Post-funnel update: Cancer control and the 2026 Iowa legislative session

This past Friday, February 20th, was the first Iowa legislative “funnel” deadline of the 2026 session. Most bills must get a majority of votes in a full committee in either the House or the Senate by this date in order to remain viable. Below is a list of bills related to cancer control by topic and how they fared through this first funnel deadline. Bills that remain viable are also noted with an asterisk (*). Additionally, a few relevant bills were introduced after the funnel deadline and are indicated with a ^.

You know by now that the Iowa Cancer Consortium does not use state or federal funds to engage in lobbying, and therefore does not endorse or oppose any proposed bills or actions. This list is shared for informational purposes only and is likely not comprehensive. If we’ve missed something, please let us know.

Here we go!

Alcohol (Liquor) Minimum Unit Pricing

• HF 830 would have set a minimum unit price for liquor. It did not pass through the funnel deadline and is no longer viable.

Cancer Care Providers and Certificates of Need

• HF 2552 would have created a new definition for “cancer care provider” to include outpatient oncology clinics, radiation therapy centers, chemotherapy infusion centers, outpatient cancer diagnostic facilities, oncology surgical centers, and certain ancillary cancer‑treatment support services, and would exempts all such providers from Iowa’s existing certificate of need (CON) requirements. This bill did not survive the funnel and is no longer viable.

Cancer Screenings

• *HF 318 would address cost-sharing for diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations. This bill was first introduced in 2025 and remains viable in 2026. It has passed the full House and a subcommittee in the Senate, and is therefore successfully through the first funnel. It will need to pass a committee in the Senate to stay viable past the second funnel deadline. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 318. Contact Brigid Greening with Iowa Army of Pink for more information.
• *SF 2421 (previously SSB 3118) and *HF 2635 (previously HF 2438) would, among other things, eliminate prior authorization requirements for certain cancer services, including cancer‑related screenings and cancer‑related preventive services. Both bills successfully passed the funnel and remain viable. Contact Kacey Strovers at MercyOne for more information. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on SF 2421. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 2635.
• SF 2048 would have Required Iowa HHS to seek any federal waiver necessary for Medicaid to provide coverage for an annual lung cancer screening for at-risk individuals. If a waiver was received, Medicaid must provide coverage for annual lung cancer screenings for at-risk individuals. This bill did not survive the funnel deadline and is no longer viable.

Cancer Research, including Pediatric Cancer Research

• *SF 638 and its companion bill, *HF 2011, would develop an Iowa Cancer Research Fund from taxation of certain nicotine products. Both bills are assigned to Ways and Means Committees and are therefore funnel proof. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on SF 638. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 2011. Contact Scott Kaas for more information.
• *HF 2310 (previously HF 2057) would provide a standing appropriation of $1 per Iowa resident (up to $3 million per year) for pediatric cancer research to the Board of Regents for University of Iowa Health Care. This bill has passed a subcommittee and committee in the House and is now assigned to Appropriations, making it funnel proof. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 2310.Contact Scott Kaas for more information.
• ^HF 2663 was introduced following the funnel. It would appropriate $2 million to the University of Iowa to help discover the underlying causes of cancer. It would also appropriate $3 million to Iowa HHS to support clinical cancer research and programs to increase access to clinical cancer research trials for Iowans. This bill is assigned to the Appropriations Committee and will therefore be funnel proof. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 2663.

(HPV) Immunization

• *SF 304 would remove a minor’s right to consent to receive the HPV vaccination. This bill was first introduced in 2025 and remains viable this session. It has passed the full Senate and a full committee in the House, putting it successfully through the two 2026 funnel dates. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on SF 304.
• *HF 2171 would eliminate vaccine requirements for elementary and secondary school. This bill has successfully passed a full committee in the House and is therefore successfully through the first funnel deadline. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 2171.
• Contact Elizabeth Faber with Iowa Immunizes for more information.

“Medical Freedom” and Religious Exemption

• *HF 571 (and its companion SF 220) would allow medical practitioners, health care institutions, or health care payors to not participate in or pay for a health care service that violates the medical practitioner’s health care institution’s, or health care payor’s conscience. This bill was introduced in 2025 and remains viable this session. It has passed the full House and a full committee in the Senate, putting it successfully through the two 2026 funnel dates. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 571.

