Bill Text: IA HF2344 | 2013-2014 | 85th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to drainage or levee districts by providing for mergers, the liability of trustees, bidding requirements, the annexation of land, and authorizing the imposition of assessments upon affected landowners. Effective 7-1-14.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2014-04-03 - Signed by Governor. H.J. 666. [HF2344 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2013-HF2344-Enrolled.html

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House File 2344
AN ACT
RELATING TO DRAINAGE OR LEVEE DISTRICTS BY PROVIDING FOR
MERGERS, THE LIABILITY OF TRUSTEES, BIDDING REQUIREMENTS,
THE ANNEXATION OF LAND, AND AUTHORIZING THE IMPOSITION OF
ASSESSMENTS UPON AFFECTED LANDOWNERS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
DIVISION I
MERGER
Section 1. NEW SECTION . 468.262 Purpose.
The provisions of this part apply to drainage or levee
districts, governed by a board of supervisors, joint boards
of supervisors, or board of trustees, as provided in section
468.3, when such districts participate in a merger.
Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 468.263 General.
1. A merger must involve two or more voluntarily
participating drainage or levee districts including all of the
following:
a. One participating dominant district whose board would
survive the merger to govern the merged district.
b. One or more participating servient districts whose boards
would be dissolved by the merger.
2. a. The merger must be proposed by the board of each
participating drainage or levee district as provided in this
part.
b. The proposed merger must be approved by the board of the
participating dominant district and one or more boards of the
participating servient districts, as provided in this part.
3. a. The boundary of a participating drainage or levee
district must adjoin all or part of the boundary of another
participating drainage or levee district.

House File 2344, p. 2
b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a” two participating drainage
or levee districts may be separated by land not part of any
drainage or levee district if the proposed merger is contingent
upon the annexation of such land pursuant to sections 468.119
through 468.121.
4. A merger may occur notwithstanding that a drainage
or levee district participating in a merger is not otherwise
eligible for dissolution as provided in part 6 of this
subchapter.
Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 468.264 Board participation initiated.
1. In order to participate in a proposed merger the board
of a drainage or levee district must determine that the merger
will substantially benefit the owners of land situated in the
drainage or levee district.
2. A board making the determination described in subsection
1 shall enter an order to conduct a public hearing regarding
a proposed merger as provided in section 468.265. The board
shall enter the order with the auditor of each county where the
drainage or levee district is situated.
Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 468.265 Public hearing.
1. A public hearing must be conducted within forty-five
days from the last date that the board enters an order with the
auditor of each county where the drainage or levee district is
situated as provided in section 468.264. The auditor of each
county where the participating drainage or levee district is
located shall provide notice of a public hearing regarding the
proposed merger. However, the board may designate the auditor
of the county with the greatest portion of the district’s
territory to provide the notice. The notice must include all
of the following:
a. A description of the proposed merger.
b. The determination made by the board under section
468.264.
c. Whether land in the participating drainage or levee
district may be subject to any special assessment as provided
in section 468.269.
d. The date, time, and place of the public hearing.
e. That all written objections to the proposed merger must
be filed in the office of the county auditor.
2. The auditor shall deliver the notice provided in
subsection 1 to all of the following:
a. Each owner of land situated within the participating
drainage or levee district which is part of the county, as

House File 2344, p. 3
shown by the transfer books of the auditor’s office, including
railway companies having right-of-way in the district.
b. Each lienholder or encumbrancer of land situated or
the auditor designated by the board within the participating
drainage or levee district which is part of the county.
c. Each actual occupant of land located in the participating
drainage or levee district which is part of the county.
However, the auditor is not required to name an individual
occupant.
d. Any other person in the county affected by the proposed
merger as determined by the board.
3. If land is to be annexed as a condition of the merger,
as provided in this part, the auditor of the county where the
land to be annexed is situated or the auditor designated by the
board shall deliver the notice specified in subsection 1 to the
owner of such land.
4. a. Except as otherwise provided in this section the
auditor shall provide the notice specified in subsection 1 by
ordinary mail to the persons described in subsections 2 and 3.
b. The auditor shall cause the notice to be published
in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where a
participating drainage or levee district is situated or the
auditor designated by the board. The publication shall be made
not less than twenty days prior to the day set for the public
hearing. Proof of service shall be made by affidavit of the
publisher.
c. If an agent has been designated, the auditor shall
provide the notice to a person’s agent in the same manner as
provided in section 468.16.
5. The boards of one or more participating drainage or levee
districts may conduct the public hearing jointly.
6. This section shall not be construed to prevent the board
of a participating drainage or levee district from convening
and conducting a public hearing in a manner consistent with
section 468.258.
Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 468.266 Meeting and vote.
1. Each board of a participating drainage or levee district
shall meet to vote on a resolution which includes the question
whether or not to approve the proposed merger. A board must
vote on the resolution within forty-five days of the last
public hearing conducted pursuant to section 468.265.
2. The board shall only consider written objections to the
proposed merger as filed in the office of the county auditor as

