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STATE OF IOWA
KIM REYNOLDS
GOVERNOR
April 16, 2026
The Honorable Paul Pate
Secretary of State of Iowa
State Capitol
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Dear Mr. Secretaiy,
I hereby transmit:
House File 2500, an Act relating to contracts entered into by state agencies and including
applicability provisions.
The above House File is hereby approved on this date.
Sincerely,
Governor of Iowa
cc: Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House
STATE CAPITOL DES MOINES, IOWA 50319 515.281.5211 WWW.GOVERNOR.IOWA.GOV
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House File 2500
AN ACT
RELATING TO CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO BY STATE AGENCIES AND
INCLUDING APPLICABILITY PROVISIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. NEW SECTION . 8A.311C State purchasing contracts
— prohibited terms.
The provisions set forth in this section are void as a matter
of law as contrary to public policy if included in a contract
for the procurement of goods or services entered into by the
department or any other state agency pursuant to this part.
A state agency's contract that includes any of the following
provisions shall be interpreted as if the contract did not
include the void provision:
1. A provision that requires the state or its agencies to
defend, indemnify, hold harmless another person, or otherwise
assume the debt or liability of another person in violation of
Article VII, section 1, of the Constitution of the State of
Iowa .
2. A provision that seeks to impose vendor terms that
are unknown at the time of signing the contract or can be
unilaterally changed by the vendor.
3. A provision that violates chapter 13 by not allowing
a state agency to participate in its own defense through
representation by the attorney general.
House File 2500, p. 2
4. A provision that grants to any person other than the
attorney general the authority to convey to a court or litigant
the state's consent to any settlement of a suit involving the
contract when such settlement could impose liability on the
state .
5. A provision that specifies that the contract is governed
by the laws of a foreign state or nation.
6. A provision that claims blanket confidentiality of the
contract's terms.
7. A provision that claims that payment terms, including but
not limited to cost proposals or other pricing information, of
the contract are confidential.
8. A provision that authorizes or requires a venue for
litigation other than an appropriate state or federal court
sitting in Iowa.
9. A provision that requires a state agency to pay attorney
fees, court costs, or other litigation expenses in the event of
a contractual dispute.
10. A provision that imposes on the state or its agencies
binding arbitration or another binding extrajudicial dispute
resolution process in which the final resolution is not
determined by the state.
11. A provision that waives a state agency's right to a jury
trial .
12. A provision that obligates a state agency to pay a late
payment charge not consistent with section 8A.514, interest
greater than allowed under section 8A.514 or other applicable
law, or any cancellation charge, as such charges constitute
pledges of the state's credit.
13. A provision that obligates a state agency to pay a tax.
14. A provision that imposes a prior notice obligation on
a state agency as a condition for the automatic renewal of a
software license. A state agency may provide notice of its
intent to terminate a software license at any time before the
renewal date established in the contract.
15. A provision that obligates a state agency to accept risk
of loss before the receipt of items or goods.
16. A provision that obligates a state agency to have
commercial insurance.
House File 2500, p. 3
17. A provision that obligates a state agency to grant a
contractor full or partial ownership of intellectual property
developed pursuant to a state agency contract when the
intellectual property is developed in whole or in part using
federal funding.
18. A provision that limits the time in which the state or
its agencies may bring a legal claim under the contract to a
period shorter than that provided by Iowa law.
19. A boilerplate provision included in a vendor's
transactional documents, including but not limited to ordering
documents and quotations, that seeks to alter the terms of a
state agency's contract or to impose new terms in the contract.
Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 8A.311D State purchasing contracts —
required terms.
All of the following provisions shall be deemed to be
included in a state agency vendor contract:
1. Governing law. The contract shall be governed by
the laws of the state of Iowa, without giving effect to any
conflict of laws principles of Iowa law that may require the
application of another jurisdiction's law.
2. Venue. Any litigation commenced in connection with the
contract shall be brought and maintained in an appropriate
state or federal court sitting in Iowa.
Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 8A.311E State purchasing contracts —
waiver .
If the director determines that a necessary good or service
is impossible to procure due to a requirement of section
8A.311C or 8A.311D, the director may waive the requirement
to the extent necessary to obtain the good or service. A
state agency requesting a waiver shall, at a minimum, provide
sufficient evidence showing that the state will suffer an
interruption in business operations or other irreparable harm
if the state agency cannot procure the good or service, and
that the state agency has exhausted all reasonable steps to
prevent such harm, including attempting to procure substitute
goods or services. The director may require the submission of
additional evidence at the director's discretion. A waiver
must be as narrow as possible to allow the procurement of the
necessary good or service.
House File 2500, p. 4
Sec. 4. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to contracts
entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of this
Act .
vÆUa
PAT GRASSL, AMY SI
W
LAIR
Speaker of the House President of the Senate
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
is known as House File 2500, Ninety-first General Assembly.
Approved
MU Mm MEGHAN NELSON
Chief Cierk ofthe House
2026
KIM REYNOLDS (\
meg:
Governor