Filed April 30, 2026 in the House by
What it changes
- Page 1, line 20, by striking “11,837,266” and inserting “11,672,266”
- Page 1, after line 21 by inserting: “The appropriation in this lettered paragraph shall be increased by $165,000 if 2026 Iowa Acts, Senate File 639, is not enacted.”
- Page 1, line 35, by striking “$150,000” and inserting “$225,000”
- Page 8, line 2, by striking “6,380,000” and inserting “6,275,000”
- Page 8, after line 2 by inserting: “The appropriation in this subsection shall be increased by $105,000 if 2026 Iowa Acts, Senate File 639, is not enacted.”
- Page 17, line 11, by striking “3,660,000” and inserting “3,430,000”
- Page 17, after line 11 by inserting: “The appropriation in this subsection shall be increased by $230,000 if 2026 Iowa Acts, Senate File 639, is not enacted.”
- Page 19, after line 32 by inserting: “DIVISION ___ ATTORNEY LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM —— COURT FILING FEES Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 256.232 Attorney loan repayment program —— fund.
- Program established. The college student aid commission shall establish an attorney loan repayment program to encourage attorneys to remain and practice law in this state.
- Eligibility. An individual is eligible to apply to enter into a program agreement with the college student aid commission pursuant to subsection 3 if the individual meets all of the following requirements: a. Is a graduate of an accredited law school within five years of the time of application to the program. b. Is licensed to practice law in Iowa. c. Is practicing law in Iowa at the time of application or -1- H 8414.4430 (2) 91 as/ns 1/ 9 commits to begin practicing law in this state upon execution of a program agreement.
- Program agreements. An agreement must be entered into by an eligible attorney and the college student aid commission. Under the agreement, to receive loan repayments pursuant to subsection 5, an eligible attorney shall agree to and fulfill all of the following requirements: a. Remain and practice law in Iowa in the area designated pursuant to the attorney’s preference determination during each year for which loan repayment assistance is received. b. Provide not less than the number of hours per year of legal services as an indigent defense attorney as designated pursuant to the attorney’s preference determination.
- Priority. a. In awarding loan repayment assistance under this section, the commission shall give priority to attorneys who practice law in this state in the following order, with preference within each of the following subparagraphs to attorneys who graduated from an Iowa law school, an Iowa high school, or completed private instruction pursuant to chapter 299A: (1) Attorneys who reside and practice law in rural areas of the state and provide a minimum of fifty hours of indigent defense services annually. (2) Attorneys who practice law in rural areas of the state and provide a minimum of one hundred hours of indigent defense services annually. (3) Attorneys who practice law in Iowa and provide two hundred hours of indigent defense services annually. b. For purposes of this subsection, “rural area” means a county or municipality that has a population of less than twenty-six thousand and is located more than twenty miles from a city with a population of at least fifty thousand, based on the most recent federal decennial census.
- Loan repayment assistance. An eligible attorney who enters into and remains in compliance with a program -2- H 8414.4430 (2) 91 as/ns 2/ 9 agreement pursuant to subsection 3 shall receive loan repayment assistance in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars per year or the outstanding balance of the attorney’s eligible loans, whichever is less. In the event an attorney who receives loan repayment assistance under this section ceases to practice law in accordance with the program agreement, the loan repayment assistance shall terminate immediately, the loan repayment assistance shall be prorated for the months the attorney complied with the agreement, and no further payment shall be made. Loan repayment assistance may be provided for each year of eligible practice during a period of not more than six consecutive years. The total amount of loan repayment assistance an attorney may receive under the program shall not exceed the total outstanding balance of the attorney’s eligible student loans at the time the program agreement is executed. For purposes of this subsection, “eligible loan” means the attorney’s total federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount under the federal family education loan program or the federal direct loan program, the attorney’s federal graduate plus loans, or the attorney’s federal Perkins loan, including principal and interest. Loan payment assistance received pursuant to this section is not subject to Iowa income tax.
