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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate Bill 544 Raises Salaries and Sets Annual Adjustments for State Legislators and Statewide Executive Officials
Last action · June 16, 2025: Referred to State Government. S.J. 1057 .
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate File 544 raises base salaries and monthly expense allowances for members and leaders of the Iowa General Assembly, and establishes new baseline salaries for statewide elected executive officials starting in January 2027. The measure also introduces annual cost-of-living adjustments pegged to executive branch noncontract employees or 3 percent, whichever is less, through the year 2043.
Changes public expenditures by increasing base compensation for state lawmakers and statewide executive officers, while tying future annual salary updates to state employee pay metrics over the next two decades.
- State elected official salaries in Iowa are periodically reviewed and adjusted by statute through legislative proposals. context
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.
Members of the General Assembly
Lawmakers receive an increase in annual base salary, monthly expense allowances, and future cost-of-living adjustments.
Statewide Elected Executive Officials
The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, attorney general, and secretary of agriculture receive updated base salaries and annual adjustments.
Key Facts
- General assembly members receive an annual salary of $45,000 beginning in 2027, an increase of $20,000.
- The monthly expense allowance for legislative district constituency postage, travel, and telephone costs increases by $150 to $450.
- Speaker of the house, presiding officer of the senate, and majority and minority floor leaders receive an annual salary of $67,500.
- President pro tempore of the senate and speaker pro tempore of the house receive an annual salary of $49,000.
Show all 9 facts
- The governor receives an annual salary of $230,000, and the lieutenant governor receives $140,000.
- Secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, and secretary of agriculture each receive an annual salary of $180,000.
- The attorney general receives an annual salary of $210,000.
- Annual cost-of-living adjustments for lawmakers are applied starting in January 2028 and ending in calendar year 2043, capped at 3 percent or the average state employee adjustment, whichever is less.
- Division I and Division II provisions take effect January 1, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much will general assembly members be paid under the bill?
What is the new salary for the governor of Iowa?
How will future salary adjustments be calculated after 2027?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
8 actions- Jun 16, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to State Government. S.J. 1057 .
- Mar 6, 2025SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 544 . S.J. 441 .
- Mar 6, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 441 .
- Mar 6, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 429 .
- Mar 4, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
- Mar 3, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 03/04/2025 2:00PM Room 217 Conference Room.
Show 2 earlier actions
- Mar 3, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Schultz, Koelker, and Winckler. S.J. 394 .
- Feb 27, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to State Government. S.J. 380 .
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.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Structured Multi-Year Salary Adjustments
The bill replaces older 2007 baseline figures with updated 2027 figures and caps future automatic annual increases at 3 percent or average noncontract state employee adjustments through 2043.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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