The second funnel of the 2025 Iowa Legislative Session passed on April 4th.

House Representative for District 23 Ray Sorensen says that since it is the first session of this General Assembly, he’s not too torn about any bills that didn’t make it past the funnel, as they can be reworked and brought back in the second session of the assembly. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that as for bills that did make it past the second funnel, there are several from the Economic Growth and Technology Committee that he chairs.

Sorensen mentions that the first is House File 517, which establishes a vacant school building demolition grant program, allowing for communities across the state to tear down old school buildings that have become unsafe or unsightly, and redevelop the plot to grow the town one way or another, like building homes. He shares about the second bill that he’s glad passed from his committee.

“Another one is House File 550, which creates the Grocery, Reinvestment, and Local Produce Processing Grant Program. And that’s access to fresh food is a growing issue in many parts of Iowa, especially in smaller towns. This bill supports independent grocers and expands local food infrastructure by funding reinvestment in grocery stores and produce processing. We also included $2 million in funding for the next two years, showing our commitment to rural food security and Iowa-grown products.”

Sorensen explains that the final bill from his committee that he’s glad made it through the second funnel is Senate File 146, which looks to correct the growing problem of ticket bots by leveling the playing field and restoring fairness to the ticket buying process. He adds that these ticket bots currently flood online sources for event tickets, buying several tickets and driving up prices for the remaining ones, causing those that want to attend the event to spend more money than they originally would have.