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91st General Assembly · Iowa Funnel one-pager · Monday, November 9, 2026

SF 639: Creating a specialty business court, and including effective date provisions

Signed into law

What it does

This bill creates the business court of Iowa. The bill provides that the business court has jurisdiction over cases involving compensatory damages of $500,000 or more involving claims that arise from at least one of the following: technology licensing agreements; the internal affairs of business entities; breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation, or statutory violations between businesses; shareholder derivative actions or commercial class actions; commercial bank transactions; trade secrets or noncompete agreements; commercial real estate disputes; antitrust or securities-related actions; or business tort claims.

Sponsors

Ways and Means (successor To Ssb 1203) committee

Cost

Cost: up to $529,000

The total annual cost of Senate File 639 shown in Figure 1 is estimated to be approximately $441,000 in FY 2027 and approximately $529,000 in subsequent fiscal years. This cost estimate accounts for the hiring of one dedicated court reporter and the appointmen…

House subcommittee · named January 29, 2026

  • Rep. Carter F. Nordman (R) · carter.nordman@legis.iowa.gov
  • Rep. Shannon Lundgren (R) · shannon.lundgren@legis.iowa.gov
  • Rep. Elizabeth Wilson (D) · elizabeth.wilson@legis.iowa.gov

Lobbying · 5 for, 4 against

For: Casey's General Stores; Governor's Office; Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI); Iowa Bankers Association; Iowa Business Council

Against: Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers; Iowa Insurance Associates; Iowa Judicial Branch - Supreme Court; Iowa State Bar Association

In plain words

  1. April 22, 2025Filed in the Senate
  2. April 22, 2025Approved by the Senate committee
  3. April 28, 2025Cost estimate (fiscal note) posted
  4. April 28, 2025Passed the Senate, 50–0
  5. April 30, 2025Arrived in the House
  6. January 29, 2026House subcommittee named: Nordman, Lundgren and Wilson
  7. February 4, 2026Subcommittee recommended passing it
  8. April 21, 2026Approved by the House committee
  9. April 21, 2026Committee vote: 18–6
  10. May 2, 2026Passed the House, 79–6
  11. May 2, 2026Passed the Senate, 38–8
  12. May 18, 2026Sent to the Governor
  13. June 1, 2026Signed into law
  14. June 2, 2026Cost estimate (fiscal note) posted

From public records at legis.iowa.gov, compiled by Iowa Funnel (iowafunnel.com), an independent, nonpartisan site. Current as of Monday, November 9, 2026. https://iowafunnel.com/bills/91/SF639