text: Taxes In June 2013, Branstad signed into law a sweeping tax reform bill that had widespread bipartisan support, passing the Iowa Senate by 44 votes to 6 and the Iowa House by 84 votes to 13. The bill, Senate File 295, provided for the state's largest tax cut in history, including an estimated $4.4 billion in property tax reform and an estimated $90 million of annual income tax relief, in part in the form of an increase in the earned income tax credit. The bill also included significant reforms to education and health care.
  Job creation ranking
  A June 2013 Business Journals analysis of 45 of the country's 50 governors ranked Branstad 28th in job creation. The ranking was based on a comparison of the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  Gun rights
  On April 13, 2017, with large Republican majorities in the Iowa legislature, Branstad signed a bill into law expanding gun rights, enacting a stand-your-ground law, expanding the right of citizens to sue if they believe their Second Amendment rights are being infringed, and expanding the gun rights of minors, among several other provisions.
  Bakken pipeline
  Branstad's business-friendly appointments to the Iowa Utilities Board were controversial. They have "virtually assured" approval of the Iowa section of the  Dakota Access pipeline. His last appointment was that of Richard W. Lozier Jr., who represented a pro-pipeline lobby group and who had to recuse himself one month after he joined in 2017.
  Discrimination lawsuit
  On July 15, 2019, a jury in Polk County, Iowa awarded a gay former state official $1.5 million in damages, finding that Branstad had discriminated against him based on sexual orientation in 2012.