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A bill in Iowa's recent legislative session would have required new single-family homes and duplexes to be built with radon mitigation systems.

The radioactive gas is prevalent in Iowa and seeps into homes from the ground. It is a leading cause of lung cancer.

The bill passed overwhelmingly in the Iowa House in March after two of its proponents built broad support.

"I spent enough time with the home builders, and I convinced them this is a really good idea," said Rep. Hans Wilz, a first-term Ottumwa Republican whose mother died of cancer when he was a toddler.

The Home Builders Association of Iowa did not register its support for the bill, but it didn't oppose it either. No lobbyist opposed it, according to state records.

With that tacit approval from groups that might normally oppose a bill that imposes more mandates for new homes, Wilz and his Democrat ally, Dr. Austin Baeth, of Des Moines, thought it might sail through the Senate as well.

But no. It wasn't a priority, they said.

"There are so many problems out there in this state that need to be fixed, and so little time," Baeth said.

The two spoke Tuesday at the annual Iowa Cancer Summit in Ankeny. They said it will require persistence from voters to make the disease a priority at the statehouse.

Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancer diagnoses in the nation, behind Kentucky. It also has the distinction of being the only state to report a notable increase in cancer rates in recent years.

Decreasing radon exposure is among the top priorities for experts who want to reverse that trend. They'd also like to curb smoking and binge alcohol drinking and to shield children's skin from the ultraviolet light of tanning beds.

The radon bill made small progress in the Senate but ultimately did not merit a floor vote. But because it came so close to becoming law, Wilz thinks it could be resurrected in next year's session as a first step to a more comprehensive cancer response from state lawmakers.

"We want to find a home run," he said, "and I believe it's going to be radon, because we've done a lot of work and we were that close."

Other bills that sought to reduce cancer rates got almost nowhere. Cancer experts have suggested raising the cigarette tax to reduce smoking. They'd like to prohibit minors from using commercial tanning beds.

Wilz introduced bills to do both this past legislative session. He sought to increase the per-pack tax on cigarettes to $2, up from $1.36.

The last time that tax increased was 2007, which was around the time state lawmakers also moved to ban smoking at most businesses, including bars and restaurants. Both are believed to have contributed to reduced smoking rates.

Wilz's bill this year did not make it past a House subcommittee -- a small, first step toward passage.

His bill that would have precluded minors from using tanning beds at salons was recommended by a subcommittee but went no further. It was one of several similar failed attempts in the past decade by other lawmakers.

Baeth said another initial step might be to increase funding for state officials to investigate Iowa's cancer problem in search of solutions.

"My job is to try to increase public awareness within our state," Baeth said, "so that we have constituents at the grassroots level who are calling up their state representatives and their state senators saying, 'Hey, what the hell are you going to do about this cancer problem?'"