Legislation / HF 856

HOUSE FILE 856 Signed by Governor

Prohibiting public entities from engaging in certain activities relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion, creating a private cause of action

Sponsor   House Education Committee Effective   05/27/2025, 07/01/2025 Formerly   HSB 155 Last action   Signed by Governor. H.J. 1227. — May 27, 2025 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

22 declarations filed on this bill

● 1 For ● 13 Against ● 8 Undecided

Related legislation

Part of a group of 2 related bills

HSB 155 Prohibiting state entities from expending moneys to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or to hire individuals to serve as diversity, equity, and inclusion officers, creating a private cause of action.(See HF 856.)

Passed committee

History

Date	Chamber	Action
Mar 7, 2025	House	Introduced, placed on calendar. H.J. 562.
Mar 13, 2025	House	Amendment H-1087 filed. H.J. 659.
Mar 17, 2025	House	Amendment H-1094 filed. H.J. 677.
Mar 18, 2025	House	Amendment H-1087 withdrawn. H.J. 704.
Mar 18, 2025	House	Amendment H-1094, yeas 61, nays 37, adopted. H.J. 704.
Mar 18, 2025	House	Passed House, yeas 61, nays 37. H.J. 705.
Mar 18, 2025	House	Immediate message. H.J. 717.
Mar 19, 2025	Senate	Message from House. S.J. 572.
Mar 19, 2025	Senate	Read first time, referred to Education. S.J. 572.
Mar 26, 2025	Senate	Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Kraayenbrink, and Quirmbach. S.J. 654.
Mar 31, 2025	Senate	Subcommittee Meeting: 04/01/2025 3:00PM Senate Lounge.
Apr 1, 2025	Senate	Subcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
Apr 7, 2025	Senate	Committee report, recommending amendment and passage. S.J. 717.
Apr 7, 2025	Senate	Amendment S-3073 filed. S.J. 717.
Apr 7, 2025	Senate	Placed on calendar.
Apr 10, 2025	Senate	Placed on calendar under unfinished business. S.J. 758.
May 9, 2025	Senate	Amendment S-3073 adopted. S.J. 950.
May 9, 2025	Senate	Amendment S-3149 filed, adopted. S.J. 950.
May 9, 2025	Senate	Passed Senate, yeas 34, nays 16. S.J. 950.
May 9, 2025	Senate	Immediate message. S.J. 951.
May 12, 2025	House	Message from Senate. H.J. 1115.
May 12, 2025	House	Senate amendment H-1298 filed. H.J. 1145.
May 13, 2025	House	House concurred in Senate amendment H-1298. H.J. 1152.
May 13, 2025	House	Passed House, yeas 59, nays 32. H.J. 1152.
May 20, 2025	House	Explanation of vote. H.J. 1223.
May 13, 2025	House	Immediate message. H.J. 1154.
May 13, 2025	Senate	Message from House. S.J. 986.
May 22, 2025	House	Reported correctly enrolled, signed by Speaker and President, and sent to Governor. H.J. 1224.
May 27, 2025	House	Signed by Governor. H.J. 1227.

Votes

Vote summaries

Date	Chamber	Vote	Result	Yea	Nay	Not voting	Democrats	Republicans	Pattern
Mar 18, 2025	House	Amendment	Passed	61	37	1	0–33	61–4	Bipartisan Opposition
Mar 18, 2025	House	Floor Passage	Passed	61	37	1	0–33	61–4	Bipartisan Opposition
May 9, 2025	Senate	Floor Passage	Passed	34	16	0	0–16	34–0	Party Line
May 13, 2025	House	Floor Passage	Passed	59	32	9	0–29	59–3	Bipartisan Opposition

Party columns count yea–nay. Committee votes are not shown.

Individual votes

House · Amendment · Mar 18, 2025

Shall amendment H–1094 be adopted?

