Just like that, Iowa's Legislative session is over

Ian Richardson, Des Moines Register
·2 min read

Good morning.

While you were sleeping (at least hopefully you were sleeping), the Iowa Legislature adjourned for the year — more than a month after their target end date.

The final gavel came just after midnight, capping two days of frenzied activity in which lawmakers passed a state budget and dozens of policy bills.

It brought an end to a session in which Republicans passed major priorities like a tax cut, a requirement for many gas stations to sell E15 fuel and a ban on transgender girls and women from participating in female sports.

The session also saw one of Republicans' major priorities — a sweeping proposal to use state funding to help families send their children to private school expenses — fail to pass.

Here's some of the action from the final day:

  • Senate Democrats voted down four of Gov. Kim Reynolds' judicial nominating commission picks.

  • Republicans voted to eliminate the March 1 deadline for students to open enroll in other school districts

  • Republicans voted to ban private money from being used to help run elections.

  • In a last-minute compromise, Republicans passed legislation that includes some regulations on pharmacy benefit managers, which serve as "middlemen" between drug manufacturers and insurance companies.

You can read a recap of the final day from Stephen Gruber-Miller and I below. We also have a rundown of how Gov. Kim Reynolds' policy proposals fared this year.

This is Ian, who's ready for a nap. Have thoughts about the session? Questions on what passed and what didn't? You can reach me at irichardson@registermedia.com.

And just because the session is over, that doesn't mean Iowa politics news is slowing down. Stay tuned to our newsletter for coverage of the lead-up to elections and more, and encourage your friends to subscribe here.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Just like that, Iowa's Legislative session is over