The policy was attached to the catchall "standings" budget bill in literally the final minutes of a 21-hour final day of the 2025 session of the Iowa Legislature.
Under the provision, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management could request reimbursement from local 911 service boards for "reasonable costs" related to call traffic to public safety answering points, or PSAPs. The local board would have 30 days to provide the reimbursement.
Two organizations representing first responders — the Iowa chapters of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the National Emergency Number Association — have expressed their concerns with the proposal and have asked Reynolds to use her veto pen.
Because the policy proposal is in a budget bill, Reynolds has the option to issue a line-item veto that would strike only that provision and leave the rest of the bill intact.
In a recent news release, the groups warned the provision "threatens to destabilize 911 operations across the state and compromise public safety for all Iowans."
"There are serious unintended consequences for every Iowan if this law takes effect," Chris Jasper, President of Iowa NENA, said in the news release. "Local 911 boards and dispatch centers already operate on razor-thin budgets. Surprise bills from the state could lead to staffing cuts, delayed equipment upgrades, and slower emergency response — especially in rural communities."
The provision is similar to legislation introduced prior to the session in a prefiled bill from the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The policy was introduced in House Study Bill 104, which was considered in a subcommittee hearing — the very first step of the legislative process in Iowa — but was not advanced.
Lawmakers arguing for the provision have pointed to some local 911 boards having large budget balances.
But critics of the proposal point out those large balances usually are in preparation for high-cost infrastructure improvement projects.
"The balances that are carried by these 911 centers are there for large projects that cost millions of dollars," Iowa Rep. Eric Gjerd, a Democratic lawmaker and Cedar Rapids police officer, said during the final moments of floor debate in the Iowa House in the early morning hours of Thursday, May 15.
"It might be a radio tower that needs to go up in a different part of the county to ensure that first responders can communicate with dispatchers," Gjerde said. "It might be radios that first responders need to have so that they don't have this little beep in their ear when they get to a rural part of the county. It might be the computer-aided dispatching systems that give the first responders directions to your location and your house when you are calling for an emergency, to make sure that they can get there quickly. All of that stuff costs millions of dollars."
Reynolds said Friday that people have reached out to her office about the provision, and that some have asked her to veto it. She and her staff are listening to stakeholders and researching the topic while she considers whether to sign the provision into law or veto it. She has until June 14 to decide.
"It's a critical system. We want to make sure that we sustain it. It's really important to keep Iowans safe," Reynolds said Friday while recording her appearance on an episode of "Iowa Press" on Iowa PBS. "A component of this also is that they're sitting on $66 million in surplus.
"So we have to take all of that into account and make sure we understand what their concerns are, what (the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management ) is looking at, and find a compromise that works for everyone — but most importantly, that keeps that system sustainable and make sure that we are taking into account the safety of Iowans."
The provision is in the "standings" budget bill, Senate File 659.
© 2025 The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
