Establishing the state public defender’s pilot project to implement innovative models of child welfare legal representation as the project to preserve families

Where it is now

1. ✓
   Done: IntroducedJanuary 27, 2026
2. ✓
   Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 27, 2026
3. ✓
   Done: Senate committeeFebruary 17, 2026
4. ✓
   Done: Passes the SenateMarch 23, 202647–0
5. –
   Skipped: House committeeSkipped
6. ✓
   Done: Passes the HouseFebruary 26, 202690–0
7. ✓
   Done: To the GovernorApril 9, 2026
8. ✓
   Done: Signed into lawApril 9, 2026

Became SF 2370 → Its progress continues under the new number. Go to SF 2370 What’s a funnel?

What’s in it

_____ the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. Under current law, the state public defender (SPD) may establish a pilot project to implement innovative models of legal representation to assist families involved in the child welfare system by implementing and studying ways to achieve positive outcomes for families, reduce trauma to young children, and deliver financial benefits to families and their communities. The SPD may implement the pilot project in up to counties throughout the state, and the pilot project expires on June 30, 2025.

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

Senate subcommittee

Named January 27, 2026. On February 11, 2026 it recommended passage.

• Sen. Jeff Taylor REmail
• Sen. Herman C. Quirmbach DEmail
• Sen. Tom Shipley REmail

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

Fiscal note

5 million annually to the Indigent Defense Fund once the PPF is fully implemented across the State. However, that estimate is compared to current law for FY 2027, in which the pilot program would be expired. The pilot program has been in operation since 2020, and therefore a portion of the cost savings under the Bill may be a status quo savings compared to previous fiscal years.

• Final Fiscal Note — State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · May 20, 2026
• State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · March 20, 2026 · $471,000
• State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · February 25, 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§13B.13

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.