A bill for an act relating to habitual offenders, and providing penalties. (Formerly HSB 666 .) Effective date: 07/01/2026

Crime

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Last action: 2026-05-20
Official status: Fiscal note .
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Law for Habitual Offenders and Penalties

This law changes the minimum sentences and penalties for habitual offenders who commit certain felonies.

What This Bill Does

Defines a habitual offender as someone convicted of a class C or D felony, with two previous felony convictions in any state or federal court.
Requires a person convicted of a third qualifying felony to serve at least seven years of their sentence without parole eligibility until they have served three years.
Limits the total confinement period for habitual offenders to twenty years.
Adds probation officer responsibilities to report violations to proper authorities.
Includes an offense that qualifies someone as a habitual offender under section 902.8 in the list of factors considered during sentencing.

Who It Names or Affects

People convicted of felonies who meet the criteria for being habitual offenders.
Probation officers responsible for reporting violations.

Terms To Know

Habitual offender: A person with multiple felony convictions, facing stricter penalties under this law.
Felony: A serious crime that can result in imprisonment for more than one year or death penalty.

Limits and Unknowns

The exact impact on the criminal justice system is not specified.
Details about how this law will be enforced and monitored are not provided.

Bill History

2026-05-20 Iowa Legislature
Fiscal note .
2026-05-13 Iowa Legislature
Reported correctly enrolled, signed by Speaker and President, and sent to Governor. H.J. 05/13 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Message from House. S.J. 991 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Immediate message. H.J. 1127 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Explanation of vote. H.J. 1159 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Passed House , yeas 66, nays 20. H.J. 1124 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Explanation of vote. H.J. 1159 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Amendment H-8470 , yeas 68, nays 18, adopted. H.J. 1123 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Senate amendment H-8470 filed. H.J. 1123 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Message from Senate. H.J. 1112 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Immediate message. S.J. 973 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Passed Senate , yeas 39, nays 6. S.J. 973 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Amendment S-5126 out of order. S.J. 973 .
2026-05-02 Iowa Legislature
Amendment S-5252 filed, adopted. S.J. 972 .
2026-03-26 Iowa Legislature
Placed on calendar under unfinished business. S.J. 659 .
2026-03-24 Iowa Legislature
Placed on calendar.
2026-03-24 Iowa Legislature
Amendment S-5126 filed. S.J. 640 .
2026-03-24 Iowa Legislature
Committee report, recommending amendment and passage. S.J. 640 .
2026-03-16 Iowa Legislature
Fiscal note .
2026-03-12 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee recommends passage.
2026-03-10 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee Meeting: [].
2026-03-10 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee: Bousselot, Dawson, and Knox. S.J. 550 .
2026-03-05 Iowa Legislature
Read first time, referred to Judiciary. S.J. 480 .
2026-03-05 Iowa Legislature
Message from House. S.J. 480 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Immediate message. H.J. 569 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Passed House , yeas 68, nays 23. H.J. 557 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Motion to defer, yeas 30, nays 63, lost. H.J. 556 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Amendment H-8120 , yeas 31, nays 63, lost. H.J. 556 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Amendment H-8116 adopted. H.J. 555 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Motion to suspend rules failed. H.J. 555 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Motion to suspend rules for immediate consideration of amendment H-8124 , yeas 33, nays 62. H.J. 555 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Point of order raised on amendment H-8124 , ruled not germane. H.J. 554 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Motion to suspend rules failed. H.J. 554 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Motion to suspend rules for immediate consideration of amendment H-8121 , yeas 31, nays 64. H.J. 553 .
2026-03-04 Iowa Legislature
Point of order raised on amendment H-8121 , ruled not germane. H.J. 553 .
2026-03-03 Iowa Legislature
Fiscal note .
2026-03-03 Iowa Legislature
Amendments H-8120 , H-8121 and H-8124 filed. H.J. 526 .
2026-03-03 Iowa Legislature
Amendment H-8116 filed. H.J. 525 .
2026-02-16 Iowa Legislature
Introduced, placed on calendar. H.J. 305 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to habitual offenders, and providing penalties. (Formerly HSB 666 .) Effective date: 07/01/2026

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

House

File

2542

-

Enrolled

House

File

2542

AN

ACT

RELATING

TO

HABITUAL

OFFENDERS,

AND

PROVIDING

PENALTIES.

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

Section

1.

Section

902.8,

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

902.8

Minimum

sentence

——

habitual

offender.

An

A

habitual

offender

is

any

person

convicted

of

a

class

“C”

or

a

class

“D”

felony,

who

has

twice

before

been

convicted

of

any

felony

in

a

court

of

this

or

any

other

state,

or

of

the

United

States.

An

offense

is

a

felony

if,

by

the

law

under

which

the

person

is

convicted,

it

is

so

classified

at

the

time

of

the

person’s

conviction.

A

person

convicted

of

a

third

qualifying

felony

shall

be

sentenced

as

a

habitual

offender

and

shall

serve

a

minimum

of

seven

years

of

the

sentence

imposed

by

law.

A

person

sentenced

as

an

a

habitual

offender

shall

not

be

eligible

for

parole

until

the

person

has

served

the

minimum

sentence

of

confinement

of

three

seven

years.

Earned

time

accrued

pursuant

to

chapter

903A

shall

not

reduce

the

minimum

sentence

of

confinement

of

seven

years.

Sec.

2.

Section

902.9,

subsection

1,

paragraph

c,

Code

2026,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

c.

An

A

habitual

offender

shall

be

confined

for

no

more

than

fifteen

twenty

years.

Sec.

3.

Section

907.2,

Code

2026,

is

amended

by

adding

the

following

new

subsection:

House

File

2542,

p.

2

NEW

SUBSECTION

.

3.

Probation

officers

shall

report

probation

violations

to

the

proper

authorities.

Sec.

4.

Section

907.3,

subsection

2,

paragraph

a,

Code

2026,

is

amended

by

adding

the

following

new

subparagraph:

NEW

SUBPARAGRAPH

.

(10)

An

offense

qualifying

the

defendant

as

a

habitual

offender

under

section

902.8.

Sec.

5.

Section

907.3,

subsection

3,

Code

2026,

is

amended

by

adding

the

following

new

paragraph:

NEW

PARAGRAPH

.

i.

A

sentence

imposed

pursuant

to

section

902.8.

______________________________

PAT

GRASSLEY

Speaker

of

the

House

______________________________

AMY

SINCLAIR

President

of

the

Senate

I

hereby

certify

that

this

bill

originated

in

the

House

and

is

known

as

House

File

2542,

Ninety-first

General

Assembly.

______________________________

MEGHAN

NELSON

Chief

Clerk

of

the

House

Approved

_______________,

2026

______________________________

KIM

REYNOLDS

Governor