Passed 61 to 37 · Democrats 0 yea, 33 nay · Republicans 61 yea, 4 nay · 1 not voting

How each representative voted (99)

District	Legislator	Party	Vote
1	J.D. Scholten	Democrat	Nay
2	Robert Henderson	Republican	Yea
3	Thomas Jeneary	Republican	Yea
4	Skyler Wheeler	Republican	Yea
5	Zachary Dieken	Republican	Yea
6	Megan Hess Jones	Republican	Yea
7	Michael Sexton	Republican	Yea
8	Ann Meyer	Republican	Yea
9	Henry Stone	Republican	Yea
10	John Wills	Republican	Yea
11	Craig Williams	Republican	Yea
12	Steven Holt	Republican	Yea
13	Travis Sitzmann	Republican	Yea
14	Jacob Bossman	Republican	Yea
15	Matt Windschitl	Republican	Yea
16	David Sieck	Republican	Yea
17	Devon Wood	Republican	Yea
18	Tom Moore	Republican	Yea
19	Brent Siegrist	Republican	Absent
20	Josh Turek	Democrat	Nay
21	Brooke Boden	Republican	Yea
22	Samantha Fett	Republican	Yea
23	Ray Sorensen	Republican	Yea
24	Sam Wengryn	Republican	Yea
25	Hans Wilz	Republican	Yea
26	Austin Harris	Republican	Yea
27	Kenan Judge	Democrat	Nay
28	David Young	Republican	Yea
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	Nay
34	Rob Johnson	Democrat	Nay
35	Sean Bagniewski	Democrat	Nay
36	Austin Baeth	Democrat	Nay
37	Barb Kniff McCulla	Republican	Yea
38	Jon Dunwell	Republican	Yea
39	Rick Olson	Democrat	Nay
40	Bill Gustoff	Republican	Yea
41	Ryan Weldon	Republican	Yea
42	Heather Matson	Democrat	Nay
43	Eddie Andrews	Republican	Yea
44	Larry McBurney	Democrat	Nay
45	Brian Lohse	Republican	Nay
46	Dan Gehlbach	Republican	Yea
47	Carter Nordman	Republican	Yea
48	Chad Behn	Republican	Yea
49	Beth Wessel-Kroeschell	Democrat	Nay
50	Ross Wilburn	Democrat	Nay
51	Brett Barker	Republican	Yea
52	David Blom	Republican	Yea
53	Dean Fisher	Republican	Yea
54	Joshua Meggers	Republican	Yea
55	Shannon Latham	Republican	Yea
56	Mark Thompson	Republican	Yea
57	Pat Grassley	Republican	Yea
58	Charley Thomson	Republican	Yea
59	Christian Hermanson	Republican	Yea
60	Jane Bloomingdale	Republican	Nay
61	Timi Brown-powers	Democrat	Nay
62	Jerome Amos	Democrat	Nay
63	Michael Bergan	Republican	Nay
64	Jason Gearhart	Republican	Yea
65	Shannon Lundgren	Republican	Yea
66	Steven Bradley	Republican	Yea
67	Craig Johnson	Republican	Yea
68	Chad Ingels	Republican	Nay
69	Tom Determann	Republican	Yea
70	Norlin Mommsen	Republican	Yea
71	Lindsay James	Democrat	Nay
72	Jennifer Smith	Republican	Yea
73	Elizabeth Wilson	Democrat	Nay
74	Eric Gjerde	Democrat	Nay
75	Bob Kressig	Democrat	Nay
76	Derek Wulf	Republican	Yea
77	Jeff Cooling	Democrat	Nay
78	Sami Scheetz	Democrat	Nay
79	Tracy Ehlert	Democrat	Nay
80	Aime Wichtendahl	Democrat	Nay
81	Daniel Gosa	Democrat	Nay
82	Bobby Kaufmann	Republican	Yea
83	Cindy Golding	Republican	Yea
84	Thomas Gerhold	Republican	Yea
85	Amy Nielsen	Democrat	Nay
86	Dave Jacoby	Democrat	Nay
87	Jeff Shipley	Republican	Yea
88	Helena Hayes	Republican	Yea
89	Elinor Levin	Democrat	Nay
90	Adam Zabner	Democrat	Nay
91	Judd Lawler	Republican	Yea
92	Heather Hora	Republican	Yea
93	Gary Mohr	Republican	Yea
94	Mike Vondran	Republican	Yea
95	Taylor Collins	Republican	Yea
96	Mark Cisneros	Republican	Yea
97	Ken Croken	Democrat	Nay
98	Monica Kurth	Democrat	Nay
99	Matthew Rinker	Republican	Yea

House · Floor Passage · Mar 18, 2025

Shall the bill pass?

