H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 669.14A, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 1 2026, is amended to read as follows: 2 a. The right, privilege, or immunity secured by law , 3 including by the Constitution of the State of Iowa, statute, 4 or common law, was not clearly established at the time of the 5 alleged deprivation, or at the time of the alleged deprivation 6 the state of the law was not sufficiently clear that every 7 reasonable employee would have understood that the conduct 8 alleged constituted a violation of law. 9 Sec. 2. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. This Act applies 10 retroactively to claims brought on or after June 17, 2021. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 Under current law, an employee of the state that is subject 15 to a claim brought under Code chapter 669 (state tort claims) 16 is not liable for monetary damages if the right, privilege, 17 or immunity secured by law was not clearly established at the 18 time of the alleged deprivation or at the time of the alleged 19 deprivation the law was not sufficiently clear that every 20 employee would have known the conduct violated the law, or a 21 court issued a final decision holding that the conduct alleged 22 to be unlawful conduct was consistent with the law. 23 This bill provides that rights, privileges, or immunities 24 secured by law include the rights, privileges, or immunities 25 secured by the Constitution of the State of Iowa, statutes, 26 and common law. The bill is a response to the supreme court 27 of Iowa’s decisions in Montague v. Skinner, No. 24-1745 (Iowa 28 2026) and Estate of Kahn v. City of Clermont, 22 N.W.3d 252 29 (Iowa 2025). The court held in both cases that qualified 30 immunity for state employees provided in Code section 669.14A 31 does not apply to common law tort claims. 32 The bill applies retroactively to claims brought on or after 33 June 17, 2021, which is the original enactment date of Code 34 section 669.14A. 35 -1- LSB 6898YC (2) 91 lh/jh 1/ 1