(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair says the state is likely to be sued if Governor Kim Reynolds approves a bill that would establish new state regulations for the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.

“That’s a bill that’s just going to facilitate activists and there were so many problems with that and ultimately it will cost the state of Iowa money both in economic impact as well as potential lawsuits and I think we have to say those words out loud,” Sinclair said during taping of “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS. “…That’s what’s going to get us into legal trouble for liability issues related to the U.S. Constitution and Article I Section 10 — the contracts clause. With what we did in the ultimate bill that passed, we are violating the U.S. Constitution and that causes me great concern.”

Last year, the Iowa Utilities Commission awarded Summit a permit to build and operate a pipeline to capture carbon from ethanol plants and ship it to underground storage in North Dakota. However, Summit must get a similar permit in South Dakota before construction can begin in Iowa. The bill has provisions that not only apply to Summit’s project, but to other hazardous liquid pipelines and energy infrastructure, like transmission lines. Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, said she has no idea what the governor will choose to do with the bill.

Senate President Amy Sinclair (R-Allerton) on the “Iowa Press” set on June 5, 2025.. (Iowa PBS photo)

“I have not spoken to the governor at all,” Sinclair said. “I believe in a separation of powers and a separation of duties and that is her job to determine whether or not that bill makes sense for Iowans.”

The bill easily cleared the House with bipartisan support in March. Sinclair is among the 22 Republican senators who voted against it last month, while a coalition of 27 Republicans and Democrats in the Senate voted to send the bill to the governor.