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STATE OF IOWA
KIM REYNOLDS
GOVERNOR
April 30,2026
The Honorable Paul Pate
Secretary of State of Iowa
State Capitol
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
Dear Mr. Secretary,
I hereby transmit:
House File 2523, an Act establishing the right of a parent or guardian of a minor child to
consent to and authorize certain medical services over the minor child's objection.
The above House File is hereby approved on this date.
Sincen
Kim Reyn/lds
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 2523
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE RIGHT OF A PARENT OR GUARDIAN OF A MINOR CHILD
TO CONSENT TO AND AUTHORIZE CERTAIN MEDICAL SERVICES OVER
THE MINOR CHILD'S OBJECTION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. Section 229.2, subsection 1, Code 2026, is
amended to read as follows:
1. a. An application for admission to a public or private
hospital for observation, diagnosis, care, and treatment as a
voluntary patient may be made by any person who is mentally ill
or has symptoms of mental illness.
b, (1) In the case of a minor, the minor's parent,
guardian, or custodian may make application for admission of
the minor as a voluntary patient.
-(-±^ (2) Upon receipt of an application for voluntary
admission of a minor, the chief medical officer shall provide
separate prescreening interviews and consultations with the
parent, guardian, or custodian and the minor to assess the
family environment and the appropriateness of the application
for admission.
—During the interview and consultation the chief medical
officer shall inform the minor orally and in writing that the
House File 2523, p. 2
minor hao a right to object to the admission.—If the chief
modical officer of tho hospital to which application io made
dQtorminoo that the admiasion is appropriate but the minor
objects to the admission,—the parent, guardian, or custodian
muot petition the juvenile court for approval of the admission
before the minor is actually admitted.
—A3 soon aa ia practicable after—the filing of a
petition for juvenile court approval of the admission of the
minor^ the juvenile court shall determine v?hothor the minor
has an attorney to represent the minor in the hoopitaliaation
proceeding,—and if not,—the court shall assign to the minor
an attorney.—If the minor is financially unable to pay
for an attorney,—the attorney shall be compensated by an
administrative services organisation at an hourly rate to be
eotablished by the administrative services organiaation in
substantially the same manner as provided in section 815.7.
—Tho juvenile court shall determine whether the
admission is in the best interest of tho minor and is
conoiotent with the minor^s rights.
—Tho juvenile court shall order hospitaliaation of a
minori—over the minor^s objections,—only after a hearing in
which it io shown by clear and convincing evidence that;
—The minor needs and will aubotantially benefit from
treatment»
—No other—setting which involves less restriction of the
minor*3 libertieo is feasible for the purposes of treatment.
-<-6^—Upon approval of the admission of a minor over the
minor's objections^ the juvenile court shall appoint an
individual to act as an advocate representing the interests of
tho minor—in the oamo manner as an advocate reprooonting the
interests of patients involuntarily hospitalized pursuant to
section 229.IQ,
Sec. 2. Section 229.6A, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2026, are
amended to read as follows:
1. Notwithstanding section 229.11, the juvenile court has
exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings concerning
a minor for whom an application is filed under section
229.6 or for whom an application for voluntary admission is
made under section 220.2,—subsection 1,—to which the minor
House Pile 2523, p. 3
objoctfl. In proceedings under this chapter concerning a minor,
notwithstanding section 229.11, the term ^^court", ^judge", or
^clerk" means the juvenile court, judge, or clerk.
3. It is the intent of this chapter that when a minor is
involuntarily or voluntarily hospitalized_£_ or hospitalised
with juvenile court approval over the minor's objection the
minor's family shall be included in counseling sessions offered
during the minor's stay in a hospital when feasible. Prior
to the discharge of the minor^, the juvenile court may, after
a hearing, order that the minor's family be evaluated and
receive therapy ordered if the juvenile court finds therapy is
necessary to facilitate the return of the minor to the family
setting.
Sec. 3. Section 601.1, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended
to read as follows:
2. Subject to section 147.164, a parent or guardian
bears the ultimate responsibility, and has the fundamental,
constitutionally protected right, to make decisions affecting
the parent's or guardian's minor child, including decisions
related to the minor child's medical care, moral upbringing,
religious upbringing, residence, education, and extracurricular
activities.
b. A parent or guardian of a minor child may consent to and
authorize the minor child's evaluation, counseling, therapy,
rehabilitation service, medication management, outpatient
treatment, inpatient treatment, or prescreening interview
and consultation for inpatient treatment for a substance use
disorder as defined in section 125.2, or a mental health
condition. A parent's or guardian's consent and authorization
under this paragraph shall be effective over any objection to
the consent and authorization by the minor child.
c. This subsection shall not be construed to require a
mental health care professional as defined in section 228.1, or
a facility as defined in section 125.2, to provide treatment
to a minor child if the mental health professional or facility
determines that treatment is not appropriate, the criteria to
admit the minor child for treatment has not been met, or the
mental health professional or facility is otherwise unable to
treat the minor child.
House File 2523, p. 4
cf» Any and all restrictions of this right the rights
described in this subsection shall be subject to strict
scrutiny.
PAT GRASSL^ AMY SINCL^R
Speaker the House President of the Senate
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
is known as House File 2523, Ninety-first General Assembly.
ME NELSON
Ch EifcleikVof the House
Approved , 2026
Governor