Iowa House Moves Petition for Special Session to Override Veto of Pipeline Bill

The Iowa House of Representatives Tuesday secured the necessary two-thirds majority on a petition calling for a special session to override the governor’s veto of a bill pertaining to eminent domain and carbon sequestration pipelines.

Seventy representatives signed the petition in favor of returning to the state Capitol to override the veto on House File 639, but two-thirds of the Senate will also have to sign on for a special session to be called.

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House Speaker Pat Grassley called for the petition immediately following Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto of HF 639, which would have restricted the use of eminent domain for carbon sequestration pipelines and added a slew of additional requirements for pipelines and the regulator.

"This veto was a major setback for Iowa landowners and the tireless efforts of the House to safeguard property rights," Grassley said in a press release Tuesday. "With 70 members of the House standing united, we’ve met the constitutional threshold to move forward. We now call on our colleagues in the Senate to join us by securing the necessary signatures so we can convene a special session, override this veto, and deliver the protections Iowa landowners deserve against eminent domain for private gain."

Members of the House have pushed forward similar bills over the past several years. The 2025 session was the first time the Senate took up the issue, but only after a group of 12 Republican senators said they would not vote on budget bills until HF 639 was debated.

The bill is tied to opposition of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline which was granted a permit, and the right of eminent domain, by the Iowa Utilities Commission in June 2024. Landowners opposed to the pipeline feel the privately owned project should not have the power of condemnation and fear the impact of the pipeline on their land. The five-state pipeline would also pass through South Dakota, which has twice denied a permit for the project and has passed a law banning eminent domain for carbon pipelines.

The pipeline would connect to biorefineries and transport captured carbon dioxide to underground storage in North Dakota. This would give ethanol facilities and corn farmers access to the ultra-low carbon fuel market, which industry leaders say is needed to fuel the agricultural economy in the state.

The debate on the issue, and HF 639 in particular, has created rifts within the Republican Party of Iowa, with those in favor of the bill alleging their colleagues, including Reynolds, abandoned GOP values.

Those against the bill said it reached beyond its intended targets and would have caused unintended consequences to agricultural and energy infrastructure in Iowa.

A press release from Iowa House Republicans about the petition said Reynolds’ veto denied "critical protections" against eminent domain, was an "undermining" of years of legislative efforts and represented a "significant setback" for those who have fought for "fair treatment" in carbon capture projects.

House Republicans also urged the Senate to "act swiftly" to meet the petition requirements to call a special session.

Senate Republican leadership did not respond to requests for comment on the latest news, but Sen. Jack Whitver, R-Grimes, said last week the majority of his caucus would "not be interested" in pursuing a special session override.

Sen. Kevin Alons, R-Salix, who was one of the 12 holdouts on the Senate floor for debate on the bill, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Of the 30 representatives who did not sign the petition, 10 were Republicans and 20 were Democrats.