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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate Bill Sets Apprentice-to-Supervisor Ratios and Expands Rules for Training Intermediaries
Last action · March 19, 2026: Placed on calendar under unfinished business. S.J. 599 .
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What This Bill Would Do
This bill establishes a maximum ratio of three apprentices to one licensed journeyperson or master for plumbing, mechanical, and contractor trades, while formally incorporating s into Iowa's registered apprenticeship and financial assistance programs.
Changes regulatory compliance standards and financial assistance eligibility for apprenticeship programs across Iowa, directly affecting how many trainees a licensed professional can oversee on a job site.
- Senate File 2169 originated from the Senate Committee on Workforce as a successor to SSB 3072 during the 91st General Assembly of Iowa. context
- Iowa code chapters 84D and 84E govern registered apprenticeships and financial assistance programs administered through state workforce development channels. 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.
Apprenticeship sponsors
Must adhere to new administrative standards, compliance procedures, and eligibility rules for financial assistance.
Licensed journeypersons and masters
Subject to a strict numerical cap of supervising no more than three apprentices at a time.
Employer partners
Trained through intermediary sponsors and subject to potential suspension for material breaches of training standards.
Key Facts
- An intermediary sponsor is defined as an entity that provides related training instruction to apprentices for multiple employers, serves as their sponsor, and registers the program with the Iowa office of apprenticeship.
- Intermediary sponsors have sole discretion for approving employer partners, provided those partners comply with the sponsor's standards.
- The Iowa Office of Apprenticeship is prohibited from canceling, suspending, or deregistering an intermediary sponsor based solely on the actions of its employer partners.
- Licensed journeypersons or masters may employ or supervise licensed apprentices at a ratio not to exceed three apprentices to one licensee under Code chapter 105.
Show all 7 facts
- Intermediary sponsors are added as a class of entities eligible for financial assistance grants under the Iowa Apprenticeship Act.
- Apprenticeship sponsors whose apprentices receive contact hours from a lead apprenticeship sponsor are ineligible for financial assistance under chapter 84E.
- The office must provide a written list of grounds and allow at least 90 days for an approved apprenticeship sponsor, intermediary sponsor, or lead apprenticeship sponsor to correct a material breach before cancellation or suspension.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an intermediary sponsor under this bill?
What is the new supervision limit for licensed professionals training apprentices?
Can an intermediary sponsor be punished for an employer partner's actions?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently on floor. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Passed.
Procedural history
8 actions- Mar 19, 2026SenatePlaced on calendar under unfinished business. S.J. 599 .
- Feb 2, 2026SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 178 .
- Feb 2, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 176 .
- Jan 29, 2026Iowa LegislatureCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 2169 .
- Jan 29, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
- Jan 27, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 01/29/2026 8:30AM Room 217 Conference Room.
Show 2 earlier actions
- Jan 26, 2026Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee: Koelker, Dickey, and Dotzler.
- Jan 26, 2026Iowa LegislatureIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Workforce.
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.
Formal Integration of Intermediary Sponsors
The bill creates a unified statutory definition for intermediary sponsors across multiple code chapters, granting them sole discretion over employer partners while clarifying state oversight limits.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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