Iowa House sets amendment deadline, introduces bills on firearms, tax and early-childhood care

The Iowa House of Representatives set a deadline for filing amendments to several measures and read multiple bills into the record Tuesday, moving them to committee for further consideration.

A representative moved that a time certain be set for the close of debate and that the House act on the following question, with “all amendments filed with the question at 11 p.m. on Thursday, 02/27/2025,” and that the body proceed to closing remarks and final passage of House File 583 or Senate File 418 if a substitution occurred. The motion was approved by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded.

The action establishes a firm amendment deadline ahead of anticipated final votes, and it clears the way for closing debate on bills identified in the motion if substitutions are made.

House members also read and referred several bills to committee. House File 620, introduced by Representative Windchittel and others, was read for the first time; as read, it is “a bill for an act relating to firearms on school properties and including an effective-date provision,” and it was committed to the committee on Education. House File 622, introduced by the committee on Commerce, was read for the first time as a bill to create a catastrophe savings account and to modify individual income tax treatment for account holders; it was recommitted to the committee on Ways and Means. House File 623, introduced by the committee on Health and Human Services, was read as a comprehensive early childhood education and care package — modifying provisions related to the statewide preschool program, the Child Development Coordinating Council, programs for at-risk children, the responsibilities of the Department of Education, the Early Childhood Iowa initiative, the state child care assistance program, and establishing child care continuing-partnership grants as a pilot program within the Department of Health and Human Services — and was recommitted for further consideration. A bill read as House File 64 relating to the farm-tenancy net income exclusion against individual income tax and including effective-date and retrospective-applicability provisions was placed on the Ways and Means calendar.

Later in the session, members recessed so each party could caucus at noon; Representative Winchill moved the recess and it was adopted by voice vote.

The measures read into the record Tuesday were introductions and referrals; none of the bills listed in the committee referrals received final passage during the portion of the session covered by the transcript. The amendment deadline set by the House applies to filings related to the motion described above.