Relating to habitual offenders, and providing penalties

Sponsored by the House Judiciary Committee

Topics:Courts & civil law Crime & corrections

Same legislation: HSB 666

Write your legislators about itWhat changed before it passed

Official bill page Lobbyist declarations One-pager to print

Where it is now

Done: IntroducedFebruary 4, 2026
Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 4, 2026
Done: House committeeFebruary 12, 2026
Done: Passes the HouseMarch 4, 202668–23
Done: Senate committeeMarch 24, 2026
Done: Passes the SenateMay 2, 202639–6
Done: To the GovernorMay 13, 2026
Done: Signed into lawJune 2, 2026

Signed into law What’s a funnel?

What’s in it

This bill relates to habitual offenders. The bill strikes the current law regarding habitual offenders and provides that a habitual offender is a person who has been convicted, in a court of this state of an offense, or has been convicted of an offense committed in another jurisdiction that would constitute an equivalent offense, or any combination of level one or level two offenses resulting in the accumulation of three or more points.2B(3)(c), theft, and possession of a controlled substance. Each conviction of a level one offense is worth one point.

Read the full explanation

4. Each conviction of a level two offense is worth one-half point. The bill provides that notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a person sentenced as a habitual offender shall not be eligible for parole or work release until the person has served a minimum term of commitment of years unless the current level one offense the person is convicted of carries a higher minimum sentence, which shall be considered the minimum sentence under the bill.

From the explanation printed with the bill as introduced, written by the Legislative Services Agency. Changed since by amendments H-8470, S-5252, H-8116; see Amendments. Full bill text · What changed before it passed

Senate subcommittee

Named March 10, 2026. On March 12, 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

3 written public comments to its subcommittee: March 12, 2026 (1), February 5, 2026 (2) · on the Legislature’s site

Fiscal note

Cost: up to $43,000 Compare with other bills

The cost increase per individual is approximately $43,000 for prison admissions based on the increased LOS. In FY 2025, there was a total of 121 new prison admissions with an average LOS of 675 days. Under the Bill, the new LOS would be approximately 2,555 days. 2 million over the entire LOS. 8 with an average LOS of 1,314 days.

Final Fiscal Note — Sentencing Enhancements, Repeat Offenders · May 20, 2026 · $43,000
Sentencing Enhancements, Repeat Offenders · March 16, 2026
Sentencing Enhancements, Repeat Offenders · March 3, 2026

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§902.8 §902.9

Read from the bill as introduced. Each links to every bill touching that chapter of the Iowa Code. How the Code works

Lobbying

5 for · 17 against · 7 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.

Study bill

HSB 666Renumbered

91st General Assembly

HF 2542Became lawfrom HSB 666

Earlier and later bills are matched by wording or an identical title; check the text to be sure it’s the same idea.