Fighting Taxpayer Waste by Protecting Freedom of Information

July marks the beginning of a new fiscal year for the state and when many laws passed go into effect. The 2026 legislative session saw several notable bills from the Local Government Committee enacted and are now in effect.

This year the committee took a look at areas where waste could be fought, efficiencies found, and limiting the creep of government overreach. House File 2490, now law in Iowa,

increases transparency around how and why government employees leave their positions. Across Iowa there have been high profile cases of public employees receiving large settlements following leaving their position and very few details about the situation. Taxpayers, who are on the hook for such costly settlements, have a right to access information about how those institutions are managed and how employees are held accountable.

Trust in government depends on openness. When information is accessible, it reinforces confidence that decisions are being made fairly and responsibly.

Protecting Iowa Children From Online Predators

A generation ago, parents worried about what their children might see at the movie theater or on a magazine rack. Today, a child with a smartphone and an internet connection can access obscene material in seconds. Technology has changed dramatically, and Iowa's laws must keep up.

Research shows children are exposed to online pornography long before they reach adulthood, often unintentionally through social media, pop-up advertisements, or internet searches. Repeated exposure to explicit material at a young age has been connected with unhealthy attitudes toward relationships, distorted views of sexuality, and other negative developmental outcomes. While no law can replace active parenting, government has a legitimate role in ensuring businesses that profit from adult content take reasonable steps to keep it away from minors.

That's exactly what House File 864 does. The new law requires websites and apps where a substantial portion of content, 33% or more, is harmful to minors to verify that users are at least 18 before granting access. That includes segments of social media platforms. Businesses already verify age before selling alcohol, tobacco, and other adult-only products. Websites that profit from obscene material should be expected to meet the same standard.

HF 864 also has safeguards to protect privacy. Websites and third-party age verification providers cannot retain or share personal identifying information collected solely for age verification. These websites must also use reasonable measures to protect any information collected during the verification process.

The new law should face no substantial legal challenges. Earlier this year, the United States Supreme Court upheld a similar Texas age-verification law, recognizing that states have a legitimate interest in protecting children from harmful online content. Iowa joins a growing number of states taking reasonable steps to ensure minors cannot easily access obscene material online.

Parents work hard to protect their children and they shouldn't have to compete alone against billion-dollar websites that make explicit material available with few meaningful safeguards. Iowa families deserve laws that protect children from obscene materials.

New Laws Enacted to Increase Professional and Employment Opportunities

House Republicans in the State Government Committee worked this year to find areas to improve employment and professional opportunities for Iowans. Two pieces of legislation to provide more freedom and remove unnecessary licensure barriers for professionals to work in Iowa or to live in Iowa and practice in border states are as of July 1st law in Iowa.

House File 2498, improves access to specialized healthcare by making it easier for podiatrists to practice across state lines. Iowa will join the Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact, an agreement among participating states that will allow licensed podiatrists to work in multiple states without needing to obtain a separate license in each one. Instead, providers who meet a shared set of standards can apply for compact privileges, streamlining what has traditionally been a time-consuming and repetitive licensing process. At the same time, the bill maintains important safeguards. Each participating state, including Iowa, will still retain the authority to regulate and discipline providers practicing within its borders. This ensures that while access is expanded, accountability and professional standards are not compromised. The compact also establishes uniform eligibility requirements, meaning that only qualified providers can participate. HF 2498 will address gaps in access to care, particularly in rural and underserved areas of Iowa where specialists can be harder to find. Allowing out-of-state podiatrists from other compact states to practice in Iowa and vice versa simplifies the process for podiatrists to practice across state lines. The compact will go into effect once four states enact the legislation. Iowa is now the second state to do so (Maryland has enacted it) and will participate in the rulemaking of the compact.

As with podiatrists, Senate File 2139, is a licensure compact for athletic trainers. Similar to the podiatrists licensure compact, this new law will allow more freedom to practice across state lines while providing safeguards for Iowa to regulate and discipline practitioners. Iowa became the seventh state to enact the compact, which enables the enactment of the interstate compact. States that have already enacted the athletic trainer compact include South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas.