Iowa City staff, lobbyist outline wide-ranging impacts from 2025 Iowa legislative session

City officials and the city’s contracted lobbyist delivered a broad recap of the 2025 Iowa legislative session and highlighted several enacted and pending measures that could affect Iowa City operations and budgets.

Deputy City Manager Chris O’Brien introduced Doug Strycarney of Carney | Appleby, who told the council the session was “busy and chaotic at times” and that the state budget picture narrowed after a series of tax cuts and continued growth in spending obligations. Strycarney said the legislature grew appropriations by about 5.3 percent this year but relied on one‑time balances and the taxpayer relief fund to cover roughly $917 million in shortfalls, a dynamic that will make new funding requests difficult next year.

Strycarney and staff highlighted several enacted measures and areas to watch locally: the new statutory ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs (enforcement identified as the state attorney general’s…