Rozenboom hopes legislature takes a less-is-more approach to 2026 session

Editor’s note: The following is a part of a series of stories covering the priorities of lawmakers who represent Jasper County communities. The issues covered do not represent all of what legislators want to accomplish but merely a small handful of what they consider top priorities in the coming year.

State Sen. Ken Rozenboom believes Iowa is “in pretty good shape” and might find more success with less laws on the books than more. It is a sentiment he shared with Jasper County constituents back in early 2025. Despite there being a few months left in session, the legislature introduced a record number of bills.

Iowa lawmakers introduced more than 2,000 bills last year. It is because of this, one of Rozenboom’s priorities — or, rather, hopes — for next session is for fewer bills to be drafted and proposed. However, Rozenboom conceded to Newton News in a recent phone interview that “nobody listened” to him last year.

“And they probably won’t listen to me this year either,” he said.

Rozenboom quipped there are not that many good ideas to warrant hundreds of bills and even thousands of bills from the House and Senate.

The representative of Senate District 19, which includes Jasper County, said lawmakers file bills for a number of reasons. Not all of them are good bills, and a good many more aren’t for good reasons. Rozenboom said some lawmakers file bills to make a statement and get on their soapbox. It is a political move.

Oftentimes those bills generate headlines and rouse public discussion online or in town halls, but that will be as far as they go. Other times representatives may be following through on a request from a constituent, and Rozenboom said that is fine. But the state senator has grown tired of statement bills.

“Let’s just knock off the games and govern, and govern fairly and try to keep Iowa Code from getting any bigger,” Rozenboom said.

Why is the “less-is-more” approach a priority for Rozenboom? The Republican lawmaker said it is because he is a “small government guy” and he does not want to see the Iowa Legislature turn into the U.S. Congress. Rozenboom said it is improper to use the legislative process to further personal goals.

“That speaks to everybody, including me,” Rozenboom said. “We all have our passions, and that’s fine. But we have to be careful of doing things that seem to make sense in the moment and then there’s the unforeseen and unexpected consequences.”

Continuing to add page after page to Iowa Code, he added, burdens the court system and Iowans; creating more regulations can quickly get out of control.

“It’s just not necessary to use the legislative process for everyone’s pet peeve.”

BALANCING THE BUDGET AMID POOR FARM ECONOMY

Another priority for Rozenboom is to pass a balanced budget. It is the No. 1 item lawmakers are tasked with every year. Rozenboom said lawmakers should start with education funding early because it accounts for the largest portion of the state’s budget and it also impacts other areas.

Balancing the budget is a challenge every year, but Rozenboom said it is going to be even tougher than normal in 2026. He pointed to a struggling farm economy as a major factor. And he also noted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act , which he supported, has “some pretty serious ramifications” for state budgets.

“I think that’s going to cost the state some revenue,” he said. “I just can’t very well define that right now.”

The blow to the state’s farm economy comes at a time when weather was near perfect for the growing season and yield numbers ranged from acceptable to high for many farmers. It would have been a perfect year had it not been for the outright terrible crop markets. Margins are tight. Farmers need more demand.

Tariffs haven’t made farmers’ jobs easier either. Rozenboom admitted as much. Trades with China over soybeans do not look promising at the moment.

“It’s been a tough go for agriculture,” he said. “Now, cattle producers are doing well … So it’s not across the board but it is still an area of concern.”

STRENGTHEN EMINENT DOMAIN PROTECTIONS

Rozenboom also wants to move on from last year’s “elephant in the room”: the carbon pipeline and the issue of eminent domain.

He still believes lawmakers can make improvements to Iowa’s eminent domain laws. Those ideas, he added, were out there a year ago but were not accepted by people who just wanted to shut down the pipeline. Rozenboom argued that was poor motivation, and lawmakers should have taken a more balanced view.

Rozenboom suggested he has complicated feelings about the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline. He did not support House File 639, which was ultimately vetoed by the governor. The bill increased insurance requirements for pipelines and limited carbon pipeline permits to 25 years, among other things.

The bill also made it more difficult for projects to use eminent domain, which is a process that allows governments to use or take private property for public usage.

“(House File 639) made some changes to eminent domain but its primary purpose — which I just suggested — was to shut down the pipeline or carbon pipelines,” Rozenboom said. “My view on that is we need to upgrade, update, strengthen our eminent domain laws.”

But it should not be motivated by “the cloud of this pipeline issue,” Rozenboom added; it should be done in a thoughtful way because it has influence on many other projects that have nothing to do with carbon pipelines. If lawmakers pursue this topic again, Rozenboom wants the focus to be on eminent domain.

“I also think we need to allow the current pipeline project to continue,” he said.

Rozenboom believes corn farmers will suffer greatly from canceling the carbon pipeline project, and the tax credits will go to other people and other projects. He also worried blocking a pipeline project that began under existing state law by changing current laws would subject Iowa to a massive lawsuit.