Helena Hayes – Capitol Update February 8, 2026
Week 4
Week 4 of the 91st General Assembly has simply flown by! As session continues on, weeks can become an exhausting and yet, exciting flurry of activity. This week was full of subcommittees, committees, long caucus meetings and plenty of visitors from all across Iowa! I know some of you say my newsletters are “too long” but this format requires no additional cost in getting information to you and all you have to do is scroll quickly until you find something that interests you. In this age of information, even though I hate to overload you even more, I stick to what I have stated previously… aim to keep you informed and equipped. Enjoy!
Understanding the Headlines
Every moment I have I try to constantly take in information to better understand the headlines we read each day. This podcast really connected for me many of the headlines that have been coming out for years. If you are following this ICE thing, you will want to take a look at this 12 minute video.
RJ Talks
Carbon Pipeline Update – Still a House Priority
Two weeks ago, the House passed its CO2 Pipeline Bill – HF 2104. It was a simple bill modeled after South Dakotas which banned the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines in Iowa. Despite the fact that there still needs to be a much larger conservation regarding the use of eminent domain for “private gain,” this bill goes a long way in protecting property rights regardless. It was sent to the Senate where they did a “strike all” to take out the language banning the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines and to put in the language of SF 2067, which does the following:
1. It allows the pipeline company to go 5 miles on either side of thecorridor approved by the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) and find any willing landowner who wants to sign on to give the company an easement. The company will also be allowed to go anywhere within the county that an informational meeting is being held in order to find a willing landowner.
2. Requires the pipeline company to provide willing landowners described above with all the information from the informational meeting in case the landowner did not attend the meeting. (Only landowners within the corridor approved by the IUC will get advance notice of the informational meeting so they can attend it. Any other landowners within the county or outside the approved corridor will not get advance notice of the informational meeting. They could have the pipeline company show up on their doorstep without prior notice. This places those landowners at a disadvantage.)
3. Specifies the process for a landowner that does not want to sign an easement and does not want further contact with the company the right to opt out of any further contact from the company except for mail. The company is required to have no further contact with that landowner. (This is better than current law, except it only gives the landowner 7 days from the time a written easement offer is presented to decide whether or not to sign an easement. This is an unreasonably short timeframe, making it easy for the company to use high-pressure tactics to get an unsure landowner to sign.)
4. Requires diligent efforts by a pipeline company to assemble a project route using only voluntary easements. In order to use the power of eminent domain the company must demonstrate evidence to the IUC that it has made those diligent efforts. (First, what constitutes diligent efforts? Second, it would seem to me that is no different than what is done now, eminent domain only being used as a last resort which is current practice.)
5. Requires all information about the interactions between the pipelinecompany and the landowner leading up to a request for eminent domain authority be kept confidential.
6. Requires the pipeline company to request and receive permission from a landowner to conduct a survey of their land. This is better than current law.
7. Requires the pipeline company to present at the informational meetings a template easement and the methodology for valuing the easement.
8. Importantly, the amendment to this bill still allows for the use of eminent domain, which automatically places the landowner at a disadvantage in negotiations.
Read the Senate bill HERE.
2026 Iowa House Priorities
Iowa Skilled Workforce Act
HSB 674, the Iowa Skilled Workforce Act, is a practical effort to close the gap between Iowa’s open jobs and the skilled workers needed to fill them. At its basic core, the bill creates a partnership between the state, education providers, and the trades. The state provides funding and flexibility, while industry leaders help shape training programs that prepare Iowans for in-demand careers. The goal is straightforward: align education with the needs of employers and give workers a clear path into good-paying jobs.
This legislation strengthens the partnership by investing in growth and removing unnecessary barriers. It increases funding for the 84E Apprenticeship Act from $3 million to $4.5 million to support registered apprenticeship programs statewide, and it establishes a new Career Training Physical Expansion Program to help build or expand modern training facilities at community colleges and in both union and non-union programs. It also cuts red tape by allowing experienced tradespeople to teach, gives community colleges greater flexibility in managing last-dollar scholarships, encourages pre-apprenticeship programs in K-12 schools, and creates consistency across the trades by standardizing supervision ratios for plumbing and HVAC.
From electricians and builders to plumbers and HVAC technicians, the skilled trades are essential to keeping Iowa running and growing. This bill reflects a shift toward investing in education and training that Iowans can actually use, tied directly to the needs of their communities. It is an investment in people who want to work with their hands and build a future here, and a promise to taxpayers that public dollars will produce a stronger workforce and a more prosperous state.
Find the bill HERE. Reminder – every bill has an “explanation” portion at the end. Go directly there to read this in plain language.
Committee Assignment Updates
Labor and Workforce
This weeek we passed HF556 out of committee. This bill requires the Department of Workforce Development to operate a mandatory reemployment case management program for certain unemployment claimants and considers participation as meeting work-search requirements. It shifts most unemployment-related communications from mail to electronic methods, with alternatives allowed by rule when necessary, and repeals the Summer Youth Intern Pilot Program.
Ag and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee
In this committee we heard from several different Iowa State Veterinary Diagnotic Lab presenters including:
Dan Grooms, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine
Rodger Main, Director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
Locke Karriker, Department Chair, Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine
To learn more about the updates presented to us, click HERE.
Veterans Affairs
Veterans Affairs did not meet this week.
Education
The Education committee had a full week of subcommittees, lengthy caucus time and speakers. As a member of the committee, I served on three subcommittees that we also discussed in our committee meeting. These included:
HSB636 – An act prohibiting school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from entering into certain specified contracts with public libraries and hosting mobile libraries. On hold for an amendment. Passed committee but expects an amendment.
HF2171 – An act striking elementary and secondary student immunization requirements. Passed committee.
HF2121 – An act prohibiting school districts, charter school, and innovation zone schools from providing and program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender theory or sexual orientation instruction in grades seven through twelve. Passed committee.
On Wednesday, we also received testimony and an investigative report from Des Moines Public Schools concerning the hiring and subsequent resignation of former superintendent Ian Roberts. Roberts was detained in September 2025 after authorities determined he was not legally authorized to work in the United States and had falsified federal employment documentation.
District officials walked our members through the sequence of events, summarized the conclusions of an independent review, and described the corrective measures now being implemented. Committee members questioned district leaders about oversight procedures, employment verification practices, and what safeguards will be put in place to prevent a similar breakdown in the future.
