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SF 659IOWASession 2025-2026State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Iowa Senate File 659 adjusts state appropriations, school funding reductions, wagering taxes, and mandates student abuse investigations

Original title: A bill for an act relating to state government and finances, including by making, modifying, limiting, or reducing appropriations, distributions, or transfers; authorizing expenditure of unappropriated moneys in special funds; providing for properly related matters including crystalline polymorph psilocybin, medical residency and fellowship positions, state membership in the Iowa individual health benefit reinsurance association, student abuse by school employees, modified supplemental amounts for school budgets, wagering taxes, a state fire marshal study, certain legislative interim studies, and 911 emergency communications services; making corrections; and including effective date, applicability, and retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly SSB 1241 .) Effective date: 06/11/2025, 07/01/2025. Applicability date: 01/01/2020, 04/30/2025, 07/01/2025.

Last action · June 27, 2025: Explanations of votes. H.J. 1224 .

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
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What This Bill Does

Senate File 659 enacts broad state government and finance provisions, including capping nonpublic school transportation appropriations at $8.99 million, reducing school aid and modifying school budget supplemental amounts, creating an Iowa horse racing fund, and establishing mandatory health and human services investigations and immediate administrative leave for school employees accused of student abuse.

Why it matters

The measure alters funding formulas for local school districts and area education agencies, creates new administrative procedures and mandatory employment termination rules for school employee student abuse allegations, establishes a state fire marshal study on countywide fire protection, and reshapes state revenue allocations for horse racing and health reinsurance.

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

School employees

School employees face mandatory administrative leave upon allegations of student abuse and employment termination if an investigation determines abuse occurred.

Directly affected

School districts and area education agencies

School districts experience reductions in state aid and must cooperate with department of health and human services investigations regarding student abuse.

Directly affected

Horse racing industry entities

Entities tasked with regulating the horse racing industry receive distributions of moneys from the newly created Iowa horse racing fund.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when a school employee is accused of student abuse under Senate File 659?
The department of health and human services notifies the school board or nonpublic school authorities, who must immediately place the employee on administrative leave and bar them from school property until the investigation concludes. If abuse is determined, the school must terminate employment.
How is the newly created Iowa horse racing fund financed?
The fund consists of tax revenue collected from a two percent tax imposed on the gross sum wagered by the pari-mutuel method as an , along with other appropriated or transferred moneys.
What is the maximum amount appropriated for nonpublic school pupil transportation for the 2025-2026 fiscal year?
The amount appropriated shall not exceed $8,997,091.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

24 actions
  1. Jun 27, 2025House
    Explanations of votes. H.J. 1224 .
  2. Jun 11, 2025SenateEnrolled
    Signed by Governor . S.J. 1054 .
  3. Jun 3, 2025Iowa Legislature
    NOBA: Final
  4. May 23, 2025Senate
    Reported correctly enrolled, signed by President and Speaker, and sent to Governor. S.J. 1050 .
  5. May 20, 2025House
    Explanation of vote. H.J. 1223 .
  6. May 14, 2025Iowa Legislature
    Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 659 .
Show 18 earlier actions
  1. May 14, 2025Iowa Legislature
    Subcommittee: Kraayenbrink, Blake, Bousselot, Costello, Donahue, Dotzler, Garrett, Green, Guth, Knox, Koelker, Lofgren, Petersen, Reichman, Rowley, Salmon, Shipley, Sires, Staed, Warme, Winckler, and Zumbach.
  2. May 14, 2025Iowa LegislatureIntroduced
    Introduced, referred to Appropriations.
  3. May 14, 2025House
    Message from House. S.J. 1048 .
  4. May 14, 2025House
    Immediate message. H.J. 1216 .
  5. May 14, 2025Senate
    NOBA: Senate Full Approps
  6. May 14, 2025HouseFloor
    Passed House , yeas 78, nays 3. H.J. 1215 .
  7. May 14, 2025House
    Substituted for HF 1055 . H.J. 1214 .
  8. May 14, 2025HouseIntroduced
    Read first time, passed on file. H.J. 1213 .
  9. May 14, 2025House
    Message from Senate. H.J. 1213 .
  10. May 14, 2025Senate
    Immediate message. S.J. 1040 .
  11. May 14, 2025SenateFloor
    Passed Senate , yeas 28, nays 11. S.J. 1039 .
  12. May 14, 2025SenateFloor
    Amendment S-3195 filed, adopted. S.J. 1039 .
  13. May 14, 2025Senate
    Committee report, approving bill. S.J. 1043 .
  14. May 14, 2025SenateIntroduced
    Introduced, placed on Appropriations calendar. S.J. 1041 .
  15. Apr 30, 2025Iowa Legislature
    Subcommittee recommends passage.
  16. Apr 29, 2025Iowa Legislature
    Subcommittee Meeting: 04/30/2025 3:00PM RM 102.
  17. Apr 29, 2025House
    Subcommittee: Gehlbach, Brown-Powers and Stone. H.J. 1077 .
  18. Apr 29, 2025HouseIntroduced
    Introduced, referred to Appropriations. H.J. 1076 .

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

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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

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift98% confidence

Centralized Student Abuse Investigation Framework

The legislation establishes a dedicated chapter (232E) for department of health and human services investigations of student abuse by school employees, separating it from general child abuse protocols and mandating immediate administrative leave.

Department of Health and Human ServicesBoard of Educational Examiners

Connected Entities

W. Charles Smithson, Paul Pate, Kim Reynolds and 2 more
PersonW. Charles Smithson“Secretary of the Senate”Map →
PersonPaul Pate“Secretary of State of Iowa”Map →
PersonKim Reynolds“Governor of Iowa who approved Senate File 659”Map →
PersonAmy Sinclair“President of the Senate”Map →
PersonPat Grassley“Speaker of the House”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legis.iowa.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance85
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy45
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz35
    Current news / social attention level

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