Legislation / SF 639

SENATE FILE 639 Signed by Governor

Creating a specialty business court

Sponsor   Senate Ways & Means Committee Effective   09/01/2026 Formerly   SF 570, SSB 1203 Last action   Fiscal note. — June 2, 2026 Full text   Iowa Legislature ↗
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Introduced
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Passed subcommittee
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Passed committee
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Passed one chamber
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Passed both chambers
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Signed by Governor

Lobbyist declarations

8 declarations filed on this bill
● 2 For ● 2 Against ● 4 Undecided

Related legislation

Part of a group of 3 related bills
SF 570 Creating a specialty business court, providing fees
Passed committee
SSB 1203 Creating a specialty business court, providing fees.(See SF 570, SF 639.)
Passed committee
Date Chamber Action
Apr 22, 2025 Senate Introduced, placed on Ways and Means calendar. S.J. 858.
Apr 22, 2025 Senate Committee report, approving bill. S.J. 860.
Apr 28, 2025 Senate Fiscal note.
Apr 28, 2025 Senate Passed Senate, yeas 50, nays 0. S.J. 903.
Apr 28, 2025 Senate Immediate message. S.J. 904.
Apr 29, 2025 House Message from Senate. H.J. 1076.
Apr 30, 2025 House Read first time, referred to Ways and Means. H.J. 1080.
Jan 29, 2026 House Subcommittee: Nordman, Lundgren and Wilson. H.J. 178.
Feb 2, 2026 House Subcommittee Meeting: 02/04/2026 12:15PM RM 102.
Feb 4, 2026 House Subcommittee recommends passage.
Apr 21, 2026 House Committee report, recommending passage. H.J. 987.
Apr 21, 2026 House Committee vote: Yeas, 18. Nays, 6. Excused, 1. H.J. 987.
Apr 22, 2026 House Placed on Ways and Means calendar. H.J. 987.
Apr 30, 2026 House Amendments H-8440 and H-8447 filed. H.J. 1068.
May 1, 2026 House Amendment H-8456 filed. H.J. 1085.
May 2, 2026 House Amendment H-8440 adopted. H.J. 1101.
May 2, 2026 House Amendment H-8456, yeas 8, nays 77, lost. H.J. 1101.
May 2, 2026 House Explanation of vote. H.J. 1159.
May 2, 2026 House Amendment H-8447 adopted. H.J. 1102.
May 2, 2026 House Passed House, yeas 79, nays 6. H.J. 1102.
May 2, 2026 House Explanation of vote. H.J. 1159.
May 2, 2026 House Immediate message. H.J. 1119.
May 2, 2026 Senate Message from House, with amendment S-5255. S.J. 985.
May 2, 2026 Senate Senate concurred with S-5255. S.J. 986.
May 2, 2026 Senate Passed Senate, yeas 38, nays 8. S.J. 986.
May 2, 2026 Senate Immediate message. S.J. 987.
May 2, 2026 House Message from Senate. H.J. 1128.
May 18, 2026 Senate Reported correctly enrolled, signed by President and Speaker, and sent to Governor. S.J. 1028.
Jun 1, 2026 Senate Signed by Governor. S.J. 1029.
Jun 2, 2026 House Fiscal note.

Vote summaries

Date Chamber Vote Result Yea Nay Not voting Democrats Republicans Pattern
Apr 28, 2025 Senate Floor Passage Passed 50 0 0 16–0 34–0 Unanimous
May 2, 2026 House Amendment Failed 8 77 15 0–27 8–50 Bipartisan Opposition
May 2, 2026 Senate Floor Passage Passed 38 8 4 8–7 30–1 Bipartisan Support and Opposition
Party columns count yea–nay. Committee votes are not shown.

