Josh Turek

His bill making Medicaid pay for repairs to complex wheelchairs and mobility equipment cleared a House subcommittee 3-0, then died without a floor vote.

February 1, 2024Supports Healthcare Affordability

Source: legis.iowa.gov · researched August 6, 2026

Voted for Senate File 2480, which taxes and regulates electronic cigarettes and other nicotine products that contain no tobacco. A new tax of five cents applies to each container of up to twenty units of an alternative nicotine product, and five cents to each milliliter of vaping solution containing nicotine. The money goes to the state health care trust fund. The act also tightens who must hold a license to sell these products and what licensees must do. The Iowa House passed it 67-18, and it became law.

May 2, 2026Supports Environment and Public Health

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted for Iowa's illegal-reentry law, which created state crimes for some people previously denied admission to or removed from the United States.

March 19, 2024Opposes Immigration

Source: legis.iowa.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Voted for House File 546, which would have set a minimum bond of $100,000 at the first court appearance for six violent or gun crimes when the arrest is made on a warrant. They were attempted murder, assault with a weapon, willful injury, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent, and gun possession by a felon. People arrested for these crimes also could not be released under the standard bail schedule used when courts are closed. The Iowa House passed it 64-31, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 12, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against Iowa's education-savings-account law, which created state-funded accounts for private-school expenses.

January 23, 2023Opposes Social Programs and Welfare

Source: legis.iowa.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Voted against an Iowa education law restricting instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation and requiring schools to notify parents when students requested different names or pronouns.

April 4, 2023Supports Civil Rights

Source: politifact.com · researched August 18, 2026

Voted for House File 2529, which would have required makers of diesel farm equipment to give owners the repair information, software updates, replacement parts, and diagnostic tools for the machine's diesel exhaust fluid system on the same terms they offer their authorized dealers. That system uses a fluid to cut nitrogen oxide pollution. Makers could not require their approval before a part or tool is used. Breaking the rules would have been an unfair trade practice, and contract terms waiving them would have been void. The Iowa House passed it 57-33, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 2, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Received former President Barack Obama's endorsement in the 2026 Iowa U.S. Senate race.

July 29, 2026

Source: apnews.com · researched August 18, 2026

Received Iowa state Representative J.D. Scholten's endorsement after Scholten ended his U.S. Senate campaign.

August 18, 2025

Source: kcci.com · researched August 18, 2026

Became ranking member of the Iowa House Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

January 13, 2025

Source: legis.iowa.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Won his second Paralympic gold medal with the U.S. men's wheelchair basketball team at the Tokyo Games, after gold in Rio and bronze in London.

September 5, 2021

Source: teamusa.com · researched August 6, 2026

Voted against House File 2788, which adds rules for abortion drugs. Before any abortion, a doctor must examine the woman in person and screen for signs of coercion or abuse, and before prescribing abortion drugs must get her signed consent on the federal patient form. The drugs may be dispensed only in a health care setting, directly to the woman, except in a medical emergency. An unlicensed person who dispenses them another way can be sued for damages, while licensed providers who break the rules face license discipline instead. Miscarriage care and treatment of an ectopic pregnancy do not count as abortions, and an older fetal-heartbeat chapter that a newer chapter replaced is repealed. The Iowa House passed it 58-29, and it became law.

May 1, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 9, 2026

Voted against Senate File 473, which bars the state from ruling out a foster or adoptive parent because of that person's religious or moral beliefs about sexual orientation or gender identity. The health and human services department may not require a foster parent, a kinship caregiver or a prospective adoptive parent to affirm or support a policy on those subjects that conflicts with those beliefs. It also may not refuse to license or approve someone, or rule the person out as a placement, on that ground. That protection covers a stated intent to raise a child in line with those beliefs. The Iowa House passed it 58-34, and it became law.

April 20, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 2254, which bans noncompete clauses at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The board of regents must adopt a policy barring the hospital from putting a noncompete clause in a contract with a doctor, physician assistant, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, nurse practitioner or pharmacist. A noncompete clause limits where a worker may work after leaving the job, so staff who leave can now keep treating patients nearby. The ban covers contracts signed, renewed or extended after the act took effect. The Iowa House passed it 70-20, and it became law.

April 13, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 571, which creates the Medical Ethics Defense Act. A doctor, nurse, hospital or other provider may refuse to take part in a health care service that goes against their conscience, meaning their ethical, moral or religious beliefs. For an institution, conscience is read from its own governing documents. Hospitals must still provide emergency care required by federal law. A provider who refuses in good faith is immune from civil liability, criminal penalty and licensing discipline. The act also shields providers who report unsafe conditions, adds free speech protections, and lets a provider sue anyone who interferes with these rights. The Iowa House passed it 63-27, and it became law.

