A bill for an act relating to and making appropriations for the economic development of the state, including to the economic development authority, Iowa finance authority, department of workforce development, and state board of regents and certain regents institutions, and codifying the housing renewal program. (Formerly HSB 773.) Effective date: 07/01/2026.
HF 2772 is the state’s economic development appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026-2027, and it also codifies a new housing renewal program. The measure funds the Economic Development Authority, Iowa Finance Authority, Department of Workforce Development, the Board of Regents, and selected regents institutions, while setting policy goals for economic growth, business recruitment and retention, entrepreneurship, tourism promotion, workforce training, and infrastructure development. It also includes targeted appropriations for the World Food Prize, arts and culture, insurance economic development, adult education and literacy, registered apprenticeships, biosciences innovation, manufacturing technology, and university-based commercialization and business development efforts.
A major policy component is the new housing renewal program in Division II. The program creates a housing renewal program fund administered by the Economic Development Authority and operated through a nonprofit Iowa affiliate that will award grants to eligible local governments and 501(c)(3) organizations. Funds must be used for acquisition, rehabilitation, resale, demolition of blighted structures, and redevelopment of ownership units, with 25% reserved for projects in the 88 least-populated counties. The program limits awards to $100,000 per ownership unit, caps administrative costs, requires income-restricted sales to households at or below 120% of area median income, and imposes a five-year resale restriction. The bill also repeals prior law related to the housing renewal program and makes the new structure the governing framework.
The bill affects state law primarily by setting FY 2026-2027 spending authority and by creating or modifying statutory programs and reporting requirements. It authorizes carryforward of unspent funds in several sections, directs specific allocations within broader appropriations, and requires multiple annual reports to the General Assembly on tourism, financial assistance, regents-funded economic development activities, and the housing renewal program. It also imposes employment eligibility conditions on certain economic development assistance recipients and recapture authority if a business knowingly employs unauthorized workers. In addition, it channels money through existing funds such as the Iowa skilled worker and job creation fund and the housing renewal program fund.
The general sentiment reflected in the voting history is mixed but ultimately favorable to the bill as a whole. The bill passed both chambers, though one chamber’s vote was notably closer than the other, suggesting some partisan or policy division over the package. Several proposed amendments failed, including attempts to suspend the rules to consider amendments and one amendment vote that was defeated by a wide margin, indicating limited support for changing the bill’s structure on the floor. No committee transcript was provided, so the available record shows legislative support for the overall appropriations package but disagreement over specific amendments.
The main points of contention appear to center on the scope and direction of economic development spending, the housing renewal program’s design, and the bill’s policy conditions. The employment authorization and recapture provisions may have drawn concern from members focused on labor and immigration compliance. The housing program’s use of a nonprofit intermediary, geographic set-asides, resale restrictions, and income limits could also have been debated as to whether they best target housing needs. More broadly, the failed amendment activity suggests disagreement over how the bill should be adjusted, even though the underlying appropriations and program structure were ultimately enacted.
HF 2772 appropriates general fund and special fund dollars for economic development, workforce, housing, tourism, arts, and regents-related initiatives for FY 2026-2027, and it creates a new statutory housing renewal program in Iowa Code section 16.52. It also imposes reporting, eligibility, and recapture requirements on recipients of certain economic development assistance, limits reversion of unspent appropriations, and repeals prior housing renewal provisions so the new program framework governs. The bill therefore expands and reorganizes state spending authority while adding new program administration and oversight requirements for the Economic Development Authority, Iowa Finance Authority, Department of Workforce Development, and regents institutions.
The bill appears to have had generally positive support as a broad economic development and housing package, but with meaningful disagreement on details. It passed both chambers, while several amendment-related motions failed, indicating that members were willing to support the overall bill but not necessarily proposed changes to it. The vote pattern suggests the bill was accepted as a compromise package, though not unanimously and not without resistance to specific provisions.
The most notable areas of contention were the bill’s policy conditions and the structure of its targeted spending. Opponents or skeptics likely focused on the employment authorization requirements tied to economic development assistance, the recapture provisions for businesses that knowingly employ unauthorized workers, and the use of a nonprofit intermediary for the housing renewal program. The housing program’s income restrictions, resale controls, and rural set-aside may also have been debated, as may the bill’s many earmarked appropriations for universities, tourism, arts, and specialized economic development initiatives. The failed amendment votes suggest there was active effort to alter the bill, but insufficient support to do so.