Bill Text: IA HF39 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the process to bind the state to international trade agreements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-01-18 - Introduced, referred to State Government. H.J. 92. [HF39 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2017-HF39-Introduced.html
House File 39 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY ISENHART A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to the process to bind the state to 2 international trade agreements. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 1358YH (2) 87 aw/sc PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 15.108, Code 2017, is amended by adding 1 2 the following new subsection: 1 3 NEW SUBSECTION. 12. Trade agreements. To review, analyze, 1 4 and report on trade agreements, as required pursuant to section 1 5 15E.81. 1 6 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 15E.81 Trade agreements. 1 7 1. If the United States government provides the state with 1 8 the opportunity to consent to or to reject binding the state 1 9 to a trade agreement, or a designated provision within a trade 1 10 agreement, then an official of the state, including but not 1 11 limited to the governor, shall not give consent to the United 1 12 States government to bind the state to the trade agreement, 1 13 except as provided in this section. 1 14 2. When a communication from the United States trade 1 15 representative concerning a trade agreement is received by the 1 16 state, the governor shall transmit a copy of the communication 1 17 and the trade agreement, or relevant provisions of the trade 1 18 agreement, to the director of the authority, the president of 1 19 the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and 1 20 the chairpersons and ranking members of the general assembly's 1 21 standing committees on government oversight. 1 22 3. The director of the authority, in consultation with 1 23 the attorney general and the faculty of the international and 1 24 comparative law program at the college of law at the university 1 25 of Iowa, shall, immediately upon receipt, review and analyze a 1 26 trade agreement and submit a report to the general assembly and 1 27 the governor on the potential impact on the state of consenting 1 28 to be bound by the trade agreement. 1 29 4. An official of the state, including but not limited to 1 30 the governor, shall not consent to bind the state to the terms 1 31 or provisions of a trade agreement unless the general assembly 1 32 has passed a joint resolution authorizing the governor or 1 33 other official to give consent to bind the state to the trade 1 34 agreement or to a provision designated by the United States 1 35 government within the trade agreement. 2 1 5. As used in this section, "trade agreement" means 2 2 an agreement reached between the United States government 2 3 and any other country, countries, or other international 2 4 political entity or entities that proposes to regulate trade, 2 5 procurement, services, or investment among the parties to the 2 6 agreement. "Trade agreement" includes but is not limited to any 2 7 agreements under the auspices of the world trade organization, 2 8 all regional free trade agreements, and all bilateral trade 2 9 agreements entered into by the United States, as well as 2 10 requests for binding agreement received from a United States 2 11 trade representative. 2 12 EXPLANATION 2 13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 2 14 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 2 15 This bill relates to the process to bind the state to 2 16 international trade agreements if the federal government 2 17 provides the option to states to consent or not consent. 2 18 The bill provides that an official of the state, including 2 19 the governor, is not able to give consent to bind the state 2 20 to the terms or provisions of a trade agreement unless the 2 21 general assembly has passed a joint resolution authorizing the 2 22 governor or other official of the state to bind the state to 2 23 the trade agreement or to a designated provision within the 2 24 trade agreement. 2 25 Under the bill, the governor is required to transmit 2 26 a copy of a trade agreement, or relevant provisions of a 2 27 trade agreement, to the director of the economic development 2 28 authority, the president of the senate, the speaker of the 2 29 house of representatives, and the chairpersons and ranking 2 30 members of the general assembly's standing committees on 2 31 government oversight. 2 32 The bill requires that the director of the economic 2 33 development authority, in consultation with the attorney 2 34 general and the faculty of the international and comparative 2 35 law program at the college of law at the university of Iowa, 3 1 immediately review, analyze, and submit a report on such a 3 2 trade agreement. The bill requires the authority to submit the 3 3 report to the general assembly and the governor. LSB 1358YH (2) 87 aw/sc