House File 2344, p. 4
provided in the notice for a public hearing or comments made at
a public hearing conducted pursuant to section 468.265.
3. Two or more boards may approve a joint meeting and vote
upon a joint resolution. If the board for the participating
dominant district votes at the joint meeting, the dominant
board shall pay any costs associated with conducting the joint
meeting, regardless of the vote’s outcome.
Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 468.267 Joint order.
1. A resolution to merge participating drainage or levee
districts approved by their respective boards as provided in
section 468.266 shall be effectuated according to the terms and
conditions of a joint order for merger entered by those boards.
2. Each board shall file the joint order with the auditors
of their respective counties. Upon receipt of a joint order,
the auditor shall include the joint order as part of the
drainage record.
3. The auditor shall not file an order unless all territory
within the merged drainage or levee district is contiguous, and
includes any land required to be annexed as a condition of the
merger.
4. Upon the filing of the joint order with the county
auditor as provided in subsection 2, title to all real estate,
other property, improvement, and any right-of-way held by the
participating drainage or levee district is vested in the
merged drainage or levee district, subject to any condition
which applied immediately prior to the merger.
5. The auditor of a county designated by the board governing
the merged drainage or levee district shall prepare and file
with the recorder of each county where the merged district is
situated all conveyances and other documentation necessary to
effect the transfers referenced in the joint order.
6. The merged drainage or levee district assumes all
existing obligations of a participating drainage or levee
district subject to the joint order.
Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 468.268 Effect of the merger.
1. a. Except as provided in this subsection, a legal or
equitable proceeding pending against a participating drainage
or levee district prior to a merger shall continue as if the
merger did not occur.
b. The merged drainage or levee district shall be
substituted for the participating drainage or levee district
standing as a party.
c. The board governing the merged drainage or levee district

House File 2344, p. 5
may apportion the costs of a legal or equitable proceeding
against the landowners of the participating drainage or levee
district based upon the classification of land and assessments
applicable to the participating drainage or levee district
prior to the merger.
2. Except as provided in section 468.269, the merger
does not affect the classification of land or the levy of an
assessment.
3. The original cost and the subsequent cost of improvements
in a participating drainage or levee district under this part
shall be added to and become a part of the original cost and the
subsequent cost of improvements in the merged drainage or levee
district.
4. The surviving board of a merged drainage or levee
district shall pay any remaining costs associated with the
merger.
Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 468.269 Special assessment —— merged
land.
1. In addition to assessments imposed pursuant to sections
468.49 and 468.50, the surviving board of a merged drainage or
levee district may impose a special assessment on land situated
in the merged district which was a participating servient
district prior to the merger.
2. The special assessment shall apply to costs of
improvements made within the participating dominant district
prior to the merger for not longer than five years prior to the
date that the joint order was filed with the county auditor by
the surviving board for the participating dominant district
pursuant to section 468.267.
3. In order to impose a special assessment under this
section all of the following must apply:
a. The board must approve a report by an engineer
appointed by the board as provided in this part stating
those improvements directly benefiting land situated in the
participating dominant district were made within the five-year
period provided in subsection 2.
b. The notice for a public hearing required in section
468.265 must have stated that the board may impose a special
assessment under this section.
4. The board shall not impose the special assessment under
this section on land that was annexed as part of the merger.
However, such land is subject to a special assessment pursuant
to sections 468.119 through 468.121.

House File 2344, p. 6
Sec. 9. DIRECTIONS TO CODE EDITOR. The Code editor shall
codify the provisions of this division of this Act as chapter
468, subchapter I, part 7.
DIVISION II
LIABILITY OF TRUSTEES
Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 468.526A Liability.
A trustee is not personally liable for a claim which is
exempted under section 670.4, except a claim for punitive
damages. A trustee is not liable for punitive damages as
a result of acts in the performance of a duty under this
chapter, unless actual malice or willful, wanton, and reckless
misconduct is proven.
DIVISION III
BIDDING PROCEDURES
Sec. 11. Section 468.3, Code 2014, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 9. The term “minor repair” shall mean
any repair not in excess of the competitive bid threshold as
provided in section 26.3.
Sec. 12. Section 468.34, Code 2014, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
468.34 Bidding procedures —— Iowa construction bidding
procedures Act.
When ordering the construction of an improvement under
this part, the board and any bidders shall comply with the
competitive bid requirements applicable to a governmental
entity ordering the construction of a public improvement in
chapter 26.
Sec. 13. Section 468.66, Code 2014, is amended to read as
follows:
468.66 Bids required.
In case the board shall finally determine determines that
any such changes as defined a change described in section
468.62 shall be made involving an expenditure of twenty
thousand dollars or more increases the cost of the improvement
to more than the competitive bid threshold as provided in
section 26.3 , the work shall be let by bids in the same
manner as is provided for the original construction of such
improvements board and any bidders shall comply with the
competitive bid requirements applicable to a governing entity
ordering the construction of a public improvement in chapter
26 .
Sec. 14. Section 468.126, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code

