Conservatives know that prosperity depends on clear, predictable rules. When there is one set of fair standards for all of us, entrepreneurs invest, families thrive, and America leads. When government piles on layer after layer of red tape, investment dries up and costs go up.
We usually think of red tape coming from Washington, and there is plenty to cut. President Trump has made valiant efforts, whether it be with DOGE, recent EOs to clear the way for more homes to be built, or major permitting reform to reduce cost and increase efficiency and speed. Iowa has done its part too, with its own DOGE efforts to ensure businesses and families have the room they need to thrive.
But regulation can creep in at every level of government. If we are serious about limited government and free enterprise, we have to look across the whole system. Sometimes, the problem is not just big government in the nation’s capital but too many governments with too many different rulebooks – and ninety-nine different sets of rules might just be too much.
Just look at energy policy. Over the last decade and a half, Iowa has built an impressive record of homegrown energy production from traditional sources and newer technologies. Iowa’s share of electricity generated from in-state renewable sources increased from 18% of total generation in 2010 to roughly 62% in 2025. And according to the Commonsense Institute, from 2010–2025, residential electricity prices rose 51.3% nationally but only 32.4% in Iowa, improving from 22nd-lowest to 16th-lowest residential electricity rates. It’s clear: when we produce more energy here at home, Iowa families get some protection from the price shocks hitting the rest of the country.
That did not happen by accident. Iowa has worked hard to become not just an energy leader, but a business leader. Our legislature has created an environment where businesses want to invest because they know there is a stable, fair and reliable business environment. But that reputation is at risk if we allow a growing tangle of local rules, moratoria, and ad-hoc restrictions to take the place of a coherent statewide policy – especially at a time when President Trump and many red-state governors are prioritizing permitting reform.
No one disputes that local officials should have a voice. They live closest to the communities affected by development. But when dozens of local governments each pull in a different direction, businesses are left trying to navigate a maze of contradictory rules. One county invites investment. The next county over sends it packing. Another hits pause “for now,” with no clear timeline for when – or whether – projects can proceed.
That is not limited government. It is fragmented government. And it has the same effect as any other form of red tape: it injects uncertainty, raises costs, and ultimately shows up in higher bills and fewer jobs.
There is a better way that fits conservative principles: one clear, statewide framework for siting major energy projects, applied fairly to all technologies, with meaningful local input but without local vetoes.
Model legislation developed by conservative policy groups offers a useful template. It envisions a single, statewide review process for large energy facilities and key infrastructure, with clear timelines and standards so that investors know what to expect. Local governments and residents would still have formal opportunities to comment, raise legitimate health and safety concerns, and negotiate conditions related to roads, drainage, and how projects are decommissioned. But counties would not be able to impose open-ended moratoria or rules that amount to a back-door ban on otherwise lawful projects.
In other words: the state sets the basic rulebook. Local communities still have a say, but they do not each write their own separate constitution.
There’s also legislation already proposed in Iowa, HF 2580 and SF 2447, that removes 99 different sets of red tape and provides statewide clarity for wind, solar and battery storage. And that’s an important start. Iowa should pass this legislation and do the same for all energy technology. We should be inviting in new gas plants and the next generation of nuclear, like small modular reactors. But they won’t come, nor will the investment, if there are 99 different sets of rules.
Statewide siting reform is not about favoring one kind of energy over another. Nor is it about taking control away from local county government. It is about putting every energy developer – whether they are building a gas plant, a manufacturing-adjacent power facility, or a project using the wind or sun under the same fair, predictable standards. We can replace a patchwork of red tape with single common-sense framework.
The Iowa Legislature has an opportunity this session to protect what we have built and to keep our state on the path of affordable, reliable, homegrown energy. We can continue to lead the nation in business investment and prove that conservative principles of limited government work. Let’s have one rulebook, not ninety-nine.
Gentry Collins lives in Ankeny, Iowa. He has served as Executive Director at the Republican Party of Iowa, National Political Director at the Republican Governors Association, and Political Director at the Republican National Committee.
