DES MOINES — Iowa lawmakers gaveled in the 2026 legislative session on Monday, marking a decade of a Republican trifecta in the statehouse.

The majority party’s legislative leaders pinned property tax relief as a top priority for this session, while Democrats emphasized a need to lower costs for Iowans. 

The Iowa Senate proposed an overhaul of the state’s property tax system. The proposal comes after lawmakers adjourned the 2025 legislative session without a final property tax bill, despite the issue being pegged as a priority for Republicans. 

Senate Study Bill 3001, introduced Monday by Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee Sen. Dan  Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, would permanently increase Iowa’s homestead tax credit up 50 percent of a home’s taxable value. Homestead tax credits reduce property tax by lowering the taxable value of a primary residence and are offered by states to provide tax relief.

The legislation would also eliminate property taxes for Iowans who own their homes. 

The bill also proposes offsetting property tax revenue losses by allowing local governments to put a local option sales tax increase on their ballots. 

Sen. Mike Klimesh, R-Winneshiek, who began his first session serving as Iowa Senate Majority Leader Monday morning, said the current property tax system is “complicated and antiquated.” 

Klimesh was elected to the position after Sen. Jack Whitver, R-Grimes, stepped down from the position in September following a brain tumor diagnosis, ending his 7-year tenure in the post. 

Klimesh said the legislature’s approach to property tax has “slapped Band-Aids” on the issue for 40 years and this proposed legislation aims to strip down the system and build it back up. 

“I want Iowa to be the home [business owners] choose for growth and investment, encouraging an environment in Iowa where government gets out of the way so innovations can thrive,” Klimesh said in his opening remarks. 

He said the property tax proposal is intended to bring relief to Iowans facing rising costs and allocate dollars to roadway and bridge restoration across the state. Klimesh said the reform will help protect Iowans against rising property costs by eliminating property taxes for Iowans who own their family home. 

“Once your mortgage is paid off, you can truly say that home, that land, that property you’ve been building your lives on and caring for is actually yours,” Klimesh said. 

House Republicans and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds are anticipated to present their own property tax reform proposals. 

Republican Senate, House leadership propose early eminent domain discussion

Republican leaders in the two chambers of the Iowa Senate nudged early discussion of eminent domain and carbon pipelines. 

Klimesh referenced the debate surrounding the use of eminent domain in carbon capture pipeline projects across the state. Eminent domain is the government right to expropriate private property for public use, in this case the construction of a carbon capture pipeline, a pipeline designed to transport carbon dioxide. 

The debate, namely surrounding restrictions of eminent domain for pipelines, has been divisive among Iowa Republicans. 

Klimesh said his proposal would implement landowner protections, improve communication between landowners and project owners. 

“Our land is one of our most valuable resources in this state, and ensuring that land and the Iowans that own it and take care of it  are heard throughout this process is important,” Klimesh said.

He said the proposal would expand the ability of private property owners and private investment to voluntarily exchange easements, or agreements to use privately owned land for a specified purpose, which he said would eliminate the need for eminent domain for the pipelines.

Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, began his position as Iowa House Majority Leader on Monday. Kaufmann emphasized his intentions and said there will be a debate within the House in regards to property taxes and eminent domain and they are “going to have it early.”

He led with his goal to fight for what the House Republicans want to accomplish in the 2026 session. 

“For my friends on the other side of the aisle, every single member of my caucus, all 66 of them, are more than capable of taking care of themselves,” Kaufmann said, addressing House Democrats. “But if you go after them, you will be going after me, and I assure you that will not end well.”

Democrats aim to lower costs 

Iowa Democrats called for affordability during opening remarks, including Iowa Sen. Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, who called for solutions to rising housing, grocery, health care, and child care costs. 

“It is our job as legislators to help create the conditions to grow our economy, to compete successfully with our Midwestern neighbors for the best and the brightest,” Weiner said. “But we can only do so if our state is an affordable, welcoming place where families can grow and thrive no matter where in our great state they choose to live.”

Iowa House Minority Leader Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, said the House Democrats are going to continue fighting for Iowans who have been left behind with goals to expand access to homeownership, improve water quality, and lower health care costs. 

“Our agenda is rooted in what we hear every day from families across the state, and it comes down to three pillars: public education, affordability, and quality of life,” Meyer said. 

He said public education and affordability have become growing challenges for families across the state, especially those in rural areas, and rising costs have outpaced wages — particularly for educators and other public-sector workers — while schools face larger class sizes, fewer resources, and increased reliance on short-term funding rather than long-term investment.

Meyer said these pressures have strained the quality of public education, especially in communities already affected by economic and racial disparities, and noted affordability challenges extend beyond schools into housing, health care and property taxes.  

He said many are forced to make tradeoffs between basic needs as household budgets tighten, raising concerns about the state budget, and said ongoing expenses are increasingly supported by one-time funding. 

Iowa leaders reflect on historic session, recent political violence, and losses in the Senate

Iowa’s legislative leaders acknowledged the past year of political violence and loss, recognizing the deaths of Iowa Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, and Sen. Rocky De Witt, R-Lawton and the Iowa National Guardsmen who were killed in Syria on Dec. 13, 2025. 

The opening session marked Iowa history as Renee Hardman was sworn in as the first Black woman elected to the state Senate. Special election wins from Hardman and Democrat Catelin Drey broke the Republican supermajority in the Senate, bumping Iowa Senate Democrats to 17 members.  

Hardman’s seat was formerly held by Celsi, who died in October from an undisclosed illness.

Weiner said Senate members have “been through the ringer this year.” 

“We look forward to your fresh perspectives as well as the beginning of a restored sense of balance that your presence brings to the people’s Senate,” Weiner said, addressing Hardman and Drey. 

Senate President Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, said 2025 was a difficult year politically and pointed to several instances of political violence, including the killing of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, the shooting of Minnesota Senator John Hoffman, and the public death of Charlie Kirk. 

Sinclair said she “watched in horror” as these events occurred. 

“I encourage each of us to tone down our rhetoric and to get to work on what Iowans are telling us they really want,” Sinclair said. “They want good jobs and affordable living. They want lower taxes and less regulatory interference, and they want the freedom to flourish in the state that they love.” 

Weiner said Americans continue to face political violence that has “shaken us to our core.”

“We don’t live in a bubble here under the golden dome,” she said. 

Weiner pointed to the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Jan. 11 arson attack on Mississippi’s largest synagogue. 

“We Iowans, we take care of our neighbors, we are tolerant, and we stand up for their rights that are our rights too, because we all know that ‘Love thy neighbor’ comes with no exceptions,” Weiner said. “So let us resolve to carry out the people’s business with civility and empathy.”