The Iowa Board of Railroad Commissioners, one of the oldest agencies in Iowa state government, had three elected commissioners who were charged with regulating railroad passenger and freight rates and operations. This oversight of the network that transported Iowans and their products was critical to pioneer farmers and businesses.
In 1911 the Iowa Legislature established the Office of Commerce Counsel within the Railroad Commission. With the growing use of electricity, the agency was authorized to regulate the location of electric transmission lines in Iowa. The agency began licensing grain warehouses in Iowa in 1921 and was authorized to regulate passenger and freight rates for intrastate motor truck transportation in 1923.
Authority to regulate natural gas pipeline construction was granted in the early 1930s. Because of its expanded authority, the agency was renamed the Iowa State Commerce Commission in 1937.
Centralized regulation of public utilities for states in the mid-1940s and into the 1950s. In 1963 the Iowa Legislature added the regulation of the rates and service of public utility companies to the Commerce Commission’s responsibilities. Also in 1963, commissioners' terms were extended from two years to six years and the positions became appointed rather than elected.
State government reorganization in 1986 renamed the Iowa State Commerce Commission and included the utilities agency in an umbrella regulatory agency, the Department of Commerce. The new name, the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB), reflected the absence of the grain warehouse function that was transferred to the Department of Agriculture.
State government reorganization in 2023 removed the IUB from the umbrella regulatory agency of the Department of Commerce and established the IUB as an independent, stand-alone agency. The agency was renamed Iowa Utilities Commission on July 1, 2024.
The following Iowans have served as board members and/or commissioners:
Iowa Utilities Board (established 1986) - Renamed Iowa Utilities Commission, 2024
Iowa State Commerce Commission (established 1937)
Iowa Board of Railroad Commissioners (established 1878)
*Asterisks denote service continued through the transition of the agency's name.