Passed 61 to 37 · Democrats 0 yea, 33 nay · Republicans 61 yea, 4 nay · 1 not voting

How each representative voted (99)

District	Legislator	Party	Vote
1	J.D. Scholten	Democrat	Nay
2	Robert Henderson	Republican	Yea
3	Thomas Jeneary	Republican	Yea
4	Skyler Wheeler	Republican	Yea
5	Zachary Dieken	Republican	Yea
6	Megan Hess Jones	Republican	Yea
7	Michael Sexton	Republican	Yea
8	Ann Meyer	Republican	Yea
9	Henry Stone	Republican	Yea
10	John Wills	Republican	Yea
11	Craig Williams	Republican	Yea
12	Steven Holt	Republican	Yea
13	Travis Sitzmann	Republican	Yea
14	Jacob Bossman	Republican	Yea
15	Matt Windschitl	Republican	Yea
16	David Sieck	Republican	Yea
17	Devon Wood	Republican	Yea
18	Tom Moore	Republican	Yea
19	Brent Siegrist	Republican	Absent
20	Josh Turek	Democrat	Nay
21	Brooke Boden	Republican	Yea
22	Samantha Fett	Republican	Yea
23	Ray Sorensen	Republican	Yea
24	Sam Wengryn	Republican	Yea
25	Hans Wilz	Republican	Yea
26	Austin Harris	Republican	Yea
27	Kenan Judge	Democrat	Nay
28	David Young	Republican	Yea
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	Nay
34	Rob Johnson	Democrat	Nay
35	Sean Bagniewski	Democrat	Nay
36	Austin Baeth	Democrat	Nay
37	Barb Kniff McCulla	Republican	Yea
38	Jon Dunwell	Republican	Yea
39	Rick Olson	Democrat	Nay
40	Bill Gustoff	Republican	Yea
41	Ryan Weldon	Republican	Yea
42	Heather Matson	Democrat	Nay
43	Eddie Andrews	Republican	Yea
44	Larry McBurney	Democrat	Nay
45	Brian Lohse	Republican	Nay
46	Dan Gehlbach	Republican	Yea
47	Carter Nordman	Republican	Yea
48	Chad Behn	Republican	Yea
49	Beth Wessel-Kroeschell	Democrat	Nay
50	Ross Wilburn	Democrat	Nay
51	Brett Barker	Republican	Yea
52	David Blom	Republican	Yea
53	Dean Fisher	Republican	Yea
54	Joshua Meggers	Republican	Yea
55	Shannon Latham	Republican	Yea
56	Mark Thompson	Republican	Yea
57	Pat Grassley	Republican	Yea
58	Charley Thomson	Republican	Yea
59	Christian Hermanson	Republican	Yea
60	Jane Bloomingdale	Republican	Yea
61	Timi Brown-powers	Democrat	Nay
62	Jerome Amos	Democrat	Nay
63	Michael Bergan	Republican	Nay
64	Jason Gearhart	Republican	Yea
65	Shannon Lundgren	Republican	Yea
66	Steven Bradley	Republican	Yea
67	Craig Johnson	Republican	Yea
68	Chad Ingels	Republican	Nay
69	Tom Determann	Republican	Yea
70	Norlin Mommsen	Republican	Yea
71	Lindsay James	Democrat	Nay
72	Jennifer Smith	Republican	Yea
73	Elizabeth Wilson	Democrat	Nay
74	Eric Gjerde	Democrat	Nay
75	Bob Kressig	Democrat	Nay
76	Derek Wulf	Republican	Yea
77	Jeff Cooling	Democrat	Nay
78	Sami Scheetz	Democrat	Nay
79	Tracy Ehlert	Democrat	Nay
80	Aime Wichtendahl	Democrat	Nay
81	Daniel Gosa	Democrat	Nay
82	Bobby Kaufmann	Republican	Yea
83	Cindy Golding	Republican	Yea
84	Thomas Gerhold	Republican	Yea
85	Amy Nielsen	Democrat	Nay
86	Dave Jacoby	Democrat	Nay
87	Jeff Shipley	Republican	Yea
88	Helena Hayes	Republican	Yea
89	Elinor Levin	Democrat	Nay
90	Adam Zabner	Democrat	Nay
91	Judd Lawler	Republican	Yea
92	Heather Hora	Republican	Yea
93	Gary Mohr	Republican	Yea
94	Mike Vondran	Republican	Yea
95	Taylor Collins	Republican	Yea
96	Mark Cisneros	Republican	Yea
97	Ken Croken	Democrat	Nay
98	Monica Kurth	Democrat	Nay
99	Matthew Rinker	Republican	Nay

