1. School Safety & Security

A. MBI Position: MBI will evaluate the taskforce report and continue to provide guidance to the Legislature to implement Iowa code changes that make sense to make schools safer. This includes advocating for additional funding to implement the recommendations.   

B. Outcome: No action.  The Legislature became concerned about the perception of mandating public schools, while not including private schools for updates. Funding also became an issue. The issue remains to be seen whether anything will be addressed in the future.   

2. Property Tax Reform – School Bond Referendum Date Changes 

A. MBI Position: If given the opportunity to engage in property tax reform, MBI will advocate for additional date(s) for K-12 schools to seek approval from voters for capital projects. The likely alternative is to suggest a date in June that lines up with primary elections.   

B. Outcome: No action was taken on property tax reform. The Legislature contends they will come back next year to address reforms, but that is speculation. With a lame-duck Governor now, the next session is very unclear. 

3. Retainage Reform 

A. MBI Position: MBI will take lead on potential changes to Chapter 573, dealing with retainage on public projects, to better suit both General Contractors and Subcontractors in order to collect payments faster.   

B. Outcome: We were successful in getting changes to the retainage statute so that public owners can no longer hold any more than 3% in retainage from contractors. This law became effective on July 1, 2025.   

4. RIIF (Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Funding) 

A. MBI Position: RIIF monies are needed for infrastructure purposes and should not be diverted for non-infrastructure related needs.   

B. Outcome: Overall, the RIIF budget was on par with previous years and made necessary investments while still overspending on non-infrastructure projects.   

5. Other Wins For MBI 

A. Unemployment Insurance Reduction lowering to 5.4%. 

B. New Rules on Local Construction Contracts – not allowing localities to choose union or non-union labor for work. 

C. Drug Testing Bill – changed definition of “safety-sensitive position” to what employer chooses, changes how notifications are sent and attorney fee provisions.