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SF 396

A bill for an act relating to statutory corrections which may adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, remove ambiguities, and provide for Code editor directives.

2025-2026 Regular Session

Iowa bill making technical corrections to state code by removing conflicts, redundancies, and ambiguities; withdrawn after HF 381 substitution in April 2025.

Withdrawn.
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Bill Summary · SF 396

Legislative bill overview

SF 396 is a technical corrections bill that makes housekeeping changes to Iowa's legal code, including clarifying language, removing redundancies, fixing inconsistencies, and resolving conflicts between different statutory provisions. The bill was introduced in February 2025 but was withdrawn after being substituted by HF 381 in early April.

Why is this important

Statutory correction bills serve a critical housekeeping function by cleaning up accumulated errors and inconsistencies in state law that can create confusion for courts, agencies, and the public. While often considered routine, these corrections prevent legal disputes that arise from conflicting or ambiguous code language and ensure the law operates as intended.

Potential points of contention

  • Scope of "corrections": Disagreement over whether proposed changes are truly technical fixes or substantive policy modifications disguised as corrections
  • Transparency concerns: Critics may argue that bundling multiple corrections limits public scrutiny compared to individual bills
  • Unintended consequences: Correcting one provision could inadvertently affect related statutes in unexpected ways if connections aren't fully mapped

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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