(Radio Iowa) – Lawmakers approved a tax cut for Iowa businesses, made final state spending decisions and ended the 2025 Iowa legislative session at 6:31 this (Thursday) morning. Senate President Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, says the session’s top accomplishment is the bill reducing the tax rate businesses must pay into Iowa’s Unemployment Trust Fund. “A billion dollar tax cut for the people who drive Iowa’s economy, for the employers of the folks that live here, work here and raise their families here.” House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says Republicans failed to address the state’s housing crisis, improve access to child care or lower property taxes.

“Working Iowans lost and special interests won,” Konfrst said. “Not a single bill was passed and I mean not a single bill that will lower costs for Iowa families.” Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, says the property tax system was set up 50 years ago and the groundwork was laid this year for reform next year. “I consider it to be thorough and thoughtful because we’re meeting with stakeholders, we’re meeting with the taxing entities, we’re meeting with the taxpayers,” Kaufmann says. “We’re going to get it done right.” Democrats also criticized the G-O-P’s nine-point-four BILLION dollar state budget plan, which relies on withdrawing 900 million dollars from state reserves. Senator Matt Blake, a Democrat from Johnston, says Republicans are deficit spending.

House members have final debate of 2025 legislative session. (RI photo)

“We are struggling to even pay our bills without using our savings,” Blake said, “which I don’t think I would advise any of my family members to do.” Other Democrats say not enough was spent to provide health care to needy Iowans and boost budgets for public schools. Republican Representative Austin Harris of Moulton led negotiations on education spending. “As we know in this building, you don’t get the budget you want, you get the budget you can get,” Harris said, “and I think we have a pretty good budget.” Lawmakers began Wednesday with meetings and periodic bursts of activity of debate on bills. By sunrise Thursday, Senator Tim Kraayenbrink of Fort Dodge — the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee — was leading debate on the final piece of legislation.

Senate President Amy Sinclair had a message as lawmakers headed into the closing minutes.

The Senate concluded its work for the year shortly after 6 a.m.

The House ended the 2025 legislative session about half an hour later.