The bill establishes the default speed limit at 60 mph rather than the current 55 mph.

Its impact would be felt mostly on two-lane highways such as U.S. Highway 169.

Four-lane highways like U.S. Highway 20 have an established speed limit of 65 mph and highways that are part of the interstate system have a 70 mph limit.

The bill was passed by the House on a 76-16 vote. State representatives Wendy Larson, R-Odebolt, and Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, voted yes.

The bid to raise the speed limit is coming at a time when gasoline prices are spiking to nearly $4 per gallon.

It is also occurring at a time when traffic fatalities are dropping. According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, there were 258 deaths in 2025, which is about 100 fewer than the 357 recorded in 2024. Last year was the first one since 1925 in which the number of traffic deaths dipped below 300.

Meyer, a member of the House Transportation Committee, voted in favor of the bill when that panel passed it on March 18.

“It was pretty non-controversial,” she said of the committee vote.

She said when the bill was before the committee, she did not hear “anything against it.” She said one constituent contacted her about the bill recently to express concerns about its impact on traffic safety.

The bill was passed by the Senate last year. Because the House version isn’t identical to the Senate one, it is being sent to the Senate for consideration.