Individual votes

Shall the bill pass?
Passed 50 to 0 · Democrats 16 yea, 0 nay · Republicans 34 yea, 0 nay
How each senator voted (50)
District Legislator Party Vote
1 Rocky De Witt Republican Yea
2 Jeff Taylor Republican Yea
3 Lynn Evans Republican Yea
4 Tim Kraayenbrink Republican Yea
5 Dave Rowley Republican Yea
6 Jason Schultz Republican Yea
7 Kevin Alons Republican Yea
8 Mark Costello Republican Yea
9 Tom Shipley Republican Yea
10 Dan Dawson Republican Yea
11 Julian Garrett Republican Yea
12 Amy Sinclair Republican Yea
13 Cherielynn Westrich Republican Yea
14 Sarah Trone Garriott Democrat Yea
15 Tony Bisignano Democrat Yea
16 Claire Celsi Democrat Yea
17 Izaah Knox Democrat Yea
18 Janet Petersen Democrat Yea
19 Ken Rozenboom Republican Yea
20 Mike Pike Republican Yea
21 Mike Bousselot Republican Yea
22 Matt Blake Democrat Yea
23 Jack Whitver Republican Yea
24 Jesse Green Republican Yea
25 Herman Quirmbach Democrat Yea
26 Kara Warme Republican Yea
27 Annette Sweeney Republican Yea
28 Dennis Guth Republican Yea
29 Sandy Salmon Republican Yea
30 Doug Campbell Republican Yea
31 William Dotzler Democrat Yea
32 Mike Klimesh Republican Yea
33 Carrie Koelker Republican Yea
34 Daniel Zumbach Republican Yea
35 Mike Zimmer Democrat Yea
36 Thomas Townsend Democrat Yea
37 Molly Donahue Democrat Yea
38 Dave Sires Republican Yea
39 Liz Bennett Democrat Yea
40 Art Staed Democrat Yea
41 Kerry Gruenhagen Republican Yea
42 Charlie McClintock Republican Yea
43 Zach Wahls Democrat Yea
44 Adrian Dickey Republican Yea
45 Janice Weiner Democrat Yea
46 Dawn Driscoll Republican Yea
47 Scott Webster Republican Yea
48 Mark Lofgren Republican Yea
49 Cindy Winckler Democrat Yea
50 Jeff Reichman Republican Yea
Shall amendment H–8456 be adopted?
Failed 8 to 77 · Democrats 0 yea, 27 nay · Republicans 8 yea, 50 nay · 15 not voting
How each representative voted (100)
District Legislator Party Vote
1 J.D. Scholten Democrat Absent
2 Robert Henderson Republican Nay
3 Thomas Jeneary Republican Nay
4 Skyler Wheeler Republican Absent
5 Zachary Dieken Republican Absent
6 Megan Hess Jones Republican Nay
7 Wendy Larson Republican Yea
8 Ann Meyer Republican Nay
9 Henry Stone Republican Nay
10 John Wills Republican Nay
11 Craig Williams Republican Yea
12 Steven Holt Republican Nay
13 Travis Sitzmann Republican Nay
14 Jacob Bossman Republican Nay
15 Matt Windschitl Republican Nay
16 David Sieck Republican Nay
17 Devon Wood Republican Nay
18 Tom Moore Republican Nay
19 Brent Siegrist Republican Nay
20 Josh Turek Democrat Nay
21 Brooke Boden Republican Nay
22 Samantha Fett Republican Nay
23 Ray Sorensen Republican Nay
24 Sam Wengryn Republican Nay
25 Hans Wilz Republican Absent
26 Austin Harris Republican Nay
27 Kenan Judge Democrat Nay
28 David Young Republican Nay
29 Brian Meyer Democrat Nay
30 Megan Srinivas Democrat Nay
31 Mary Madison Democrat Nay
32 Jennifer Konfrst Democrat Nay
33 Ruth Ann Gaines Democrat Absent
34 Rob Johnson Democrat Nay
35 Sean Bagniewski Democrat Nay
36 Austin Baeth Democrat Nay
37 Barb Kniff McCulla Republican Nay
38 Jon Dunwell Republican Nay
39 Rick Olson Democrat Absent
40 Bill Gustoff Republican Nay
41 Ryan Weldon Republican Nay
42 Heather Matson Democrat Nay
43 Eddie Andrews Republican Absent
44 Larry McBurney Democrat Nay
45 Brian Lohse Republican Nay
46 Dan Gehlbach Republican Nay
47 Carter Nordman Republican Nay
48 Chad Behn Republican Nay
49 Beth Wessel-Kroeschell Democrat Nay
50 Ross Wilburn Democrat Nay
51 Brett Barker Republican Nay
52 David Blom Republican Nay
53 Dean Fisher Republican Yea
54 Joshua Meggers Republican Nay
55 Shannon Latham Republican Absent
56 Mark Thompson Republican Nay
57 Pat Grassley Republican Nay
58 Charley Thomson Republican Yea
