Capitol Letters: Top accomplishments for the 91st General Assembly

Posted Thursday, May 14, 2026 1:47 pm

State Rep. Megan Jones

By State Rep. Megan Jones | District 6, R-Sioux Rapids

After a mini-marathon, the 2026 Legislative Session has adjourned sine die — Latin for “without day.” We have adjourned without another day to reconvene this session.

The job needed to get done, so we did it. I'm not complaining — because tha’s what many Iowans are doing. Working harder and longer hours to get the job done. We're no different.

Thank you to the Legislative Services Agency, who drafts and writes up all the bills in code-format for us. The Chief Clerk’s office, research staff, support staff and everyone else who keeps the paper moving. They are the unsung heroes of the session.

Also, thank you to the maintenance staff at the Capitol building who worked extra hard to keep the building looking its brightest. I stopped by around 8:30 a.m. on Monday and you’d never know the building had towers of pizza boxes, hundreds of people and caffeine flowing just 24 hours prior.

There was so much to be proud of this session. About 80% of the bills passed were bi-partisan. Of course there were heartbreaks, too. But, the legislature will meet again in January. Many bills take many years to get across the finish line.

Let’s take a look at some of big pieces that did make it down to the Governor’s desk:

Continued our efforts to lower the tax burden on Iowans with historic property tax reform. By buying down the education levy and increasing transparency, we are putting the taxpayer first and delivering an estimated $4.2 billion in property tax relief over six years.
Sent a clear message to career criminals with policies to keep violent, repeat offenders off our streets and away from our loved ones by making Iowa a true “three strikes and you're out” state.
Protected access to clean water for generations to come with record investment into water quality monitoring, infrastructure improvement, and “edge-of-field” practices.
Expanded apprenticeship and training programs to equip Iowans for high-demand careers and meet the state's urgent workforce needs by investing in the Iowans who want to work with their hands to meet the real, immediate needs of Iowans.
Ensured fair hiring practices by eliminating affirmative action and DEI mandates in state government, ensuring Iowans are hired based on merit and ability.
Established a permanent, $3 million annual funding source dedicated to life-saving pediatric cancer research.
Empowered teachers with new tools to manage violent and disruptive behavior in their classrooms.
Returned K-12 education to core academic values by prioritizing American civics, removing age-inappropriate materials, and ensuring parents — not politics — are in the driver’s seat when it comes to their kids' education.
Put common-sense limits on screen time in schools by prohibiting cell phones during instructional time and limiting screen time to one hour for grades K-5.
Strengthened school security by creating threat assessment teams to identify risks and coordinate safety efforts between schools, law enforcement and mental health experts.
Refocused higher education on academic excellence and intellectual diversity while lowering costs for Iowa students.
Promoted a healthier Iowa by improving nutrition education for health care professionals, ensuring SNAP benefits are only used for healthy foods and removing harmful dyes in school lunches.
Reformed the Governor’s Emergency Powers to protect Iowans’ fundamental rights. Even in the event of an emergency, a Governor cannot close places of worship, change election law, mandate a vaccination or regulate conduct within a private residence.
Introduced common-sense safeguards to our public assistance programs so they can continue to provide for the Iowans who truly need it, like introducing work requirements, ensuring SNAP benefits only go to healthy foods, and verifying citizenship or immigration status before administering benefits.
Enhanced road safety by requiring English proficiency for commercial drivers to ensure clear communication and compliance on Iowa’s highways.
Returned Iowa code to common sense and biological truth by removing gender identity as a protected class, using scientific definitions for male, female, and sex and changing “pregnant person” to “pregnant woman.”
Protected taxpayer dollars from being spent on sex reassignment surgeries.
Continued our work to support and encourage strong families in Iowa by improving our foster care system, passing parental leave for state employees and requiring that adoptive parents are treated the same as biological parents in parental leave policies.
Increased access to health care in rural Iowa by eliminating barriers to birthing centers, streamlining services and increasing funding to address health care shortages.