Bill Text: IA SF2320 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to county supervisor representation and districting plans. (Formerly SSB 3172.)

Sponsorship: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-04 - Withdrawn. S.J. 882. [SF2320 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF2320-Introduced.html

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Senate File 2320 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON LOCAL
                                     GOVERNMENT

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO SSB
                                     3172)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to county supervisor representation and
  2    districting plans.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1                           DIVISION I
  1  2       SELECTION OF COUNTY SUPERVISOR REPRESENTATION PLANS
  1  3    Section 1.  Section 331.206, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code
  1  4 2018, is amended to read as follows:
  1  5    a.  The plan used under subsection 1 shall be selected by the
  1  6 board or by a special election as provided in section 331.207.
  1  7 A plan selected by the board shall remain in effect for at
  1  8 least six years unless it is and shall only be changed by a
  1  9 special election as provided in section 331.207.
  1 10    Sec. 2.  Section 331.207, subsection 1, Code 2018, is amended
  1 11 to read as follows:
  1 12    1.  The board of a county that elects supervisors under
  1 13 either plan "one" or plan "two" as each plan is defined in
  1 14 section 331.206, upon petition of the number of eligible
  1 15 electors of the county as specified in section 331.306, shall
  1 16 call a special election to be held for the purpose of selecting
  1 17 one of the supervisor representation plans specified in section
  1 18 331.206 under which the board of supervisors shall be elected.
  1 19 However, for a county that elects supervisors under plan "two",
  1 20 the only supervisor representation plans that can be selected
  1 21 pursuant to the special election shall be either plan "two" or
  1 22 plan "three".
  1 23                           DIVISION II
  1 24       COUNTY SUPERVISOR REPRESENTATION DISTRICTING PLANS
  1 25    Sec. 3.  Section 68B.32A, subsection 16, Code 2018, is
  1 26 amended to read as follows:
  1 27    16.  Establish an expedited procedure for reviewing
  1 28 complaints forwarded by the state commissioner of elections
  1 29 to the board for a determination as to whether a supervisor
  1 30 district plan adopted pursuant to section 331.210A that differs
  1 31 from a supervisor district plan prepared by the legislative
  1 32 services agency was drawn for improper political reasons
  1 33 as described in section 42.4, subsection 5. The expedited
  1 34 procedure shall be substantially similar to the process used
  1 35 for other complaints filed with the board except that the
  2  1 provisions of section 68B.32D shall not apply.
  2  2    Sec. 4.  Section 331.209, subsection 4, Code 2018, is amended
  2  3 to read as follows:
  2  4    4.  Each temporary county redistricting commission shall
  2  5 notify the state commissioner of elections when the boundaries
  2  6 of supervisor districts are changed, shall provide a map
  2  7 delineating the new boundary lines, and shall certify to
  2  8 the state commissioner of elections the populations of the
  2  9 new supervisor districts as determined under the latest
  2 10 federal decennial census. Upon failure of a temporary county
  2 11 redistricting commission to make the required changes by
  2 12 the dates specified by this section and sections 331.203
  2 13 and 331.204 as determined by the state commissioner of
  2 14 elections, the state commissioner of elections shall make or
  2 15 cause to be made the necessary changes as soon as possible,
  2 16 and shall assess to the county the expenses incurred in so
  2 17 doing. The Except for a representation plan drawn pursuant
  2 18 to section 331.210A, subsection 2, paragraph "f", the state
  2 19 commissioner of elections may request the services of personnel
  2 20 and materials available to the legislative services agency
  2 21 to assist the state commissioner in making required changes
  2 22 in supervisor district boundaries which become the state
  2 23 commissioner's responsibility.
  2 24    Sec. 5.  Section 331.210A, subsection 2, paragraph f,
  2 25 subparagraph (1), Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
  2 26    (1)  (a)  Notwithstanding the provisions of this section
  2 27  to the contrary, for For purposes of this paragraph "f",
  2 28 "qualifying county" means a county with a population of sixty
  2 29 thousand or more based on the most recent federal decennial
  2 30 census that elects supervisors under plan "three" as defined
  2 31 in section 331.206, or a county with a population of one