59 Christian Hermanson Republican Nay
60 Jane Bloomingdale Republican Nay
61 Timi Brown-powers Democrat Nay
62 Jerome Amos Democrat Absent
63 Michael Bergan Republican Nay
64 Jason Gearhart Republican Absent
65 Shannon Lundgren Republican Nay
66 Steven Bradley Republican Yea
67 Craig Johnson Republican Nay
68 Chad Ingels Republican Nay
69 Tom Determann Republican Nay
70 Norlin Mommsen Republican Nay
71 Lindsay James Democrat Absent
72 Jennifer Smith Republican Nay
73 Elizabeth Wilson Democrat Nay
74 Eric Gjerde Democrat Absent
75 Bob Kressig Democrat Nay
76 Derek Wulf Republican Absent
77 Jeff Cooling Democrat Nay
78 Angel Ramirez Democrat Nay
79 Tracy Ehlert Democrat Nay
80 Aime Wichtendahl Democrat Nay
81 Daniel Gosa Democrat Nay
82 Bobby Kaufmann Republican Nay
83 Cindy Golding Republican Yea
84 Thomas Gerhold Republican Nay
85 Amy Nielsen Democrat Nay
86 Dave Jacoby Democrat Nay
87 Jeff Shipley Republican Absent
88 Helena Hayes Republican Yea
89 Elinor Levin Democrat Nay
90 Adam Zabner Democrat Nay
91 Judd Lawler Republican Nay
92 Heather Hora Republican Nay
93 Gary Mohr Republican Nay
94 Mike Vondran Republican Nay
95 Taylor Collins Republican Nay
96 Mark Cisneros Republican Yea
97 Ken Croken Democrat Nay
98 Monica Kurth Democrat Nay
99 Matthew Rinker Republican Absent
100 Blaine Watkins Republican Nay
Shall the bill pass?
Passed 38 to 8 · Democrats 8 yea, 7 nay · Republicans 30 yea, 1 nay · 4 not voting
How each senator voted (50)
District Legislator Party Vote
1 Catelin Drey Democrat Nay
2 Jeff Taylor Republican Yea
3 Lynn Evans Republican Yea
4 Tim Kraayenbrink Republican Yea
5 Dave Rowley Republican Absent
6 Jason Schultz Republican Yea
7 Kevin Alons Republican Yea
8 Mark Costello Republican Yea
9 Tom Shipley Republican Yea
10 Dan Dawson Republican Yea
11 Julian Garrett Republican Absent
12 Amy Sinclair Republican Yea
13 Cherielynn Westrich Republican Yea
14 Sarah Trone Garriott Democrat Yea
15 Tony Bisignano Democrat Nay
16 Renee Hardman Democrat Yea
17 Izaah Knox Democrat Yea
18 Janet Petersen Democrat Nay
19 Ken Rozenboom Republican Yea
20 Mike Pike Republican Yea
21 Mike Bousselot Republican Yea
22 Matt Blake Democrat Yea
23 Jack Whitver Republican Yea
24 Jesse Green Republican Yea
25 Herman Quirmbach Democrat Yea
26 Kara Warme Republican Yea
27 Annette Sweeney Republican Yea
28 Dennis Guth Republican Yea
29 Sandy Salmon Republican Yea
30 Doug Campbell Republican Yea
31 William Dotzler Democrat Nay
32 Mike Klimesh Republican Yea
33 Carrie Koelker Republican Yea
34 Daniel Zumbach Republican Yea
35 Mike Zimmer Democrat Yea
36 Thomas Townsend Democrat Yea
37 Molly Donahue Democrat Absent
38 Dave Sires Republican Nay
39 Liz Bennett Democrat Nay
40 Art Staed Democrat Nay
41 Kerry Gruenhagen Republican Yea
42 Charlie McClintock Republican Yea
43 Zach Wahls Democrat Absent
44 Adrian Dickey Republican Yea
45 Janice Weiner Democrat Yea
46 Dawn Driscoll Republican Yea
47 Scott Webster Republican Yea
48 Mark Lofgren Republican Yea
49 Cindy Winckler Democrat Nay
50 Jeff Reichman Republican Yea
Client Declaration Last updated
Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers Against Apr 25, 2025
Iowa Insurance Associates Against May 2, 2026
Governor's Office For Feb 4, 2026
Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) For Feb 4, 2026
Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance Undecided Apr 23, 2025
Iowa Association for Justice Undecided Apr 28, 2025
Iowa Judicial Branch - Supreme Court Undecided Apr 28, 2025
Iowa State Bar Association Undecided Apr 23, 2025
Date Time Type Description Location
Feb 4, 2026 12:15 PM Hearing House Ways and Means Subcommittee RM 102
Apr 21, 2026 10:00 AM Hearing House Ways and Means Committee RM 102