Bills › 91st General Assembly
Relating to selection committees for presidents of regents institutions
Sponsored by the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Annette Sweeney (R)
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 28, 2026
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 3, 2026
- Done: Senate committeeFebruary 17, 2026
- Stopped: Passes the SenateDied when the General Assembly ended
- Skipped: House committeeSkipped
- Done: Passes the HouseMarch 12, 202663–27
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2026 session adjourned on May 3, 2026, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary The state board of regents must now use a specific committee to help choose new presidents for Iowa's public universities. This committee will recommend a list of top candidates, and the board can only pick a president from that list. To help with the search, the committee can hire professional recruiters and keep the names of candidates private unless all committee members agree to share them.1
Read the official explanation
Under current law, the state board of regents may use a presidential selection committee when electing a president of an institution of higher learning under the control of the board. Only board members can serve as voting members of the committee. This bill requires the board to use such a committee and specifies committee membership. The committee must recommend the most well-qualified candidates considered by the committee to the board, which shall only elect a president from the recommended candidates. The bill authorizes a committee to contract for and use the services of any person engaged in the business of placing highly qualified job candidates in leadership positions and to use moneys allocated to the committee by the board. The bill provides that the identity of a candidate being considered by the committee shall be confidential for purposes of Code chapter (open records) and shall not be subject to public disclosure unless the identity of the candidate is made public by agreement of all voting members of the committee.
Changed since by amendment H-8003; see Amendments.
1 written public comment to its subcommittee: February 11, 2026 (1) · on the Legislature’s site
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