  2 32 hundred eighty thousand or more that has adopted a charter for
  2 33 a city=county consolidated form of government or a community
  2 34 commonwealth form of government and which charter provides for
  2 35 representation by districts,.
  3  1    (b)  Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
  3  2 contrary, for a qualifying county, the legislative services
  3  3 agency, and not the temporary county redistricting commission,
  3  4 shall draw a representation plan as provided by paragraph "a"
  3  5 pursuant to a contract executed with the county.
  3  6    (c)  A county subject to the requirements of this paragraph
  3  7 "f" shall notify the state commissioner of elections that a
  3  8 representation plan to be drawn pursuant to this paragraph
  3  9 "f" is required and shall submit to the state commissioner
  3 10 of elections the precinct plan to be used to draw the
  3 11 representation plan.  Upon notification and submission of a
  3 12 precinct plan, the state commissioner of elections shall review
  3 13 and approve the precinct plan to be used.  Following approval
  3 14 of the precinct plan to be used, the state commissioner
  3 15 of elections shall notify the legislative council which
  3 16 shall direct the legislative services agency to prepare a
  3 17 representation plan for the county.
  3 18    (d)  The plan drawn by the legislative services agency
  3 19 shall be based upon the precinct plan adopted and approved
  3 20  for use by the county and shall be drawn in accordance with
  3 21 section 42.4, to the extent applicable. After the legislative
  3 22 services agency has drawn the plan, the legislative services
  3 23 agency shall at the earliest feasible time make available to
  3 24 the public all of the information required to be made public
  3 25 by paragraph "b".
  3 26                           EXPLANATION
  3 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  3 28 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  3 29    This bill concerns county supervisor representation and
  3 30 districting plans.
  3 31    Division I of the bill concerns the manner of selecting
  3 32 county supervisors. Code section 331.206 specifies that county
  3 33 supervisors may be elected pursuant to plan "one", election at
  3 34 large; plan "two", election at large with district residence
  3 35 requirements; or plan "three", election from single=member
  4  1 districts.  The bill provides that the plan selected by the
  4  2 board can only be changed after the plan has been in effect for
  4  3 six years and only by a special election.
  4  4    Code section 331.207, concerning special elections for
  4  5 selecting a supervisor district plan, is amended to provide
  4  6 that only a county that elects supervisors under either plan
  4  7 "one" or plan "two" shall hold a special election and further
  4  8 provides that for a county that elects supervisors under plan
  4  9 "two", the only supervisor representation plans that can be
  4 10 selected pursuant to the special election shall be either plan
  4 11 "two" or plan "three".
  4 12    Division II of the bill concerns the manner of adopting
  4 13 redistricting plans for certain counties.  Code section
  4 14 331.210A(2)(f) is amended to provide that the procedure
  4 15 for adopting a representation plan for a county that has a
  4 16 population that exceeds 180,000 or that has adopted a charter
  4 17 for a city=county consolidation form or community commonwealth
  4 18 form that provides for representation by districts shall also
  4 19 apply to a county with a population of 60,000 or more that has
  4 20 adopted a plan "three" form of representation.  The procedure
  4 21 provides that the county's initial plan for districts, and the
  4 22 county's first plan for districts after each federal decennial
  4 23 census, shall be drawn by the legislative services agency based
  4 24 upon an approved precinct plan for the county and the standards
  4 25 applicable to congressional and legislative redistricting.  If
  4 26 the plan drawn by the legislative services agency is rejected
  4 27 by the governing body, the governing body shall direct the
  4 28 legislative services agency to prepare another plan as provided
  4 29 by current law.
  4 30    Code section 68B.32A, concerning complaints for improper
  4 31 political reasons relative to an adopted supervisor district
  4 32 plan, is amended to make the complaint process inapplicable
  4 33 to plans prepared by the legislative services agency.  In
  4 34 addition, Code section 331.209 is amended to provide that
  4 35 the state commissioner of elections shall not be permitted
  5  1 to request assistance from the legislative services agency
  5  2 relating to a representation plan drawn pursuant to Code
  5  3 section 331.210A(2)(f).
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