Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 514 on April 4, 2023. The bill shrinks the executive branch of Iowa's State government from 37 to 16 cabinet-level agencies. As a result of that legislation, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) will grow significantly.

DIA becomes DIAL

On July 1, 2023, program areas from the Iowa departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services, Public Safety, and Workforce Development will become part of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), as a new organizational structure for state government goes into effect. Government departments and agencies that provide related services or have similar business functions are aligning to better serve Iowans. Our goal is to meet your needs more efficiently and effectively through better coordination as one team. 

The entities being aligned within DIAL conduct similar operations by carrying out the regulatory functions of the state. Alignment will improve efficiencies, cost savings, and quality of service.

Last year, DIA moved unemployment and public employment administrative law judges to DIA. In three months, the combined team cleared a 5,439 multi-year unemployment case backlog.

What program areas are moving to DIAL?

Iowa Civil Rights Commission

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission will be moved under DIAL as an attached unit. The CRC will utilize investigators already employed by DIA to conduct the initial intake and screenings of complaints helping to improve case response times.

Iowa Department of Commerce

From the Professional Licensing Bureau in the department's Division of Banking, licensing and oversight responsibilities will shift to DIAL for the following:

• Accountants
• Architects
• Engineers and land surveyors
• Interior designers
• Landscape architects
• Real estate agents and brokers
• Real estate appraisers
• Appraisal management companies

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services

HHS will transfer licensing, permitting, and oversight for the following professional licenses:

• Athletic trainers
• Barbers
• Chiropractors
• Cosmetologists
• Dietitians
• Funeral directors
• Hearing aid specialists
• Marital and family therapists
• Massage therapists
• Mental health counselors
• Nursing home administrators
• Optometrists
• Physical and occupational therapists
• Physician assistants
• Podiatrists
• Psychologists
• Respiratory care professionals
• Sign language interpreters and translators
• Social workers
• Speech pathologists and audiologists

The following professional licensing boards will also be moved under DIAL: 

• Iowa Board of Medicine
• Iowa Board of Nursing
• Iowa Board of Pharmacy
• Iowa Dental Board

Finally, oversight for the following program areas will also be moved to DIAL:

• Backflow prevention and assembly tester registration
• Certificate of need
• Lead professional certification
• Migrant labor camp program
• Natural hair braiding registry
• Plumbing and mechanical systems
• Swimming pools and spas
• Tattoos

Iowa Department of Public Safety

Oversight for permitting, licensing, and inspection for the following areas will be moved to DIAL:

• Building code
• Electrical
• Fire prevention inspections
• Fire safety
• Fireworks

The State Fire Marshal's office will remain at DPS. 

Iowa Workforce Development

Two divisions will move to DIAL:

• Division of Labor
• Workers' Compensation

The Division of Labor at DIAL will consist of OSHA health, safety, and consultation. Oversight of the following current IWD Division of Labor areas will reside within the new Building & Construction Division:

• Amusement rides
• Boilers
• Elevators

What program areas are leaving DIAL?

Child Advocacy Board

The Child Advocacy Board, an attached unit under DIA, will move under HHS.

Consumable hemp

Consumable hemp registration, which was handled by DIA's Food & Consumer Safety Bureau, will move to HHS' Bureau of Cannabis Regulation, which also oversees medical cannabis.