Bill Text: IA SF288 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to consideration of political affiliation and balance in the employment of faculty at institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-20 - Introduced, referred to Education. S.J. 357. [SF288 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF288-Introduced.html

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Senate File 288 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  CHELGREN

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to consideration of political affiliation and
  2    balance in the employment of faculty at institutions of
  3    higher education governed by the state board of regents.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 1304XS (4) 87
    kh/jh/rj

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 262.9, Code 2017, is amended by adding
  1  2 the following new subsection:
  1  3    NEW SUBSECTION.  39.  Require partisan balance of the
  1  4 faculty employed at each of the institutions of higher learning
  1  5 governed by the board.  A person shall not be hired as a
  1  6 professor or instructor member of the faculty at such an
  1  7 institution if the person's political party affiliation on
  1  8 the date of hire would cause the percentage of the faculty
  1  9 belonging to one political party to exceed by ten percent the
  1 10 percentage of the faculty belonging to the other political
  1 11 party, on the date established by the board for determining
  1 12 the political party composition of the faculty. A person who
  1 13 declares a no party affiliation need not be considered in
  1 14 determining the political party composition of the faculty.
  1 15 Annually, on a date to be established by the board, the state
  1 16 commissioner of elections shall cooperate with the board and
  1 17 furnish, free of charge, voter registration records to the
  1 18 institutions of higher learning governed by the board to meet
  1 19 the requirements of this subsection.  For purposes of this
  1 20 subsection, "partisan balance" refers to balance between faculty
  1 21 members who declare a political affiliation with one of the
  1 22 two political parties whose candidates for president of the
  1 23 United States or for governor, as the case may be, received the
  1 24 largest and next largest number of votes at the last general
  1 25 election.
  1 26                           EXPLANATION
  1 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  1 28 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  1 29    This bill directs the state board of regents to require
  1 30 partisan balance of the faculty employed at each regents
  1 31 university. "Partisan balance" refers to the balance between
  1 32 faculty members who declare a political affiliation with one of
  1 33 the two political parties whose candidates for president of the
  1 34 United States or for governor, as the case may be, received the
  1 35 largest and next largest number of votes at the last general
  2  1 election.
  2  2    The bill prohibits such a university from hiring a person
  2  3 as a professor or instructor if the percentage of the faculty
  2  4 belonging to one political party would exceed by 10 percent the
  2  5 percentage of faculty belonging to the other political party on
  2  6 the date established by the board for determining the political
  2  7 party composition of the faculty.  A person who declares no
  2  8 party affiliation need not be considered in determining the
  2  9 political affiliation composition of the faculty body.
  2 10    Annually, on a date to be determined by the board, the state
  2 11 commissioner of elections must cooperate with the board and
  2 12 furnish, free of charge, voter registration records to the
  2 13 regents universities.
       LSB 1304XS (4) 87
       kh/jh/rj