The Hamilton County Growth Partnership’s legislative forum will be held this Friday at Briggs Woods Conference Center. State Sen. Dennis Guth, and state representative Shannon Latham have confirmed they will be in attendance.

The forum will be held Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A buffet lunch will be provided.

“This is an important opportunity for our members and community partners to engage directly with state leaders,” said Ottie Maxey, executive director of the Hamilton County Growth Partnership–HCGP.

The Iowa legislature is laser-focused on property tax reform and relief for this year’s legislative session, which convenes today. Debate on the topic will determine the amount of property taxes paid in the future by Iowa residents.

The public is invited to learn where things stand, by attending the HCGP’s legislative forum. Attempts to reform Iowa’s property tax laws have failed in previous legislative sessions due to disagreements on tax policy between Republicans and Democrats.

The Republicans hold a supermajority in the House and simple majority in the Senate. There has been a focus on eliminating or reducing the “rollback” by conservatives. The rollback is a device used for years to blunt the impact of tax increases in any given year. Changing the rollback, however, could dramatically increase taxes for some taxpayers.

Another goal has been to limit local government spending, which has been cited as reducing Iowa’s competitiveness in attracting, and keeping industry, but there’s been pushback from those who value local control of budgets and spending.

In her final Condition of the State address, Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to set forth a framework for property tax reform that could find support on both sides of the aisle.

For their part, Democrats want to see a 4% cap on annual property tax increases, and a freeze for taxpayers over age 65. They have also advocated more spending for retirement plans for police, fire and emergency response workers.

The legislative session won’t just be about property taxes. The matter of eminent domain will be debated, with a group of Republicans seeking a measure that would prohibit taking of private land for carbon capture pipelines. Other issues, such as Iowa’s poor water quality, a shortage of teachers in the fields of science, math, English and music and the lack of affordable housing all require solutions.

To attend the forum, you must pre-register online at https://amesalliance.com/upcoming event 2026-hc-legislative-session-kick-off. For more information or if you have questions, email Elizabeth Berg at elizabeth@amesalliance.com.

There is no charge to attend, and a free buffet lunch will be served. The forum begins at 11:30 a.m. and is expected to wrap-up by 1 p.m.