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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate File 219 Establishes New Per-Acre Fee Structure for Forest and Fruit-Tree Reservations
Last action · April 8, 2026: Subcommittee recommends passage.Sponsor: Mike Klimesh
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What This Bill Would Do
Beginning January 1, 2026, owners of tax-exempt forest and fruit-tree reservations must pay an annual per-acre fee to the county treasurer by September 1, with rates ranging from $2 to $3 per acre or calculated via a state formula for non- and city properties.
Property owners with tax-exempt forest and fruit-tree reservations face new annual holding costs paid directly to county general funds, with the exact amount determined by the proximity of the reservation land to the owner's primary residence.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
owners of forest and fruit-tree reservations
Owners must pay a new annual per-acre fee for their tax-exempt reservation land starting January 1, 2026.
county treasurers
County treasurers are responsible for collecting the annual reservation fees and depositing them into the county general fund.
Department of Management
The department must calculate the formula-based fee rates annually and transmit them to county treasurers by July 1.
Key Facts
- Beginning January 1, 2026, every acre of tax-exempt forest and fruit-tree reservation is subject to an annual program fee.
- Fees are due no later than September 1 of each year to the county treasurer where the reservation is located and deposited into the county general fund.
- Reservations located in the same county where the owner maintains a homestead are subject to a fee of $2 per acre.
- Reservations located in a county contiguous to the owner's homestead county are subject to a fee of $3 per acre.
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- Reservations not meeting the homestead or contiguous criteria, or located inside city corporate limits, are charged a rate calculated by multiplying the average agricultural property tax per acre in the top county by 13 divided by the average corn suitability rating.
- The Department of Management must calculate the formula-based fee rate and transmit it to each county treasurer no later than July 1 of each year.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do I need to pay the new reservation fee?
Where do the collected fees go?
How much is the fee if my reservation is in the same county as my home?
What else do you want to know?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
21 actions- Apr 8, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends passage.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseSubcommittee Meeting: 04/08/2026 12:00PM House Lounge.
- Mar 31, 2026HouseSubcommittee: Wulf, Meggers and Wessel-Kroeschell. H.J. 785 .
- Mar 26, 2026HouseIntroducedRead first time, referred to Ways and Means. H.J. 759 .
- Dec 31, 2025Iowa Legislature* * * * * END OF 2025 ACTIONS * * * * *
- May 13, 2025Iowa LegislatureFiscal note.
Show 15 earlier actions
- May 13, 2025HouseMessage from Senate. H.J. 1172 .
- May 13, 2025SenateImmediate message. S.J. 998 .
- May 13, 2025SenateFloorPassed Senate , yeas 31, nays 14. S.J. 997 .
- May 13, 2025SenateFloorAmendment S-3164 adopted. S.J. 997 .
- May 12, 2025SenateAmendment S-3164 filed. S.J. 977 .
- Apr 24, 2025Iowa LegislatureFiscal note.
- Apr 21, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 844 .
- Apr 21, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on Ways and Means calendar. S.J. 843 .
- Apr 21, 2025SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 633 . S.J. 844 .
- Apr 9, 2025Iowa LegislatureFiscal note .
- Mar 25, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
- Mar 24, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 03/25/2025 11:00AM Room 315.
- Feb 28, 2025HouseIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Ways and Means. H.J. 471 .
- Feb 11, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Klimesh, Bisignano, and Dawson. S.J. 243 .
- Feb 5, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Ways and Means. S.J. 202 .
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
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Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance45How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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