March 23, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 2487, which would have given the attorney general new power to enforce Iowa's existing ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and practices in state and local government and at public colleges. The attorney general could investigate, demand records by subpoena, and hire outside lawyers, with the government body or college paying their fees. By fall 2028 the Board of Regents would also have had to review required university courses for such content and could order them dropped. The Iowa House passed it 62-27, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 12, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 2329, which raises the interest that licensed lenders may charge on regulated loans. Iowa capped the rate on a sliding scale that fell as the balance grew, from three percent a month on the first one hundred fifty dollars to one percent a month on any balance over seven hundred dollars. The act strikes that scale and sets one cap of three percent a month on the whole balance. It also changes the service charge on a consumer credit transaction from the lesser of ten percent of the amount financed or thirty dollars to the lesser of three percent or one hundred dollars. The Iowa House passed it 62-29, and it became law.

March 12, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 2557, which would have said that raising a child in a way consistent with the child's sex is not child abuse or child endangerment. That covered using names and pronouns that match the child's sex, seeking counseling to help the child live consistent with it, and refusing consent to gender transition care. The state could not deny a foster care license or an adoption for that reason, and a court could not count it against a parent in a custody case. The Iowa House passed it 65-31, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 4, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 2718, which would have barred state and local agencies and police from enforcing any red flag law, including federal orders. The bill defined a red flag law as any order or rule that takes guns from, or bars guns for, someone not convicted of a violent felony or otherwise disqualified under Iowa law. Agencies could not take federal money to enforce such laws. An agency whose officer knowingly enforced one would have faced a $50,000 civil penalty for each case and could have been sued. The Iowa House passed it 67-29, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 4, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 2711, which removes affirmative action from Iowa law. It strikes the state's policy of applying affirmative action to correct problems in state hiring, along with the affirmative action plans and reports required of state agencies, the board of regents, the judicial branch, school districts, area education agencies and community colleges. Similar requirements for the law enforcement academy and the board of medicine also go. The bar on denying anyone a public job because of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability stays in place. The Iowa House passed it 64-29, and it became law.

March 4, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted for an Iowa sentencing-enhancement bill imposing longer terms for certain repeat felony convictions.

March 4, 2026

Source: legis.iowa.gov · researched August 18, 2026

Voted against House File 2102, which would have required every Iowa driver's license test to be given in English. The state and the private testers it uses could no longer test an applicant in another language. The bill took driver's license tests out of an exception to Iowa's law that makes English the official language of state business. The Iowa House passed it 58-30, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

February 26, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 2527, which shields farms, fuel makers, ethanol plants and other businesses from lawsuits over harm to the climate from their greenhouse gas emissions. A person suing must name each gas and prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the harm came directly from the business breaking a specific emissions limit or permit. Without that proof, no court may award damages or any other relief. The Iowa House passed it 66-24, and it became law.

February 26, 2026

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 9, 2026

Voted against Senate File 615, which requires most adults on the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, the state's Medicaid expansion, to work at least 80 hours a month to keep coverage. People under 19 or over 64, people with a disability or who are medically frail, parents of a child under six, high-risk pregnant women and people on unemployment benefits are exempt. The state must seek federal approval first. The act also lets a couple in the Medicaid program for working people with disabilities keep up to $21,000 in savings instead of $10,000. The Iowa House passed it 56-30, and it became law.

May 14, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 9, 2026

Voted against House File 856, which bars state agencies, local governments, universities and community colleges from spending any money on diversity, equity and inclusion offices, officers or programs. It defines those programs to include efforts to favor people by race, sex, color or ethnicity, and trainings on ideas such as unconscious bias or systemic oppression. Teaching, research, student groups, health services and legal compliance offices are not covered. Any person may report a violation to the attorney general, who may sue to stop it. The Iowa House passed it 59-32, and it became law.

May 13, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 9, 2026

Voted against House File 516, which tries to keep more doctors in Iowa. The Board of Regents must require that at least eighty percent of the students admitted to the University of Iowa's medical and dental schools be Iowa residents or come from an Iowa college. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics must give priority for residency and fellowship places to applicants who live in Iowa, earned an Iowa undergraduate degree, or earned a medical degree in Iowa. Primary care residents must also be offered a rural rotation. The Iowa House passed it 61-30, and it became law.

April 22, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 767, which changes Iowa's private sector drug testing law in employers' favor. A safety-sensitive job, where an employer may test at random, is now any job the employer designates as one where an accident could kill or seriously injure someone, rather than a job that in fact fits that description. Employers may hand over test results in person or send them electronically if the worker agrees, instead of only by certified mail. The act also narrows who can be sued for breaking the law from any person to the employer alone. The Iowa House passed it 60-32, and it became law.

