House Majority Leader Bobby Kaufmann says there’s “a high level of interest” among House Republicans to respond to landowners who don’t want Summit Carbon Solutions to seize segments of their property for the company’s proposed pipeline.
Kaufmann was highly critical of Governor Reynolds decision six months ago to veto a bill that would have made it more difficult for Summit — and other companies — to use eminent domain for pipelines and other utility infrastructure. “Certainly I supported last year’s bill 1000%, but it was a big target for people to politically shoot at,” Kaufmann said during a recent Radio Iowa interview, “so I think you’ll see something very, very simple and very, very straightforward early on.”
Kaufmann isn’t predicting what proposal may come up for a vote, but he mentioned the law South Dakota’s governor signed in March that bans the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines. “I’ll take my majority leader hat off for a moment,” Kaufmann said, “and Representative Kaufmann 100% supports a South Dakota-style bill coming out of the House very soon.”
But Kaufmann indicated he’s polling his fellow House Republicans to determine what the group supports and he plans to meet with Governor Reynolds to discuss it. Kaufmann isn’t withdrawing his criticism of her pipeline bill veto. “On a scale of 1 to 100, my thoughts on that were about negative 2,000,000,000,” Kaufmann said, “but that does not take away from the good things she has done, the good things she will do and I’m happy to have a conversation with her at any time on any topic.”
Meanwhile, Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh will be introducing a bill to create a 10 mile zone around the proposed routes for utility infrastructure. Klimesh told Radio Iowa it would let developers find new paths to avoid properties owned by people who don’t want the project on their land, “and I think that’s where we find a place in Iowa where we all but eliminate the need to use eminent domain ever again.”
Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison said the proposal Klimesh is talking about “has no guarantee” that Summit would be prohibited from using eminent domain to seize property along the pipeline route. “They could get the expanded corridor and still use eminent domain and so that solution alone is not acceptable to us,” Holt said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “Now, if you want to talk to us about expanding the corridor and including language that says: ‘No eminent domain for the CO2 pipeline in the State of Iowa,’ then we could have the discussion.” Holt is among a group of House members who’ve worked on and passed several bills over the past few years to set up new regulations for carbon pipelines or even block the Summit project.
The minority leader in the Iowa House says Democrats will be engaged in trying to resolve the long-running debate over the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline. House Democratic Leader Brian Meyer told Radio Iowa it’s important to get a bill passed and signed by the governor in early 2026. “I believe that there is a way to get this done that will benefit every farmer in the state and also protect property rights,” Meyer said.
Meyer says “part” of the solution could be an idea touted last week by the Senate’s Republican Leader that would give developers more flexibility in changing a pipeline route. “You have to bring everybody to the table and unless you bring everybody the table and get consensus, it just is not going to work,” Meyer said. “There’s everybody all over the place on this thing. It’s not a partisan issue. Democrats, we’re happy to engage. We want a solution. We have friends on all sides of this. We want rural Iowa to succeed, but we want to protect landowners as well.”
Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner isn’t predicting what kind of a compromise package might emerge — but she said Iowans’ private property rights should never been infringed upon for a pipeline developer’s private gain. “We’re busy talking to various parties to see what the lay of the land is — pun not intended — as well,” Weiner told Radio Iowa. Weiner said if the disagreement among Republicans on the pipeline issue isn’t resolved quickly in 2026, she predicts it will be difficult for the legislature move on to other issues.
A dozen Senate Republicans forced a vote and joined Senate Democrats last spring to pass the pipeline bill that Governor Reynolds vetoed. The bill had easily passed the House on an 85-10 vote.