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2014, is amended by striking the paragraph and inserting in
lieu thereof the following:
c. When ordering a repair under this section, the board and
any bidders shall comply with the competitive bid requirements
applicable to a governing entity ordering the construction of
a public improvement in chapter 26. If the repair is more
than fifty thousand dollars but less than the competitive bid
threshold in section 26.3, the board shall conduct a hearing
on the matter of making the proposed repair. The board shall
provide notice of the hearing as provided in sections 468.14
through 468.18.
Sec. 15. Section 468.126, subsection 2, Code 2014, is
amended to read as follows:
2. In the case of a minor repairs repair , or in the
eradication of brush and weeds along the open ditches , not
in excess of twenty thousand dollars , where the board finds
that a saving to the district will result, the board may cause
the repairs or eradication to be done by secondary road fund
equipment, or weed fund equipment, and labor of the county and
then reimburse the secondary road fund or the weed fund from
the fund of the drainage district thus benefited.
Sec. 16. Section 468.126, subsection 4, Code 2014, is
amended to read as follows:
4. For the purpose of this subsection , an “improvement” in
a drainage or levee district in which any ditch, tile drain or
other facility has previously been constructed is a project
intended to expand, enlarge , or otherwise increase the capacity
of any existing ditch, drain , or other facility above that for
which it was designed.
a. When the board determines that improvements are an
improvement is necessary or desirable, the board shall appoint
an engineer to make surveys as seem appropriate to determine
the nature and extent of the needed improvements improvement ,
and to file a report showing what improvements are improvement
is recommended and their its estimated costs cost , which report
may be amended before final action. If the estimated cost of
the improvements does not exceed twenty thousand dollars, or
twenty-five percent of the original cost of the district and
subsequent improvements, whichever is the greater amount, the
board may order the work done without notice. The board shall
not divide proposed improvements into separate programs in
order to avoid the limitation for making improvements without
notice compliance with paragraph “b” . If the board deems

House File 2344, p. 8
it desirable to make improvements where the estimated cost
exceeds the twenty thousand dollar or twenty-five percent
limit, the board shall set a date for a hearing on the matter
of constructing the proposed improvements and also on the
matter of whether there shall be a reclassification of benefits
for the cost of the proposed improvements and shall give
notice as provided in sections 468.14 through 468.18 . At the
hearing, the board shall hear objections to the feasibility
of the proposed improvements and arguments for or against
a reclassification presented by or for any taxpayer of the
district. Following the a hearing , if required by section
26.12 , the board shall order that the improvements it deems
desirable and feasible be made and shall also determine whether
there should be a reclassification of benefits for the cost of
improvements. If it is determined that a reclassification of
benefits should be made, the board shall proceed as provided in
section 468.38 . In lieu of publishing the notice of a hearing
as provided by this subsection section 331.305 , the board may
mail a copy of the notice to each address where a landowner in
the district resides by first class mail if the cost of mailing
is less than publication of the notice. The mailing shall be
made during the time the notice would otherwise be required to
be published.
b. When ordering the construction of an improvement under
this subsection, the board shall comply with the competitive
bid requirements applicable to a governing entity ordering
the construction of a public improvement in chapter 26. If
the improvement is more than fifty thousand dollars but less
than the competitive bid threshold in section 26.3, the board
shall conduct a hearing on the matter of making the proposed
improvement. The board shall provide notice of the hearing as
provided in sections 468.14 through 468.18.
c. If the estimated cost of the improvements as defined
in this subsection exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars the
competitive bid threshold as provided in section 26.3 , or the
original cost of the district plus the cost of subsequent
improvements in the district, whichever is the greater amount,
a majority of the landowners, owning in the aggregate more than
seventy percent of the total land in the district, may file a
written remonstrance against the proposed improvements, at or
before the time fixed for hearing on the proposed improvements,
with the county auditor, or auditors in case the district
extends into more than one county. If a remonstrance is filed,

House File 2344, p. 9
the board shall discontinue and dismiss all further proceedings
on the proposed improvements and charge the costs incurred
to date for the proposed improvements to the district. Any
interested party may appeal from such orders in the manner
provided in this subchapter, parts 1 through 5 . However, this
section does not affect the procedures of section 468.132
covering the common outlet.
Sec. 17. REPEAL. Sections 468.35 and 468.36, Code 2014,
are repealed.
______________________________
KRAIG PAULSEN
Speaker of the House
______________________________
PAM JOCHUM
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
is known as House File 2344, Eighty-fifth General Assembly.
______________________________
CARMINE BOAL
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved _______________, 2014
______________________________
TERRY E. BRANSTAD
Governor