Lobbying & Public Policy

We represent and advocate for clients before legislative and executive branch decision makers to obtain support for (or defend against) legislative and regulatory proposals. Supported by the firm’s full range of nationally recognized legal services, our attorneys work closely with clients to carefully draft legislation, develop grassroots programs and build coalitions on numerous matters. Both political parties are represented in our lobbying team.

Our Iowa Government Relations and lobbying team of attorneys have considerable prior experience in all three branches of state government, as well as service in county and city government.

Feb28

Ankeny Office Hours

9:00 AM to 10:30 AM

Mar01

Wilton Legislative Forum

9:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Mar01

Mar01

Des Moines Office Hours

10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Mar01

Webster City Eggs & Issues Forum

11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Mar01

Wapello Legislative Forum

11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Mar03

Osceola Legislative Forum

10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Mar03

Mar07

Greenfield Legislative Forum

11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Mar07

Waterloo Legislative Forum

4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Mar07

Cedar Valley Legislative Forum

4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Mar08

Arlington Legislative Forum

9:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Mar08

Davenport Legislative Forum

10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Mar08

Des Moines Townhall

10:00 AM to 11:15 AM

Mar08

Marion Legislative Forum

1:00 PM to 2:30 PM

Mar10

Cedar Rapids Breakfast Brief

9:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Mar15

Fairfield Legislative Forum

7:30 AM to 9:00 AM

Mar15

Hiawatha Legislative Forum

10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Mar22

Oskaloosa Eggs & Issues

8:30 AM to 9:30 AM

Mar22

Iowa City Legislative Check-In

9:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Mar28

Davenport Legislative Forum

7:30 AM to 9:00 AM

2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Five

Capitol Update New This Week. Newly elected Democratic Senator Mike Zimmer took the Oath of Office this past Monday. Zimmer was elected to fill the Senate seat previously held by Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer. In addition, Governor Reynolds set March 11th as the Special Election date to fill House District 100, a seat vacated by the sudden...
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2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Four

New This Week. Week 3 (last week) ended on a sad note with the sudden passing of Representative Martin Graber (R) on Friday, January 31st. The House didn’t gather in Des Moines on Tuesday of week 4 so that members could attend Representative Graber’s funeral. Graber, from Fort Madison, represented House District 100. He was first elected to serve...
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2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Three

Capitol Update New This Week. After Tuesday’s special election, a new State Senator will take the oath of office in Des Moines. Democrat Mike Zimmer, the Central DeWitt School Board president, won the seat for Senate District 35 in eastern Iowa. The district includes Clinton County and parts of Jackson and Scott Counties. Zimmer succeeds in the...
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2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Two

Capitol Update Monday was a very busy day in D.C. with the inauguration of our 47th President, Donald J. Trump (and former 45th President). It was also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and celebrations honoring Dr. King were held in Iowa and around the country. Hands-Free Legislation Passes First Subcommittee. Both the Senate and House are considering...
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2025 Government Relations Legislative Update - Week One

First Day. The first day of the 91st General Assembly began on Monday, January 13, 2025. The State Constitution directs that session be held annually commencing on the second Monday of January and the Iowa Code directs that the general Assembly convene at 10:00 a.m. It was an exciting day for the newly-elected and reelected legislators who took...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Fourteen

On Thursday, the first appropriations bill of the year passed one chamber. Kind of like seeing a robin in winter…you know that sine die (spring) is getting closer. This week also saw a lot of action in subcommittees and Appropriations Committees. Although the Senate and House have agreed within their Chambers on targeted amounts for the various...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Thirteen

The Senate was busy this week confirming Governor’s Appointees. Confirmations require a two-thirds vote of all Senators. This means that 34 of the 50 must vote to confirm. With 34 Republicans in the Chamber, confirmations were less contentious than they have been in the past. Senators vote to confirm either En Bloc or on an Individual basis. Some...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Twelve

State Budget. The final stages of the 2024 session took a big step forward on Thursday when House and Senate Leaders released budget targets. The Senate’s target is to limit expenditures to $8.872 billion for Fiscal Year 2025, the House has a higher budget number at $8.955 billion, and the Governor’s budget is at $8.919 billion. The next three...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Eleven

Week #11 ended with movement on one of the main issues of session, the Area Education Agencies (AEA) bill. One of the major priorities of the Governor, the AEA bill in different forms has passed the Senate once and now the House twice. On Monday, the Senate amended HF 2612, and sent it back to the House with a strike-after amendment. On Thursday,...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week 10

The past week was the second funnel week. Thursday was the last day of action at the Statehouse. The Senate did not debate and instead focused on Committee work. The House debated Monday through Wednesday. On Thursday, the House placed 31 bills on the Unfinished Business Calendar which means they will continue to be eligible for further...
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March 15, 2024 REC Summary

