ABI Regional Meetings Right Around the Corner

The Iowa Legislature wrapped up its business for the year early in the morning on May 15. The first session of the two-year General Assembly went into overtime as policymakers eventually came to an agreement on issues like the budget and other policy items, but ultimately did not pass legislation related to property taxes and the governor’s energy omnibus.

ABI staff was directed to focus on Tax, Workforce and Regulatory Reform issues. We were successful in helping secure passage of unemployment insurance premium reform, which is set to save businesses $1 billion over the next five years while maintaining the solvency of the fund and comprehensive drug and alcohol testing reform, which will mitigate litigation risk for employers who utilize those programs in the workplace.

Unfortunately, the Legislature chose to pass what is estimated to be the most expensive healthcare mandate in Iowa history in Senate File 383, a $340 million hit to the private sector via “pharmacy benefit manager reform”. ABI staff have been working to educate the business community about the impacts and what they need to do in preparation for the July 1st enactment date.

With all of that said, there were many other issues the Legislature considered. ABI staff looks forward to presenting the entirety of the results of the legislative session to the business community through regional meetings in the coming weeks.

These meetings will be conducted across the state and allow attendees to learn more about session, ask questions and provide feedback on what we should be focused on for 2026. The following meetings have been scheduled.

• Council Bluffs (Wednesday, June 11th)

• Waterloo (Tuesday, June 24th)

• Iowa City (Wednesday, June 25th)

• Des Moines (Tuesday, July 1st)

• Sioux City (Date is still being determined)

ABI staff would encourage you to attend one of these meetings. There is no cost to register. Go to www.iowaabi.org/events for more information or contact Michelle Vollstedt (mvollstedt@iowaabi.org) if you would like to join. ABI