About Funnel

How Funnel works

Where the information comes from, what Funnel works out on its own, and how following and alerts work.

Where it comes from

Funnel reads public sources on a schedule, from every 10 minutes during session to once a year for budget files, and links every page back to the official record:

The Legislature: bills, histories, amendments, votes, meetings, lobbyist declarations and fiscal notes.
The Iowa Data Hub: property tax rates, local budgets, sales tax and school finances from the Departments of Management, Revenue and Education.
Elections: county auditors’ and the Secretary of State’s results, civicAPI, and campaign reports from the Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and the FEC.
The Census Bureau: district maps and address lookups.

See About for the full list.

Labels you’ll see

In plain wordsA short summary written by an AI model from the Legislature’s official explanation. It can miss details; the official text is right below it.

EstimateWorked out by Funnel, not published by the government, such as vouchers by district before the state counted them, or money that follows open-enrolled students. The page says how.

IncomingWon the latest election and takes office in January; the current officeholder serves until then.

Today’s dollarsPast amounts adjusted for inflation to current prices, so years can be compared.

“Moving now”

Funnel ranks bills by how much happened to them in the last two weeks. More weight goes to steps that decide a bill’s fate:

Passing or failing a vote, being signed or vetoed: the most.
A floor roll call, a committee approving it, or going to the Governor: a lot.
A scheduled meeting or subcommittee: some.
An amendment, an organization taking a side, or someone new following it: a little.

Companion bills count once. It’s a measure of activity, not importance: a bill can be quiet for weeks and then pass in a day.

Report cards

AttendanceShare of the chamber’s roll calls where they voted yes or no, rather than being absent, excused or voting present.

With their partyShare of their votes that matched most of their own party on that roll call.

Bills sponsoredBills (HF, SF and joint resolutions) with their name as a sponsor. Committee bills belong to the committee, so they don’t count.

Became lawHow many of those were signed, counting a companion bill that passed in their place.

Amendments adoptedOf the amendments they sponsored that got a vote, the share that passed.

Each number is compared with the chamber average and ranked among members who cast votes that Assembly. Leaders and committee chairs often sponsor less themselves, and members in the minority pass fewer bills, so read the numbers with that in mind. Report cards update hourly during session.

Who votes alike

For every pair of members in a chamber, Funnel counts the roll calls they both voted on and how often they voted the same way. Only yes and no votes count, and a pair needs 20 shared votes to get a score. A legislator’s page lists the colleagues they vote most and least like, and the closest across the aisle.

Most votes in the Legislature are lopsided or unanimous, so even members of opposite parties often agree more than half the time. The differences that matter show up on the close votes.

Who holds local offices

Local officials are worked out from election results: every member whose term is still running, since most boards are staggered. Appointments to fill a vacancy, and titles like a mayor chosen by the council, are added by hand. If something looks wrong, check the city, county or school district’s own website, and let us know.

Following things, alone or together

You can follow a bill, legislator, committee, district, topic, organization or keyword and get alerts right away, in a daily digest or weekly. A shared watchlist does the same for a group: anyone with the invite link can join, editors add and remove items, and each member picks their own alert frequency. Members see each other only by the name they choose. Save your address on My government to see everyone who represents you.