- Trust fund established. An attorney loan repayment program trust fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the college student aid commission. The commission may accept gifts, grants, bequests, and other private contributions, as well as state or federal moneys, for deposit in the fund. All moneys deposited in the trust fund are appropriated and made available to the commission to be used for purposes of meeting the requirements of this section. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund shall not revert but shall remain available for purposes of this section and to provide loan repayment assistance to attorneys in this state. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the -3- H 8414.4430 (2) 91 as/ns 3/ 9 fund and are appropriated to the commission for purposes of administering the attorney loan repayment program under this section.
- Rules. The college student aid commission shall adopt rules to administer this section.
- Limitation. The program shall not provide assistance for more than twenty-five attorneys in a single year, and shall not provide assistance to more than one hundred fifty attorneys at any time.
- Repeal. This section is repealed July 1,
- Sec. ___. Section 331.424, subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraph (6), Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: (6) The maintenance and operation of the courts, including but not limited to the salary and expenses of the clerk of the district court and other employees of the clerk’s office, and bailiffs, court costs if the prosecution fails or if the costs cannot be collected from the person liable, costs and expenses of prosecution under section 189A.17 , salaries and expenses of juvenile court officers under chapter 602 , court-ordered costs in domestic abuse cases under section 236.5 , sexual abuse cases under section 236A.7 , and elder abuse cases under section 235F.6 , the county’s expense for confinement of prisoners under chapter 356A , temporary assistance to the county attorney, county contributions to a retirement system for bailiffs, reimbursement for judicial magistrates under section 602.6501 , claims filed under section 622.93 , sign language interpreters’ fees under section 622B.7 , uniform citation and complaint supplies under section 805.6 , and costs of prosecution under section 815.13 . Sec. ___. Section 422.7, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsection: NEW SUBSECTION .
- a. Subtract, to the extent included, income resulting from the payment of the amount of any loan repayment assistance received pursuant to section 256.232, whether paid to the taxpayer or the lender, not to exceed ten -4- H 8414.4430 (2) 91 as/ns 4/ 9 thousand dollars in any tax year. b. If the taxpayer has a deduction in computing federal taxable income under section 221 of the Internal Revenue Code for interest on a qualified education loan, the taxpayer shall recompute for purposes of this subsection the amount of the deduction under paragraph “a” by not subtracting any amount of income resulting from the loan repayment assistance received pursuant to section 256.232 that was also deducted by the taxpayer under section 221 of the Internal Revenue Code. c. A taxpayer is eligible to receive a deduction pursuant to this subsection for not more than six consecutive tax years in the taxpayer’s lifetime. Sec. ___. Section 602.8102, subsection 98, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
- Carry out duties relating to trials and judgments as provided in sections 624.8 624.9 through 624.20 and 624.37 . Sec. ___. Section 602.8105, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
- The clerk of the district court shall collect the following fees: a. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection , for filing and docketing a petition, one hundred ninety-five two hundred fifteen dollars. In counties having a population of ninety-eight thousand or over, an additional five dollars shall be charged and collected to be known as the journal publication fee and used for the purposes provided for in section 618.13 . b. For filing and docketing a petition for dissolution of marriage, which includes the docketing of any dissolution decree, two hundred sixty-five eighty-five dollars. It is the intent of the general assembly that twenty percent of the funds generated from these fees be appropriated and used for sexual assault and domestic violence centers and eighty percent of the funds generated from these fees be appropriated to the general fund of the state. c. For filing and docketing a petition pursuant to chapter -5- H 8414.4430 (2) 91 as/ns 5/ 9 598 other than a dissolution of marriage petition, one hundred ten thirty dollars. d. For filing and docketing an application for modification of a dissolution decree to which a written stipulation is attached at the time of filing containing the agreement of the parties to the terms of modification, one hundred ten thirty dollars. e. For filing and docketing a petition for adoption pursuant to chapter 600 , zero dollars. f. For filing and docketing a small claims action, the amounts specified in section 631.6 . g. For an appeal from a judgment in small claims or for filing and docketing a writ of error, one hundred ninety-five two hundred fifteen dollars. h. For a motion to show cause in a civil case, sixty eighty dollars. i. For filing and docketing a transcript of the judgment in a civil case, sixty eighty dollars. j. For filing a tribal judgment, one hundred ten thirty dollars. k. For a civil claim for reimbursement under section 356.7 , zero dollars.