• *HF 2297 (previously HF 82) would require that new single-family or two-family residential construction must include passive radon mitigation systems. This bill has successfully passed out of subcommittee and full committee in the House and is therefore through the first funnel. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 2297. Contact Cody Smith with the Iowa Environmental Council for more information.
• HF 2217 would have required accredited nonpublic schools to test for and mitigate radon. This bill did not survive the funnel deadline and is no longer viable.
• SF 2242 would have created mandatory radon testing and mitigation requirements for the sale (conveyance) of single-family homes in Iowa. This bill did not survive the funnel deadline and is no longer viable.
• Newly introduced ^HF 2665 would require new single-family or two-family residential construction to include passive radon mitigation systems; create a nonrefundable tax credit of up to $1,000 for the cost of installing a certified radon mitigation system; add protections for renters by allowing tenants to test for radon, requiring landlords to install a certified mitigation system if radon levels are 4 pCi/L or higher, and permitting tenants to terminate their lease without penalty if the landlord fails to mitigate; and appropriate $100,000 for FY 2026–2027 to provide free radon test kits to Iowa homeowners and renters. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 2665.

Tanning

• *HF 524 would require one-time in-person written parental consent for people under the age of 18 to use a tanning facility. This bill has successfully passed a subcommittee and full committee in the House, and remains viable past the recent funnel deadline. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 524.

Tobacco/Nicotine Control

• *HF2406was introduced on Feb. 11 with the support of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and partners including American Lung Association, American Heart Association, Tobacco Free Kids, Clean Air For Everyone (CAFE), and Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, who have also recently launched the Iowa Health Initiative coalition. This bill would increase the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and would add a 50% wholesale tax on e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and similar products. The bill is assigned to Ways and Means, and is therefore funnel proof. Organizations that are broadly supportive of tobacco tax increases to reduce tobacco use and related death and disease are invited tojoin the Iowa Health Initiative to stay up to date.Contact Jackie Cale for more information. Learn why ACS CAN will only support cigarette taxes of $1 per pack or more.
• SSB 3130, introduced by Governor Kim Reynolds, included a $.70-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes, did not pass through the funnel. A companion bill in the House, HSB 694, did successfully pass through the funnel, but was amended to remove the tobacco tax components before being renumbered to *HF 2676.
  • Related to tobacco/nicotine control, the governor’s proposed budget (see page 5) proposes to eliminate a $500,000 contract with National Jewish Health for Quitline Iowa; reduces funding for the Iowa Students for Tobacco Education and Prevention (ISTEP) conference by $120,000; and eliminates marketing for gambling and tobacco prevention/cessation programs – a $580,000 cut.
• HF 781 would have eliminated the exemption in the Smokefree Air Act that allows smoking on casino floors. The bill did not pass through the funnel and is no longer viable.
• *SF 2444 (previously SSB 3142) would modify Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act to create an exemption for cigar bars and establish a regulatory framework allowing them to conduct delivery sales of premium cigars. This bill passed the funnel and remains viable. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on SF 2444.
• SSB 3145 would have increased taxes on cigarettes, tobacco products, vapor products, and consumable hemp products and used the additional revenue to fund public health and justice programs including support for the Double Up Food Bucks program and support services for victims of human trafficking. This bill was voted down in committee and is no longer viable.
• Newly introduced ^HF 2664 would increase Iowa’s taxes on cigarettes, tobacco products, and vapor products. It would raise the cigarette tax from $1.36 to $2.86 per pack and would also increase the tax on loose tobacco used in vending machines. It would the existing combined 50% wholesale tax rate on other tobacco products to vapor products as well. This bill is assigned to Ways and Means and is therefore funnel proof. See which groups are registered for, against, or undecided on HF 2664.

Water Quality

• HF2408 would have appropriated $600,000 to fund a water-quality monitoring network under the supervision of the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa. This bill did not survive the funnel and is no longer viable.
• HF2425 would have appropriated $250,000 to the Iowa Nutrient Research Center at Iowa State University to administer Iowa water quality information systems. SF 2269 would have appropriated $500,000 for the same purpose. Neither bill survived the funnel.
• A suite of other proposed water-quality and nitrate-control bills also did not survive the first legislative funnel and are no longer viable.

What’s next?

The second and final “funnel” deadline is March 20th. In order to stay viable, legislation must pass out of one full chamber (the full House or the full Senate) and a committee in the other by this date. Again, Ways and Means Committee bills and Appropriations Committee bills are not subject to this deadline. Note: elements of bills that did not survive through the funnels are sometimes added as amendments to surviving bills. After the second funnel deadline, proposed legislation must pass out of both the full House and the full Senate and be sent to the governor’s desk. The governor then can choose to veto a bill, or sign it into law.

As always, if you want to stay even more connected to cancer control legislative activity, consider joining the Iowa Cancer Consortium’s Policy Workgroup. Contact us for more info.

A final note, we want to recognize that several Iowa lawmakers are facing cancer diagnoses themselves, including Senator Dave Rowley, Senator Catelin Drey, and Senator Jack Whitver. Cancer truly touches, and often connects, us all. Thank you to these Iowans for sharing their very human cancer journeys while making difficult policy decisions for our state.

Let us know what bills you’re watching and what we may have missed here. And most of all, be well.