Helena Hayes Capitol Update January 18, 2026

Legislative Session Begins

The second session of the 92nd General Assembly has begun! We gaveled in January 12th and expect to be finished around the end of April. While I have been working year-round as I meet with voters in my district and across the state, this session will be a fast paced and grueling 100 days, with at least some overtime likely at the end. Opening week includes many speeches, receptions, committee kickoffs and reacquanting conversations with a wide swatch of people including fellow colleageus, lobbyists, visitors and staff.

Above: The bill to ban eminent domain for carbon pipelines passed out of both subcommittee and committee in the first week. As expected, property rights were the top issue in the Iowa House. House Republicans continue to stand with landowners.

The Constitution is clear: eminent domain is only allowed for true public use. I would like to remind us all that the CO₂ pipeline is an economic development project, not a public use, and it does not justify taking private land.

This years eminent domain bill, HSB 507, is a simple bill, just two sentances long, that bans the use of eminent domain for the CO₂ pipeline in Iowa. It passed out of Judiciary with bipartisan support and will be eligible for floor debate next week. The bill protects landowners currently facing condemnation and mirrors language already adopted in South Dakota.

Proposals to merely expand the carbon pipeline corridor do not protect property owners and without a clear prohibition on eminent domain, landowners remain at risk. I would also like to emphasize that this topic deserves a much broader conversation involving the current statutory code on eminent domain use, climate action goals, and tax payer subsidies, but for now, the House will remain lazer focused on sending this bill over the Senate.

I support economic growth and Iowa agriculture, but goals such as those do not override constitutional rights. I am proud to stand with Iowa landowners who are defending their land, their liberty, and their legacy. We will not stop until property rights are secured.

The House Republican Caucus

There are 100 total representatives in the Iowa Legislature, and each of them represent 30,000 people. This is a major part how district lines are determined for elections! The 100 Representatives are split into parties.

Each party has what is called a Caucus, which is essentially a gathering of the legislators who are members of that party. The Representative in each party meet regularly to discuss priorities, strategies, and logistics.

The Republican Party currently holds a majority in the Iowa House, with 67 out of 100 Representatives being Republican. With the House majority comes the responsibility of House leadership; this means that Republican Representatives vote to choose who will be the Speaker of the House, and other leadership roles. The Speaker then chooses who is assigned to which committees, and who is leading each committee.

Iowa’s Republican Trifecta

You may have heard people refer to Iowa’s government as a “Republican Trifecta.” This is in reference to all three branches of our state government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) being led by Republicans. With 67 Republicans in the House, Representatives are proud to have the supermajority in the House of Representatives.

Photo Highlights from the First Week

This year’s opening day will be especially memorable for me as I stepped away from the Capitol briefly to take my son to the airport for basic training with the Iowa National Guard. When you petition our Great and Mighty Lord during your prayer time in the coming year, please remember our brave men and women who fight so valiantly for Iowa and the United States of America.

My top three favorite things about serving in this legislative capacity are: people, people, people… so please do not hesitate to make a trip to the State Capitol this session to meet one on one with your representative and senator and network with other freedom loving individuals.

Governor Kim Reynolds delivered her annual Condition of the State speech during our opening week. She touched on many topics of interest including moderizing the veterans benefit system, property taxes, fighting cancer, focusing on nutrition, improving education and much more. The was the nineth and final Condition of the State speech from Governor Reynolds.

Standing committees met at least once this week to introduce new legislators, hear presentations from state departments and recieve some of the first bills of the session. This year, I am serving on the Education Committee, Veteran Affairs, Labor and Workforce and International Relations Committee.
Teacher Vacancy Update

The Iowa Department of Education released the latest data on teaching vacancies across the state for the 2025-26 school year, highlighting the strength and expertise of Iowa’s teacher workforce. Iowa’s number of unfilled teaching positions represents only 1.12% of all full-time teachers in the 2025-26 school year, compared to 3% nationally of all public school teaching positions vacant during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Meet my new clerk:
Rebecca Pike

Hello everyone! My name Rebecca Pike and I have the honor this year to clerk for Representative Helena Hayes. You may recognize my last name; my father is Senator Mike Pike! A little bit about myself – I have lived in East Des Moines my entire life as well as being homeschooled during my entire education. As I was graduating highschool, I enrolled in a college class on Event and Wedding Planning. Conveniently enough, I was recently engaged in October of 2025! To keep myself busy, I am shadowing a wedding planner and planning my own wedding. I am also the Graduation Coordinator for Homeschool Iowa.

As Representative Hayes’ clerk this session, I will be managing many things but big part of my job is making sure that you and anyone engaged with politics are as informed and included as possible in what is happening here at the Capitol. Another goal we have is to help more people understand the legislative process and how they can influence change. Some things that I do as a clerk include assisting with the newsletter, managing emails and social media and scheduling subcommittees for Rep. Hayes. I am so excited to be working this session and I look forward to learning so much during this political experience!

Governor Meet & Greet come to a Close

The last of the five Republican governor candidates, Randy Feenstra, traveled to Oskaloosa this past week to meet with local residents and share why he believes he should be the next governor of Iowa. It was a great please to also host Eddie Andrews, Brad Sherman, Zach Lahn, and Adam Steen in the district in an effort for District 88 voters to personally meet them, ask questions and better know who they will vote for come the primary in June. If you were not able to attend, the Jefferson County Republican Central Committee has all of the candidate information available for you to review. Learn more at jeffersoniowagop.

On a Personal Note

Since life isn’t just about politics… I have some exciting news to share from the chicken house! Giblet, the little poult who came from the Tractor Supply store this spring, laid her first turkey egg ever! The pointed, heavily speckled egg is not a whole lot bigger than a regular sized chicken egg. I have refused thus far to put it in the frying pan due to its unprecidented nature. The Hamburg bantams aren’t laying much in this frigid weather but I thought all of you might enjoy this snapshot of one of their rare eggs next to Giblets very first egg.