Iowa Legislation   Tags: iowa_bill, iowa_law, iowa_legislation, iowa_legislative_history  

This guide provides information on the legislative process in Iowa and finding Iowa legislative history documents. Documented Iowa legislative history is much more limited than federal legislative history.

This page provides an overview of the Iowa legislative process and legislative history sources. Separate tabs provide additional information about how to access and use the sources described.

See Finding Library Materials for more information on how to find print materials referenced in this guide.

Here are some examples of how Iowa Courts have used legislative history:

Legislative History Records.
KFI 4275.M36 1999. This book  discusses Iowa legislative history materials and provides an example of how these sources have been used in Iowa courts to interpret statutory intent.

Selected case cites (Links require personal password):

There is not one officially recognized way to explore Iowa legislative history. The following suggested process may work well in many instances. (See tabs above for more information on finding and using the suggested sources.)

1. Read the statute carefully. Chapters 3 and 4 of the Code of Iowa provide information about Iowa statutory construction. Iowa Code § 4.6 describes the sources the court considers when trying to interpret the intent of an ambiguous statute. You may also want to review other general sources of information about statutory interpretation.

2. Look at cases that have interpreted the statute to see if your issue has already been addressed.

3. Check to see if a legislative history analysis already exists. (Note: there are not many of these. Checking the notes in an annotated code will bring up most relevant items.)

4. Look at the history of the code section, printed after the text of the section, to note the acts that created and changed the section.

Note: The official Code has two different types of history information.

• Older references appear in brackets and are to the earlier Code sections where the subject matter was covered, whether there was a change in the section or not. This style changed between 1982-1984.
• Newer references appear outside the brackets. Code section references indicate a change in the location where the material is codified. Acts references note the session laws that created or changed the Code section. Available Information Desk, Ready Reference and Iowa, KFI 4230. Unofficial version available online.

In the Iowa Code Annotated the references immediately following the Code section are just to prior locations and acts that changed the code section. The ICA also includes some historical notes that briefly describe the changes each act made. Available Ready Reference and Iowa, KFI 4230 and via Westlaw, login required.

5. Look at each act to see what changes it made and if these are relevant to your issue.  If the act is relevant, note the file number at the top of the act.

6. Using the file numbers noted, check the bill book to see how the bill changed from introduction to enrollment. If it was originally a study bill, also look at that file.

7. Look at the explanation at the end of the introduced bill and, if relevant, at the end of the study bill.

8. If the bill is neither a ways and means nor appropriations measure but has a significant effect on the state’s finances, look for a fiscal note attached to the bill.

At this point, you will have likely found most of what will be influential to the courts in determining intent. However, you can continue searching to be completely thorough and to obtain additional background or other contextual information.

9. Look for a compiled bill history to see what actions each chamber took on the bill. If a compilation does not already exist, compile your own, using the House and Senate journals.

10. Check committee minutes.

11. Check to see if any relevant reports have been filed.

12. Look at the original bill drafting file.

13. Search for newspaper articles discussing the legislation.

This guide is for your benefit so tell us what you think.  Suggestions are welcome!