DES MOINES — Governor Kim Reynolds says she and members of the Iowa House and Senate are “laser focused”: on taking action on property taxes during the 2026 legislative session.
“Total cost of government — that’s what we’ve really focused on and the impact it has on taxpayers,” Reynolds said Friday. “There’s a lot of duplication out there. We’ve streamlined at the state level. It’s our expectation that local governments find a way to streamline as well. There’s a lot of that going on already, but there’s a lot of opportunity out there to scale those practices as well.”
Reynolds hosted an hour-long public hearing online Friday and heard suggestions from representatives of a variety of interest groups who were called upon to speak. Iowans for Tax Relief President Chris Hagenow told Reynolds state officials need to “right size” local government budgets and impose a 2% yearly cap on property tax growth. “There can’t be any loopholes or carve outs for that because as we have seen over and over if you create an escape hatch, local governments will find that often. They’ll find another way to collect that revenue,” Hagenow said, “and it gets back into the problem of how much Iowans are being asked to pay. What is their total cost of government? And that’s what needs to be addressed in this system.”…