The Iowa State Capitol on Feb. 13, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Dozens of the laws passed during the 2024 legislative session take effect Monday, including measures cutting state boards and commissions, limiting the potency of consumable hemp products and setting new education policies for public K-12 schools.
During the 2024 legislative session, the Republican-controlled Legislature passed more than 180 bills on subjects from tax cuts to K-12 education policy to health care. July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, is the date most laws signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds this year are set to take effect – though other start dates can be specified in legislation.
One law passed during the 2024 session to make “illegal reentry” a state crime in Iowa was set to take effect Monday, but will not begin enforcement. U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher issued to a preliminary injunction on the law in a case brought forward by the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of civil rights groups. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has appealed the decision, aiming to allow enforcement of the law.
If it takes effect, it would allow state law enforcement officials the ability to charge undocumented immigrants with an aggravated misdemeanor if they have been previously deported, denied admission or removed from the U.S., and allowing judges to order the deportation of parties found guilty.
Here’s a rundown of some of the laws passed during the 2024 legislative session that take effect Monday:
Area Education Agencies, teacher pay
House File 2612 will make changes to Iowa Area Education Agencies and raise teacher pay. One of the highest profile measures passed during the 2024 session, the bill was signed into law by Reynolds in March.
In the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, Iowa AEAs – the regional agencies providing special education and other support services to Iowa schools – will retain the total of school districts’ special education funding. However, only 40% of funding for general education and media services will go to AEAs for the upcoming year, with 60% kept by school districts for their discretionary use. The money can be spent with AEAs, other providers, or used for other general fund purposes .
In its second year of implementation, 90% of special education funding will go to AEAs, while 10% will stay at school districts, and all general education and media services will go directly to school districts.
The teacher salary increase will also be implemented over the course of two years. This year, teacher starting salaries are increasing to $47,500, and teachers who have been working for 12 years will have a minimum salary of $60,000. In the 2025-2026 school year, the minimum starting salary for teachers will increase to $50,000, and the minimum for experience teachers will rise to $62,000.
Boards and commissions
Dozens of state boards and commissions have been cut or consolidated in a new Iowa law. Senate File 2385 eliminates 68 of the currently existing 256 boards and commissions, in addition to merging nine boards into three new bodies. The measure also makes changes to the powers and composition of multiple state boards and commissions, including turning the Iowa Civil Rights Commission into an advisory panel.
The law also sets new standards for boards and commissions, like requiring panels to offer virtual, remote and hybrid options for public participation. Moving forward, it also requires a committee to review a quarter of existing boards and commissions each year to determine if panels should be changed or eliminated.
Another law signed this session repeals the 1987 rule requiring the state boards and commissions have equal numbers of men and women serving as members.
Consumable hemp products
Starting Monday, Iowa will have new limits on hemp-derived consumable products that contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
House File 2605 creates a limit of 4 milligrams of THC per serving for consumable hemp products like drinks or gummies, and a 10 mg THC limit per container. The bill also requires manufacturers include warning labels on such products, sets an age limit of 21 for purchases, in addition to adding new rules and penalties related to the sale, manufacturing and possession of hemp-derived consumables.
While the law will be effective July 1, eight companies suing the state over the law say they are being put in a “regulatory limbo” as rules on the law are not expected to be finalized until July 17 at the earliest. The plaintiffs, sellers of hemp products, are asking for an immediate stay of enforcement on the law, in addition to asking the court to issue a restraining order and injunction barring enforcement.
Another lawsuit, filed by Climbing Kites and Field Day Brewing Co., Iowa producers of drinks that contain CBD, is also seeking to prevent the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing the new THC limits. A judge denied a preliminary injunction Friday.
Traffic cameras
Local governments are now required to gain permission from the Iowa Department of Transportation before implementing automatic traffic enforcement (ATE) systems, like traffic cameras.
Under House File 2681, Iowa counties and cities must submit explanations to the DOT about why a traffic camera is needed at a specific location, including information about the number and severity of accidents, driving speeds and other potential public safety issues at the site.
The law also sets new guidelines around communities’ use of ATE systems. Speeding tickets can only be issued for violations caught using traffic cameras if the drivers are more than 10 miles per hour above the speed limit, and warning signs are required to be posted 500 and 1,000 feet before a camera. Additionally, the law prohibits localities with fewer than 20,000 residents using mobile traffic camera technologies to issue tickets.
Local governments are required to use funds collected from traffic cameras on transportation infrastructure improvements, as well as local police and fire departments’ operational costs.
Fake meat and egg product labeling
Lab-grown or plant-based meat alternatives must include words like fake, imitation or vegetarian if they are being sold as traditional meat products.
Mislabeling products can result in fines of up to $10,000 for food processors through Senate File 2391.
The law makes similar requirements for “fabricated egg products.” The law also directs Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to seek waivers from the federal government for egg substitutes if they are available for purchase through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) – preventing Iowans from purchasing these products using food benefit programs.
Foreign agricultural land ownership
Foreign landowners in Iowa now have new reporting requirements and face higher penalties for violations of reporting requirements under Senate File 2204.
The law requires foreign landowners provide details to the state about land owned in other states greater than 250 acres. It also raises fines for foreign landowners up to $10,000 for failing to report holdings every two years, and up to 25% of a property’s value per violation for failure to disclose leases or purchases of farmland by foreign entities. The Iowa Secretary of State is required to submit a report of foreign landholdings to state leaders each year.
The Iowa attorney general, currently Republican Brenna Bird, is also given more oversight authority through the law. The state attorney general can subpoena foreign landowners for financial records, land purchase agreements and other documents for investigations regarding potential violations of state restrictions on foreign farmland ownership.
Local storm water and topsoil regulations
Iowa local governments cannot impose stormwater and top soil regulations that are more restrictive than federal and state guidelines unless they pay for any increased costs of development caused by the policies.
Senate File 455 requires that local regulations on topsoil preservation, compaction, placement or depth be the same or less restrictive than requirements set by the Department of Natural Resources and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. Stormwater runoff regulations must be at or below those based on flow rates calculated using return frequencies of five years.
If localities choose to adopt higher standards, the local governments are required to pay property owners and developers for the difference in cost caused by implementing the regulation.
AI-generated pornography
House File 2240 and Senate File 2243 establish criminal charges for using artificial intelligence technologies to create images and videos depicting a person engaged in a sexual act, a simulacrum of a sexual act, and in full or partial nudity. The laws focus on media that shows the “visual depiction” of an individual, recognizable through their face, distinguishing features or likeness, engaged in sexual activities.
Creation of AI-generated pornography or other obscene material depicting an adult can be charged as an aggravated misdemeanor, and depiction of a minor as a felony.
The post Here are some of the new laws that take effect July 1 in Iowa appeared first on Iowa Capital Dispatch.