(Radio Iowa) – Governor Reynolds has signed hundreds of bills into law this year, in her final year as governor.
Tuesday was the deadline for Governor Reynolds to take action on all the bills that cleared the 2026 legislature. And, barring some sort of special session in the next six months, it’s the last time Reynolds will perform this duty and she says it’s been bittersweet. Reynolds says as she and her staff reviewed bills over the past few days, her emotions veered from elation to tears, but Reynolds said she’s proud of how things turned out.
“Sometimes that is not the way it goes when it’s your last year and you’re a lame duck. Sometimes it’s kind of irrelevant what the governor wants,” Reynolds said. “What I experienced for my last legislative session was legislators and leaders in both the House and the Senate remained committed to putting Iowans first and getting things done and completed that we promised Iowans we would.” The governor considers the property tax limitations she signed last bills into law last month as lawmakers’ highest accomplishment.
“It was the expectation of Iowans that we get something done this year and while it might not be perfect, it is a substantial, landmark piece of legislation that will start to bend the curve toward the taxpayers and ultimately save them $4.2 billion over six years,” Reynolds told reporters during a news conference in her office. “That’s the projection.” Reynolds signed over four dozen bills into law yesterday (Tuesday).
One will require immigration checks for anyone applying to work in state and local governments in Iowa. The legislation was drafted after last fall’s immigration arrest of Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, who has been sentenced to federal prison for claiming to be a U-S citizen on his application for a state administrator’s license.
Another new law says Iowans cannot be prevented from adopting or becoming foster parents due to their religious or moral beliefs about sexual orientation or gender identity. Reynolds also signed a bill that sets new state regulations for the extraction of hydrogen. Experts think there may be large pools of hydrogen deep underground in Iowa and one company is already drilling wells here.