The Revenue Estimating Conference (“REC”) met Friday (3.15.24) as part of their standard schedule of meetings to estimate future state revenues. REC members Kraig Paulsen and Jennifer Acton welcomed Jeff Plagge to the panel as the new public representative. A summary of the information discussed during the meeting is below, along with the linked...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week 9

Capitol Update The second funnel deadline is next Friday. We expect to see mostly Committee work next week as bills that have not made it through the Committee in the other Chamber will be considered dead for the session, with exceptions. Even though a bill itself may be considered dead, ideas are not dead and can come back in the form of...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Eight

Capitol Update This week, many bills were debated in either the House or Senate and then passed onto their last stop in the legislative process. Each chamber must vote on the exact same language in order to finally pass the bill and have it become law. The Senate will often substitute a House File and vice versa during floor debate so the language...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Seven

Capitol Update The focus of the legislature this week turned toward Floor Debate. Mostly non-controversial bills were considered. According to Joint House and Senate Rule 20, during week #7 debate is limited to only Senate Files in the Senate and House Files in the House. The next two weeks of debate are not limited by that rule. Budget...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Six

Funnel week. Funnel week has come and gone and it was quite a week with 227 bills moving through Committees and 99 scheduled subcommittees. The purpose of the funnel is to “weed out” those bills that will not be given further consideration this session. The next major procedural deadline - the second funnel - is March 15. For a bill to be...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Five

The pace continued during week 5 with 164 bills scheduled for consideration in Committees and 165 scheduled for subcommittee discussions. Next week is funnel week - which means bills must be considered in a subcommittee and pass the Committee by next Friday. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule. Although based on the large numbers of bills...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Four

Capital Update Big news on Thursday with the Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Senator Dan Dawson and the House Ways and Means Committee Chair Representative Bobby Kaufmann jointly releasing a tax reform package that will consist of two different bills (SSB 3141 and SSB 3142). The Press Release states the following:  “The first bill...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Three

Capitol Update General Assembly Update. The third week of session was hectic with 176 subcommittee meetings scheduled. We expect this pace to continue as the first major funnel is fast approaching. By February 16, all bills must be voted out of the Committee of origin. That means the bill must be filed, subcommittee assigned, passed subcommittee,...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week Two

Capitol Update The second week of session picked up speed following Monday’s caucus events. On Wednesday the first “floor work” for the session was conducted. Both the House and Senate passed resolutions, SR 102 and HR 102, to recognize the term “brain health” as a term that may be used synonymously with the terms mental health, mental illness and...
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Government Relations Legislative Update - Week One

Capitol Update Iowa lawmakers returned to Des Moines on Monday to convene the second legislative session of the 90th General Assembly.  General Assemblies run in two-year cycles.  The second session is the shorter of the two, with the goal of sine die by April 16 this year.  Bills that were declared “dead” in the first session (2023) may be...
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SERVICES OFFERED:

Lobbying Services

We represent and advocate for clients before legislative and executive branch decision-makers to obtain support for (or defend against) legislative and regulatory proposals. Supported by BrownWinick’s full range of nationally recognized legal services, we work closely with our clients to carefully draft legislation, develop grassroots programs, and build coalitions on numerous matters. Both political parties are represented in our lobbying team.

Strategy Development

Clients are assisted in developing goals and effective strategies in support of their legislative and regulatory agendas. This includes arranging meetings with key elected officials and policymakers. Assistance is also provided in the development of effective and supportive public relations and media campaigns.

Legislative/Regulatory Drafting

Our team regularly drafts legislation and regulations to address our clients’ needs. BrownWinick assists clients in getting these legislative and regulatory proposals introduced before the appropriate governing body and in shepherding them through the approval process.

Tracking and Evaluation of Legislation

On-site personal attention, as well as the latest computer technology, are both used to monitor legislative trends and developments that likely affect clients and their interests. This work includes legal analysis and reporting on legislation as it moves through the lengthy process of hearings, committee meetings, floor debate, and consideration by the executive branch.

Ethics and Election Laws

Our team regularly works with and counsels clients to ensure compliance with applicable rules, laws, and ethical considerations on lobbying, campaign finance, and corporate political activity.

Political Activities
Practical recommendations are made to clients on the administration and development of political action committees. Such work includes providing proposals for the effective use of campaign contributions. Campaign contribution plans are also developed for clients without political action committees. Finally, we also assist with political campaigns and administer ballot issue campaigns.

Peer Recognition

BrownWinick’s Iowa Government Relations team has been recognized as a leader in the industry. Members of our team have been recognized in the peer evaluation platform, Super Lawyers, which only 5% of attorneys in a state can be recognized in Super Lawyers.

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Lobbying & Public Policy Attorneys

headshot of Douglas E. Gross

Douglas E. Gross

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headshot of Hannah Rupp

Hannah Rupp

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headshot of R.G. Schwarm

R.G. Schwarm

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Julie A. Smith

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