- The clerk of the district court shall collect the following fees for miscellaneous services: a. For filing and entering any other statutory lien, sixty eighty dollars. b. For a certificate and seal, thirty fifty dollars. However, there shall be no charge for a certificate and seal to an application to procure a pension, bounty, or back pay for a member of the armed services or other person. c. For certifying a change in title of real estate, sixty eighty dollars. d. For filing a praecipe to issue execution under chapter 626 , thirty-five fifty-five dollars. The fee shall be recoverable by the creditor from the debtor against whom the -6- H 8414.4430 (2) 91 as/ns 6/ 9 execution is issued. A fee payable by a political subdivision of the state under this paragraph shall be collected by the clerk of the district court as provided in section 602.8109 . However, the fee shall be waived and shall not be collected from a political subdivision of the state if a county attorney or county attorney’s designee is collecting a delinquent judgment pursuant to section 602.8107, subsection 4 . e. For filing a praecipe to issue execution under chapter 654 , sixty eighty dollars. f. For filing a confession of judgment under chapter 676 , sixty eighty dollars if the judgment is five thousand dollars or less, and one hundred ten thirty dollars if the judgment exceeds five thousand dollars. g. For filing a lis pendens, sixty eighty dollars. h. For applicable convictions under section 692A.110 on or after June 25, 2020, a civil penalty of two hundred sixty dollars. i. Other fees provided by law. Sec. ___. Section 602.8108, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subsection: NEW SUBSECTION .
- a. The clerk of the district court shall remit to the state court administrator, not later than the fifteenth day of each month, all moneys collected from the filing and miscellaneous fees provided in section 602.8105, subsections 1 and 2, except moneys collected from the sex offender civil penalty in section 602.8105, subsection 2, paragraph “h” , shall be remitted and distributed pursuant to subsection
- The clerk shall report to the state court administrator the total number of fees that were paid, and the number of filing fees that were paid for dissolution of marriage pursuant to section 602.8105, subsection 1, paragraph “b” . b. The state court administrator shall total the number of fees reported pursuant to paragraph “a” each month and shall calculate the amount equal to twenty dollars multiplied by the -7- H 8414.4430 (2) 91 as/ns 7/ 9 number of fees that were paid statewide during that month. The state court administrator shall exclude from the number of fees, fees ordered pursuant to section 602.8105, subsection 2, paragraph “h” . c. Of the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph “b” , the state court administrator shall deposit fifty percent into the indigent defense fund established in section 815.11. d. The state court administrator shall deposit the remaining fifty percent of the amount calculated pursuant to paragraph “b” each fiscal year in the attorney loan repayment program trust fund established in section 256.232. e. Following the deposits required in paragraphs “c” and “d” , the state court administrator shall deposit the remaining filing and miscellaneous fee moneys received under paragraph “a” in the general fund of the state; provided, however, that filing fees paid pursuant to section 602.8105, subsection 1, paragraph “b” , for the dissolution of marriage, be appropriated as follows: (1) Through the close of the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, twenty percent of the moneys generated from these fees are appropriated and shall be used for sexual assault and domestic violence centers and eighty percent of the moneys generated from these fees shall be deposited in the general fund of the state. (2) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027, and for each fiscal year thereafter, twenty percent of the moneys generated from these fees are appropriated and shall be used for the sexual assault forensic examination center grant program established in section 915.47, if enacted by 2026 Iowa Acts, House File 2794, or another 2026 Act of the general assembly, and eighty percent of the moneys generated from these fees shall be deposited in the general fund of the state. Sec. ___. Section 631.6, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: a. Fees for filing and docketing shall be ninety-five one -8- H 8414.4430 (2) 91 as/ns 8/ 9 hundred fifteen dollars. Sec. ___. REPEAL. Sections 618.13, 622.93, and 624.8, Code 2026, are repealed. Sec. ___. APPLICABILITY. The following apply to fees paid on and after July 1, 2026:
- The section of this division of this Act amending section 602.8105.
- The section of this division of this Act amending section 602.8108.” ___. Title page, line 2, after “system” by inserting “, providing fees, and including applicability provisions””
- By renumbering as necessary.