2021 First Funnel: What Environmental Bills Died This Session?

The first funnel of the 2021 legislative session occurred Friday, March 5. Any bill introduced so far this session that was not part of a larger funding or tax bill had to pass out of a committee by Friday in order to advance in the session. The first funnel is where many bills meet their end. 

The 2021 session has played out with a troubling focus on legislation threatening educational independence and free sharing of information, voting access, and equity, with less activity on environmental issues. Still, plenty of environmental bills were introduced this year. Those that were introduced this session but did not pass out of committee can be picked up again on day one of the 2022 session.

Our bill tracker this week has a more detailed look at the legislative activity to date, but here's a quick look of what didn't make it out of funnel:

Energy

• HF 73 - A bill requiring a certain percent of new vehicles sold be flexible fuel vehicles
• HF 99 - A bill relating to the Midwest interstate passenger rail compact
• HSB 193 - A bill relating to an energy infrastructure revolving loan program
• HSB 207 - A bill related to the location and marking of underground facilities
• HF 669 - A bill related to energy efficiency programs
• HF 695 - A bill requiring public meetings related to energy efficiency plans filed by utilities
• HSB 241 -  A bill relating to the Midwest interstate passenger rail compact
• SSB 1152 - A bill related to wind turbine decommissioning
• SSB 1217 - A bill related to municipal ownership of transmission lines
• HF 355 - A bill authorizing cities and counties to establish energy investment districts
• HF 351 - A bill relating to Energy Center grants and loans
• SF 216 - A bill related to energy building code requirements
• SF 281 - A bill related to adopting standards of reference
• SF 298 - A bill relating to wind siting restrictions (IEC was registered against this bill)
• HF 305 - A bill relating to energy efficiency plans adopted by utilities
• HF 458 - A bill related to solar energy storage capacity and ownership
• HF 601 - A bill related to voluntary warning stickers for EVs

Water and Land

• HF 168 - A bill creating a crude oil transport fee
• HF 241 - A bill authorizing counties to adopt riparian buffers for erosion control
• HF 293 - A bill requiring the EPC to adopt standards for PFAS-related public water contamination 
• SSB 1063 - A bill related to notifications for discontinuation of water fluoridation
• HF 397 - A bill requiring inspection of a private well at transfer of ownership
• HF 540- A bill related to the monitoring of recreational water bodies
• HF 575 - A bill relating to drainage district annexation
• SF 22 - A bill relating to perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) testing in public water supply systems
• SF 208/HF 569 - A bill requiring schools to test for lead contamination and provide filling stations to filter out lead
• SF 209/HF 504 - A bill allowing DPH to use monies from Ag Management Accounts to as grants to counties to test water for lead and copper. 
• SF 500 - A bill related to drainage district improvements
• HF 242 - A bill related to beginning farmer credits
• HF 319 - A bill related to the Iowa Farm Food Act
• HF 440/SF 282 - A bill related to animal confinement operations 
• HF 457 - A bill creating a farm tenure initiative committee
• HF 502 - A bill restricting the use and sale of pesticides in the neonicotinoid class
• SSB 1129 - A bill ending the UST fund
• SF 1 - A bill related to CAFO operations
• SF 52 - A bill prohibiting the sale of pesticides with neonicotinoids
• SF 66 - A pill prohibiting the sale or purchase of dicamba in post-emergent herbicides
• HF 22 - A bill that designates black bears as a game animal
• HF 87 - A bill that requires pipelines to provide access point coordinates to landowners on request
• HJR 8 - A House Joint Resolution proposing a Constitutional amendment providing access to hunt, fish, trap, and harvest wildlife
• SJR 6 - A Senate Joint Resolution naming the channel catfish the state fish
• HF 151 - A bill related to the applicability of the beverage container control program
• HF 156 - A bill repealing the beverage container control program (IEC was against this bill) 
• HF 182 - A bill repealing the bottle bill and redemptions by 2024 (IEC was against this bill)
• HF 320 - A bill requiring the DNR to collect 5 cents for single-use plastics sold in the state
• HF 321 - A bill increasing the reimbursement fee to redemption centers to two cents
• SSB 1160 - A bill related to beverage redemption, increasing the handling fee to two cents
• SF 207 - A bill requiring the DPH to create a climate change task force
• SF 376 - A bill creating an agriculture climate advisory task force

Continue to follow the action in our weekly Legislative News Bulletin and be sure to take part when you receive an Action Alert from the Council. Have questions about environmental advocacy? Visit our Legislative Portal or contact us at iecmail@iaenvironment.org. 

For a more comprehensive look at bills that died beyond just environmental issues, view lists from the Gazette and Iowa Capital Dispatch. 

1. beach advisories
2. harmful algal blooms
3. iowa legislature
4. legislative session
5. riparian buffers
6. solar tax credits