March 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 792, which would have made it first-degree murder to unlawfully give someone fentanyl that causes that person's death. First-degree murder carries life in prison without parole. It would not have been a defense that the person who died chose to take the drug. The Iowa House passed it 69-27, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 26, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 946, which would have added a penalty for police officers and sheriffs who knowingly refuse to follow Iowa's immigration enforcement law. That law requires local jails to honor federal requests to hold people for immigration officers and bars local policies that limit immigration enforcement. The attorney general would have investigated such an officer and given the officer a chance to comply. An officer who still refused could have been referred for loss of the officer's state police certification. The Iowa House passed it 61-35, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 26, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 785, which changes who may sit on the governing board of an Iowa charter school. A majority of the board must still live in the area the school serves. Iowa law required every other member to live in Iowa, and the act replaces that with a requirement that they be United States citizens. It also allows one member of the board to live in another state. The Iowa House passed it 60-36, and it became law.

March 26, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 928, which rewrites how Iowa recounts and contests elections. A candidate for statewide or federal office may demand a recount only when the margin is under fifteen hundredths of one percent, and a legislative candidate only when it is under one percent or fifty votes, whichever is smaller. The recount then covers every precinct where a vote was cast for the office. Recount boards must follow the secretary of state's written guidance. The secretary may stop a county recount, take custody of the ballots and equipment, run the recount with state staff, and fine a county elections commissioner up to twenty-five thousand dollars for deliberately breaking the rules. The Iowa House passed it 66-31, and it became law.

March 25, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against Senate File 603, which reorganizes Iowa's workforce agency and bars cities and counties from setting pay or training rules for contractors. A city or county may not require developers or contractors to pay their workers more, or train them, beyond what state law allows, or tie incentives to such terms. It also makes apprenticeship training voluntary unless state law requires it. The Iowa House passed it 64-34, and it became law.

March 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 401, which would have set general education requirements for undergraduates at Iowa's three public universities, including western heritage and American heritage courses, with no more than 37 credit hours in all. The Board of Regents would have had to ensure these courses do not distort major historical events or teach identity politics or theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are built into American or Iowa institutions. The attorney general could sue a university to make it comply. The Iowa House passed it 61-36, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 269, which would have barred Iowa's three public universities from requiring students to take a course with diversity, equity, and inclusion or critical race theory content to meet any degree requirement. That content included the idea that race-neutral laws keep oppression in place, or that a student is biased because of race or sex. Universities also could not require or reward faculty for teaching that content or attending such training. The Board of Regents could exempt programs focused on racial, ethnic, or gender studies. The Iowa House passed it 63-34, but the full Senate never voted on it, so it did not become law.

March 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 11, 2026

Voted against House File 437, which creates a Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa. It is an independent academic unit under the Board of Regents that teaches and researches the ideas, traditions and texts behind the American constitutional order. The center hires its own tenure-track faculty, may take private and outside money, and reports to the legislature each year. An advisory council named by the regents searches for the director and sends finalists to the regents, who make the appointment. The director alone controls the center's hiring. The Iowa House passed it 60-37, and it became law.

March 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 440, which goes after the cost of a degree at Iowa's public universities. The Board of Regents must give students thirty days' notice of any proposed tuition increase, send them the memo it will consider, and make the final decision at a regular meeting. Each university must work toward offering at least one bachelor's degree that can be finished in three years. Each must also start at least one work study program in which an employer pays a student's tuition and fees while the student works part time. The regents must study holding a resident undergraduate's tuition at the first-year rate. The Iowa House passed it 64-33, and it became law.

March 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 295, which bars an accrediting agency from punishing an Iowa public university or community college for following state law. Accreditors review colleges, and their approval is what lets a college's students use federal aid. If an accreditor takes adverse action against an Iowa public institution because the institution obeyed a state law, or refused to break one, the institution may sue for damages and legal fees. The act also lets emergency medical training programs be approved by any federally recognized accreditor instead of only the Higher Learning Commission. The Iowa House passed it 65-32, and it became law.

March 18, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 398, which shifts power over Iowa's prisons from the Board of Corrections to the department's director. The director once needed the board's approval to set the department budget, adopt rules for running the institutions, appoint superintendents, or start an inmate furlough program. The director now needs only the board's advice and recommendations. The act also removes a superintendent's right to be heard before the board and the director on written charges before removal. The Iowa House passed it 62-29, and it became law.

March 11, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against House File 316, which adds career education to Iowa schools. Students in grades five and six must be taught career planning, covering how to investigate careers, how school connects to them, and what they intend to pursue. The health curriculum must include the characteristics of communicable diseases. The state must publish a list of industry-recognized credentials that high school students can earn and a seal for their transcripts. Schools must report which students earn one, keep those reports confidential, and recognize graduates who earned a credential. The Iowa House passed it 61-28, and it became law.

March 10, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 10, 2026

Voted against Senate File 418, which defines sex in state law as male or female based on a person's body at birth. It removes gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, so the act no longer bars discrimination on that basis in jobs, housing, public places and the other areas it covers. Birth certificates must record the sex assigned at birth, and the state may issue a new certificate only in the cases the act lists. It also reworded an existing ban on gender identity lessons in kindergarten through sixth grade to cover gender theory. The Iowa House passed it 60-36, and it became law.

February 27, 2025

Source: legiscan.com · researched September 9, 2026