney general, but I want to make sure I can help shepherd and get the information to the attorney general, or to (the Department of Public Safety).”

Sand calls for repeal of auditor’s law, increased penalties for stealing public funds

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand said in a Monday news conference one of his biggest priorities for the 2026 session was to reverse a measure passed by the Legislature in 2023 that restricts his office from accessing certain documents and personal information, and that stops taking other state agencies to court.

Sand, the sole Democrat to hold statewide elected office in Iowa, has repeatedly criticized Senate File 478 as a “pro-corruption bill,” saying it prevents the state auditor’s office from being able to effectively audit state government institutions. In addition to limiting access to certain documents and personal information, the 2023 law directs disputes between the auditor’s office and state entities to a board of arbitration instead of to court. The panel made up of two members involved in the dispute — the auditor’s office and the entity being audited — in addition to a third member appointed by the governor’s office.

As Republicans hold a trifecta of control at the Iowa Capitol, Sand’s proposals face long odds of making it through the legislative process. However, he said he believes the measure would help provide better transparency and accountability to Iowa state government.

“Standing up here today is me doing the right thing — suggesting ideas that directly impact the state auditor’s office, not weighing whether or not the Legislature wants to pass them,” Sand said.

The auditor also introduced a measure proposing mandatory prison time for public employees and public officials convicted of stealing $10,000 or more of public funds. Sand said not allowing courts to defer or suspend a defendant’s prison sentence in these cases was a “common sense” measure, as it would ensure people who steal taxpayer funds face prison time.

Other statewide officials

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig has proposed the Iowa Farm Act, a measure rolling several ag-related measures into one bill, including tax relief, zoning for farm-related businesses, school purchasing of farm products and biosecurity.

State Treasurer Roby Smith has not publicly announced a legislative agenda.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.