The very first bill passed by the Iowa House in the 2026 Legislative Session sent a clear message — private property rights must be protected from eminent domain abuse. No issue has generated more passionate feedback from my constituents than this one. The connection Iowans have to their land runs deep.

For several years, the debate surrounding eminent domain and carbon capture pipelines has been at the forefront of state politics. Under my leadership, House Republicans have never wavered. We have tried various legislative avenues to protect your private property rights. This year, we got back to basics. House File 2104 explicitly stated that eminent domain cannot be used for the construction of carbon capture pipelines.

Let me be clear: our position is not anti-pipeline. Property rights do work both ways and there are many landowners who do want to see this pipeline built, citing the potential economic development and the expansion of the corn market that these pipelines could bring as reasons for their support. As a corn farmer myself, I understand the importance of opening new markets and supporting agricultural innovation. But, in my opinion, economic potential doesn’t justify the erosion of constitutional rights. Eminent domain must be exceedingly rare, reserved strictly for the true public good. Our goal has never been to tell these companies they cannot build in Iowa, but instead to say they must negotiate fairly with landowners, rather than relying on the heavy hand of government to seize what they want.

The party of big government — AKA the Democrats — talks out of both sides of their mouths on this issue. That’s easy to do when you sit squarely in the minority and bear no responsibility for actual governing. Seeing how clearly Iowans value their property rights, many Democrats have suddenly latched onto our ideas. But a look at their actual track record exposes the hypocrisy.

Historically, Democrats have never been the defenders of the American landowner. Where were Iowa Democrats when the Obama administration weaponized the Clean Water Act through the overreaching “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule? Democrats cheered as Washington bureaucrats tried to claim jurisdiction over simple ditches and dry creek beds on Iowa farms.

When conservation regulations are used to restrict how farmers can manage their own fields, Democrats consistently side with the regulatory state over the individual. Their political philosophy is rooted in the belief that government knows how to manage your land better than you do.

The fierce debates over the CO2 pipeline have taught us valuable lessons, and House Republicans applied that knowledge directly this session as we navigated the emerging hydrogen market. Under previous law, there were no landowner protections for hydrogen production. Your neighbor could drill and find hydrogen under your land and never even alert you, let alone pay you. Senate File 2490 establishes a 25% pooling standard. If your land is part of a production unit, you are legally entitled to your fair share of royalties — even if the physical well is on a neighbor’s property. SF 2490 also mandates surface damage agreements, ensuring farmers have a say in where equipment goes and how their soil is protected.

When the original bill arrived in the Iowa House, our caucus insisted on expanding these protections based directly on the feedback we received during the pipeline debate. We added robust amendments to ensure that once a landowner says “no,” a company cannot continue to harass them. Crucially, we also guaranteed that no corporate entity can set foot on your property to survey or drill without explicit permission.

I am proud to say that this legislation, reinforced by House Republicans to put landowners first, has been signed into law by Governor Reynolds. Whether dealing with established energy projects or emerging markets, so long as I am Speaker of the Iowa House, we will continue to fight for your private property rights. I look forward to working with my fellow Republicans in the Senate on this issue further.

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Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, is the

speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives.