Bills › 91st General Assembly
Relating to the maximum weight of vehicles powered primarily by natural gas or electric battery, and making penalties applicable
Sponsored by the House Transportation Committee
Topics:Energy & utilitiesTransportation
Same legislation: HSB 134
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 6, 2025
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 6, 2025
- Done: House committeeFebruary 19, 2025
- Stopped: Passes the HouseDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: Senate committeeFunnel: by March 20, 2026
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- 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
Current law limits the maximum gross weight of a vehicle based on the highway on which the vehicle is operated and the number of axles and the distance between the axles on the vehicle. Generally, the maximum gross weight of a vehicle, including combinations of vehicles, is 80,000 pounds when operated on a highway in Iowa. Certain exceptions exist including but not limited to specially permitted vehicles and vehicles with six or seven axles while operated on noninterstate highways. Additionally, a motor vehicle equipped with an engine fueled primarily by natural gas may exceed the standard weight limit and is authorized to weigh up to 82,000 pounds, as long as the vehicle’s excessive weight equals the difference between the weight of the vehicle attributable to the natural gas tank and fueling system installed in the vehicle and the weight of a comparable diesel fuel tank and fueling system.
Read the full explanation
This bill strikes the requirement that the excessive weight be attributable to the power unit substitution and instead authorizes all such vehicles to weigh up to 82,000 pounds. The bill likewise authorizes a motor vehicle primarily powered by means of electric battery power to exceed any applicable gross weight limit, up to 82,000 pounds. A vehicle that exceeds the allowable weight based on its number of axles and the distance between the axles is subject to a scheduled fine. The scheduled fine ranges from $12 to $2,200 plus cents per pound in excess of 20,000 pounds over the limit.
From the explanation printed with the bill as introduced, written by the Legislative Services Agency. Amendments adopted later aren’t reflected. Full bill text
House subcommittee
Named January 20, 2026. On January 29, 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
Iowa Code it changes
Amends§321.463
Read from the bill as introduced. Each links to every bill touching that chapter of the Iowa Code. How the Code works
Lobbying
3 for · 0 against · 10 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
91st General Assembly
Earlier and later bills are matched by wording or an identical title; check the text to be sure it’s the same idea.
Tried before
This idea has been filed in an earlier General Assembly. None became law, though one got through a chamber.
- SF 2143 Relating to the maximum weight of vehicles powered primarily by natural gas or electric ba…90th General Assembly · Passed Senate · same titlePassed a chamber
- HF 2447 Relating to the maximum weight of vehicles powered primarily by natural gas or electric ba…90th General Assembly · Approved by committee · nearly identicalCleared committee
Matched by the wording of each bill’s explanation, or an identical title. Companion bills and renumbered versions of this bill aren’t listed; they’re the same bill.