On Tuesday, February 24, 2026 State Representative Taylor Collins guided House File 2242 through the Iowa House. The measure would freeze tuition and mandatory fees at the state’s three regent institutions for the next five years, aiming to address what he calls a college affordability crisis impacting Iowa students.
Collins says the state already appropriates more than 600 million dollars annually to the universities governed by the Iowa Board of Regents. He argues that despite that funding, administrative costs continue to grow.
According to Collins, the total regent enterprise budget — excluding the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics — now exceeds five billion dollars, which he says is more than half the size of Iowa’s overall state budget. He also noted that roughly one-third of regent expenditures currently go toward academic instruction.
Collins says the primary mission of the institutions is to educate students and prepare the workforce, adding that students deserve predictability when it comes to tuition costs.
House File 2242 passed the Iowa House with bipartisan support on an 86-to-5 vote. The bill now moves to the Iowa Senate for consideration.