Bills › 91st General Assembly
Establishing the state public defender’s pilot project to implement innovative models of child welfare legal representation as the project to preserve families
Sponsored by the House Judiciary Committee
Proposed by the Public Defender, State · all agency proposals
Topics:Courts & civil law
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 15, 2026
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 15, 2026
- Done: House committeeJanuary 26, 2026
- Done: Passes the HouseFebruary 26, 202690–0
- Done: Senate committeeMarch 19, 2026
- Done: Passes the SenateMarch 23, 202647–0
- Done: To the GovernorApril 9, 2026
- Done: Signed into lawApril 9, 2026
Signed into law What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. Under current law, the state public defender (SPD) may establish a pilot project to implement innovative models of legal representation to assist families involved in the child welfare system by implementing and studying ways to achieve positive outcomes for families, reduce trauma to young children, and deliver financial benefits to families and their communities.
Read the full explanation
The SPD may implement the pilot project in up to counties throughout the state, and the pilot project expires on June 30, 2025. This bill changes the pilot project into a permanent program known as the project to preserve families (PPF) and allows the SPD to administer and maintain the PPF throughout the state. The SPD may adopt rules to administer the PPF.
From the explanation printed with the bill as introduced, written by the Legislative Services Agency. Amendments adopted later aren’t reflected. Full bill text · What changed before it passed
House subcommittee
Named January 15, 2026 (as HSB 566). On January 22, 2026 it recommended passage.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
1 written public comment to its subcommittee: February 11, 2026 (1) · on the Legislature’s site
Fiscal note
5 million annually to the Indigent Defense Fund once the PPF is fully implemented across the State. However, that estimate is compared to current law for FY 2027, in which the pilot program would be expired. The pilot program has been in operation since 2020, and therefore a portion of the cost savings under the Bill may be a status quo savings compared to previous fiscal years.
The estimate held steady
The largest dollar figure in each version’s summary.
- Final Fiscal Note — State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · May 20, 2026
- State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · March 20, 2026 · $471,000
- State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · February 25, 2026 · $471,000
Nonpartisan cost estimates from the Legislative Services Agency’s Fiscal Services Division. The newest is first. Reading a fiscal note
Iowa Code it changes
Amends§13B.13
Read from the bill as introduced. Each links to every bill touching that chapter of the Iowa Code. How the Code works
Lobbying
2 for · 0 against · 2 undecided · Who →
Family tree
Where this legislation came from and where it went: earlier tries, the versions it moved through this Assembly, and later bills built on it.
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91st General Assembly
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