Providing for a task force to address legal services for indigent parties

Where it is now

1. ✓
   Done: IntroducedJanuary 27, 2026
2. ✓
   Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 3, 2026
3. ✓
   Done: House committeeFebruary 12, 2026
4. ✕
   Stopped: Passes the HouseDied when the General Assembly ended
5. Next: Senate committeeFunnel: by March 20, 2026
6. Next: Passes the Senate
7. Next: To the Governor
8. Next: Signed into law

Died when the session ended The General Assembly adjourned on October 2, 2026. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?

What’s in it

This bill directs the judicial branch to establish a task force to investigate the statewide delivery of legal services to indigent parties in criminal, juvenile, and child abuse and neglect proceedings and to develop recommendations to improve service delivery, address public defender conflicts of interest, ensure competent representation, identify sustainable funding, and increase the number of qualified attorneys available to serve indigent Iowans. The required members of the task force are specified in the bill. The bill provides that for the period beginning July 1, 2026, and ending November 15, 2030, the task force must convene at least once per year. The bill requires the judicial branch to submit a report to the governor and the general assembly by November each year through 2030.

From the explanation printed with the bill as introduced, written by the Legislative Services Agency. Amendments adopted later aren’t reflected. Full bill text

Iowa Code it changes

Creates§602.1615

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

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.

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