Bill Text: IA SF2439 | 2023-2024 | 90th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to county supervisors, concerning county supervisor representation plans and county supervisor vacancies, and including effective date provisions.(Formerly SSB 3204.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-04-18 - Message from Senate. H.J. 845. [SF2439 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2023-SF2439-Introduced.html
Senate File 2439 - Introduced SENATE FILE 2439 BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3204) A BILL FOR An Act relating to county supervisors, concerning county 1 supervisor representation plans and county supervisor 2 vacancies, and including effective date provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 6387SV (1) 90 th/ns
S.F. 2439 DIVISION I 1 PLAN “THREE” COUNTY SUPERVISOR REPRESENTATION PLANS 2 Section 1. Section 331.206, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 3 2024, is amended to read as follows: 4 a. The plan used under subsection 1 shall be selected by the 5 board or by a special election as provided in section 331.207 . 6 A plan selected by the board shall remain in effect for at 7 least six years and shall only be changed by a special election 8 as provided in section 331.207 . However, a county with a 9 population of one hundred twenty-five thousand or more based on 10 the most recent federal decennial census shall use plan “three” 11 for the election of supervisors. 12 Sec. 2. Section 331.207, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 2. The petition shall be filed with the county commissioner 15 by June 1 of an odd-numbered year , subject to subsection 16 6 . The special election shall be held on the first Tuesday 17 in August of the odd-numbered year. Notice of the special 18 election shall be published once each week for three successive 19 weeks in an official newspaper of the county, shall state the 20 representation plans to be submitted to the electors, and shall 21 state the date of the special election. The last in the series 22 of publications shall occur not less than four nor more than 23 twenty days before the election. 24 Sec. 3. Section 331.207, subsection 6, Code 2024, is amended 25 by striking the subsection. 26 Sec. 4. TRANSITION PROVISION. 27 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a 28 county with a population of one hundred twenty-five thousand 29 or more based on the most recent federal decennial census that 30 does not use plan “three” for the election of supervisors, as 31 defined in section 331.206, as of the effective date of this 32 Act, shall not be required to elect supervisors using plan 33 “three” until the election for supervisors in 2026, following 34 the adoption of a representation plan drawn pursuant to section 35 -1- LSB 6387SV (1) 90 th/ns 1/ 4
S.F. 2439 331.210A, subsection 2, paragraph “f”, and the requirements of 1 this section. 2 2. A county required to adopt a representation plan as 3 provided in this section shall establish a temporary county 4 redistricting commission by the later of thirty days after the 5 effective date of this Act or May 15, 2024, and shall complete 6 a plan, in conformity with the requirements of sections 331.209 7 and 331.210A, no later than November 1, 2024. The plan shall 8 be submitted to the state commissioner of elections and shall 9 become effective January 1, 2025. 10 DIVISION II 11 COUNTY SUPERVISOR VACANCIES 12 Sec. 5. Section 43.6, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended 13 to read as follows: 14 2. When a vacancy occurs in the office of county supervisor 15 or any of the offices listed in section 39.17 and more than 16 seventy days remain in the term of office following the next 17 general election, the office shall be filled for the balance 18 of the unexpired term at that general election unless the 19 vacancy has been filled by a special election called more 20 than seventy-three days before the primary election. If 21 the vacancy occurs more than seventy-three days before the 22 primary election, political party candidates for that office 23 at the next general election shall be nominated at the primary 24 election. If an appointment to fill the vacancy in office is 25 made in accordance with section 69.14A, subsection 1, paragraph 26 “a” , eighty-eight or more days before the primary election and 27 a petition requesting a special election has not been received 28 within fourteen days after the appointment is made, candidates 29 for the office shall be nominated at the primary election. 30 Sec. 6. Section 69.14A, subsection 1, paragraph a, 31 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as 32 follows: 33 By If the population of the county is less than one hundred 34 twenty-five thousand based on the most recent federal decennial 35 -2- LSB 6387SV (1) 90 th/ns 2/ 4
S.F. 2439 census, by appointment by the committee of county officers 1 designated to fill the vacancy in section 69.8 . 2 Sec. 7. Section 69.14A, subsection 1, paragraph b, 3 unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2024, is amended to read as 4 follows: 5 By If the population of the county is one hundred twenty- 6 five thousand or more based on the most recent federal 7 decennial census, by special election held to fill the office 8 for the remaining balance of the unexpired term. 9 Sec. 8. Section 331.201, subsection 3, Code 2024, is amended 10 to read as follows: 11 3. The office of supervisor is an elective office except 12 that if a vacancy occurs on the board, a successor may be 13 appointed to the unexpired term as provided in section 69.14A , 14 subsection 1, paragraph “a” , if the population of the county is 15 less than one hundred twenty-five thousand based on the most 16 recent federal decennial census . 17 Sec. 9. Section 331.214, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 18 2024, is amended to read as follows: 19 c. If the board declares a vacancy under this subsection and 20 the remaining balance of the supervisor’s unexpired term is two 21 and one-half years or more, a special election shall be held to 22 fill the office as provided in section 69.14A, subsection 1 , 23 paragraph “c” , if the population of the county is one hundred 24 twenty-five thousand or more based on the most recent federal 25 decennial census . However, if the population of the county is 26 less than one hundred twenty-five thousand based on the most 27 recent federal decennial census, an appointment shall be made 28 to fill the office as provided in section 69.14A, subsection 29 1, paragraph “a” . 30 DIVISION III 31 EFFECTIVE DATE 32 Sec. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of 33 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 34 EXPLANATION 35 -3- LSB 6387SV (1) 90 th/ns 3/ 4
S.F. 2439 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 1 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 2 This bill concerns county supervisor representation plans 3 and county supervisor vacancies. 4 DIVISION I —— PLAN “THREE” COUNTY SUPERVISOR REPRESENTATION 5 PLANS. This division requires a county with a population of 6 125,000 or more based on the most recent federal decennial 7 census to use plan “three” for the election of county 8 supervisors. Plan “three” requires individual members of 9 the board of supervisors for that county to be elected from 10 single-member equal-population districts. The bill provides 11 that a county with a population of 125,000 or more as of the 12 effective date of the bill, that does not use plan “three” 13 as of that date for the election of supervisors shall not 14 be required to elect supervisors under plan “three” until 15 the election for supervisors in 2026 following adoption of a 16 representation plan in conformity with the provisions of law 17 governing the adoption of a plan “three” representation plan. 18 DIVISION II —— COUNTY SUPERVISOR VACANCIES. This division 19 requires vacancies on the board of supervisors to be filled 20 by special election in a county with a population of 125,000 21 or more. Current law allows for vacancies to be filled by 22 appointment under certain circumstances. The bill requires 23 vacancies to be filled by appointment in a county with a 24 population of less than 125,000 in accordance with current law, 25 including a vacancy that is treated as a resignation due to the 26 physical or mental status of a supervisor. 27 DIVISION III —— EFFECTIVE DATE. The bill takes effect upon 28 enactment. 29 -4- LSB 6387SV (1) 90 th/ns 4/ 4
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