Senate · Floor Passage · May 9, 2025

Shall the bill pass?

Passed 34 to 16 · Democrats 0 yea, 16 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	Nay
15	Tony Bisignano	Democrat	Nay
16	Claire Celsi	Democrat	Nay
17	Izaah Knox	Democrat	Nay
18	Janet Petersen	Democrat	Nay
19	Ken Rozenboom	Republican	Yea
20	Mike Pike	Republican	Yea
21	Mike Bousselot	Republican	Yea
22	Matt Blake	Democrat	Nay
23	Jack Whitver	Republican	Yea
24	Jesse Green	Republican	Yea
25	Herman Quirmbach	Democrat	Nay
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	Nay
36	Thomas Townsend	Democrat	Nay
37	Molly Donahue	Democrat	Nay
38	Dave Sires	Republican	Yea
39	Liz Bennett	Democrat	Nay
40	Art Staed	Democrat	Nay
41	Kerry Gruenhagen	Republican	Yea
42	Charlie McClintock	Republican	Yea
43	Zach Wahls	Democrat	Nay
44	Adrian Dickey	Republican	Yea
45	Janice Weiner	Democrat	Nay
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

House · Floor Passage · May 13, 2025

Shall the bill pass?

Passed 59 to 32 · Democrats 0 yea, 29 nay · Republicans 59 yea, 3 nay · 9 not voting

How each representative voted (100)

District	Legislator	Party	Vote
1	J.D. Scholten	Democrat	Nay
2	Robert Henderson	Republican	Yea
3	Thomas Jeneary	Republican	Yea
4	Skyler Wheeler	Republican	Absent
5	Zachary Dieken	Republican	Absent
6	Megan Hess Jones	Republican	Yea
7	Michael Sexton	Republican	Yea
8	Ann Meyer	Republican	Yea
9	Henry Stone	Republican	Yea
10	John Wills	Republican	Yea
11	Craig Williams	Republican	Yea
12	Steven Holt	Republican	Yea
13	Travis Sitzmann	Republican	Yea
14	Jacob Bossman	Republican	Yea
15	Matt Windschitl	Republican	Yea
16	David Sieck	Republican	Absent
17	Devon Wood	Republican	Yea
18	Tom Moore	Republican	Yea
19	Brent Siegrist	Republican	Nay
20	Josh Turek	Democrat	Nay
21	Brooke Boden	Republican	Yea
22	Samantha Fett	Republican	Yea
23	Ray Sorensen	Republican	Yea
24	Sam Wengryn	Republican	Yea
25	Hans Wilz	Republican	Yea
26	Austin Harris	Republican	Yea
27	Kenan Judge	Democrat	Nay
28	David Young	Republican	Yea
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	Yea
38	Jon Dunwell	Republican	Yea
39	Rick Olson	Democrat	Nay
40	Bill Gustoff	Republican	Yea
41	Ryan Weldon	Republican	Yea
42	Heather Matson	Democrat	Nay
43	Eddie Andrews	Republican	Yea
44	Larry McBurney	Democrat	Nay
45	Brian Lohse	Republican	Absent
46	Dan Gehlbach	Republican	Yea
47	Carter Nordman	Republican	Yea
48	Chad Behn	Republican	Yea
49	Beth Wessel-Kroeschell	Democrat	Nay
50	Ross Wilburn	Democrat	Nay
51	Brett Barker	Republican	Yea
52	David Blom	Republican	Yea
53	Dean Fisher	Republican	Yea
54	Joshua Meggers	Republican	Yea
55	Shannon Latham	Republican	Yea
56	Mark Thompson	Republican	Yea
57	Pat Grassley	Republican	Yea
58	Charley Thomson	Republican	Yea
59	Christian Hermanson	Republican	Yea
60	Jane Bloomingdale	Republican	Yea
61	Timi Brown-powers	Democrat	Absent
62	Jerome Amos	Democrat	Nay
63	Michael Bergan	Republican	Nay
64	Jason Gearhart	Republican	Yea
65	Shannon Lundgren	Republican	Yea
66	Steven Bradley	Republican	Yea
67	Craig Johnson	Republican	Yea
68	Chad Ingels	Republican	Yea
69	Tom Determann	Republican	Yea
70	Norlin Mommsen	Republican	Yea
71	Lindsay James	Democrat	Nay
72	Jennifer Smith	Republican	Yea
73	Elizabeth Wilson	Democrat	Nay
74	Eric Gjerde	Democrat	Nay
75	Bob Kressig	Democrat	Nay
76	Derek Wulf	Republican	Yea
77	Jeff Cooling	Democrat	Nay
78	Angel Ramirez	Democrat	Nay
79	Tracy Ehlert	Democrat	Absent
80	Aime Wichtendahl	Democrat	Nay
81	Daniel Gosa	Democrat	Nay
82	Bobby Kaufmann	Republican	Yea
83	Cindy Golding	Republican	Yea
84	Thomas Gerhold	Republican	Yea
85	Amy Nielsen	Democrat	Nay
86	Dave Jacoby	Democrat	Nay
87	Jeff Shipley	Republican	Yea
88	Helena Hayes	Republican	Yea
89	Elinor Levin	Democrat	Nay
90	Adam Zabner	Democrat	Nay
91	Judd Lawler	Republican	Yea
92	Heather Hora	Republican	Yea
93	Gary Mohr	Republican	Yea
94	Mike Vondran	Republican	Yea
95	Taylor Collins	Republican	Yea
96	Mark Cisneros	Republican	Absent
97	Ken Croken	Democrat	Absent
98	Monica Kurth	Democrat	Nay
99	Matthew Rinker	Republican	Nay
100	Blaine Watkins	Republican	Yea

Lobbyist declarations

Client	Declaration	Last updated
American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa (ACLU-IA)	Against	Mar 24, 2025
American Planning Association Iowa Chapter	Against	Mar 21, 2025
Dubuque Branch NAACP	Against	Apr 1, 2025
Episcopal Diocese of Iowa	Against	May 10, 2025
Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Action Fund	Against	Mar 17, 2025
Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers	Against	May 13, 2025
Iowa Environmental Council	Against	Mar 11, 2025
Iowa Public Health Association	Against	Apr 1, 2025
Iowa Safe Schools	Against	Mar 11, 2025
Iowa State Education Association	Against	Mar 20, 2025
NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Iowa-Nebraska	Against	Apr 2, 2025
National Association of Social Workers, Iowa Chapter	Against	Apr 1, 2025
Urban Education Network of Iowa	Against	Apr 4, 2025
Iowans for Freedom	For	Mar 27, 2025
City of Cedar Rapids	Undecided	May 12, 2025
Iowa Association for Justice	Undecided	Apr 1, 2025
Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities	Undecided	Apr 1, 2025
Iowa Association of School Boards	Undecided	Mar 19, 2025
Iowa Board of Regents	Undecided	Mar 11, 2025
Iowa County Attorneys Association	Undecided	May 15, 2025
Linn County Board of Supervisors	Undecided	Apr 4, 2025
Urban County Coalition	Undecided	Apr 4, 2025

Calendar items

Date	Time	Type	Description	Location
Apr 1, 2025	3:00 PM	Hearing	Senate Education Subcommittee	Senate Lounge
Apr 3, 2025	1:30 PM	Hearing	Senate Education Committee	RM 116