Bill Text: IA SF318 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to operations of townships by requiring that townships provide emergency medical service, modifying provisions related to township cemeteries, and including applicability provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-22 - Subcommittee reassigned: Guth, Greene, and Hogg. S.J. 135. [SF318 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-SF318-Introduced.html

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Senate File 318 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  DANIELSON

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to operations of townships by requiring that
  2    townships provide emergency medical service, modifying
  3    provisions related to township cemeteries, and including
  4    applicability provisions.
  5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 359.17, subsection 2, Code 2017, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    2.  A board of township trustees shall give prior notice of
  1  4 a meeting to discuss, deliberate, or act upon a matter relating
  1  5 to the budget or a tax levy of the township or relating to
  1  6 the trustees' duty to provide fire protection service and,
  1  7 if provided, emergency medical service, pursuant to section
  1  8 359.42. The trustees shall give notice of such meeting at
  1  9 least twenty=four hours preceding the commencement of the
  1 10 meeting. The notice shall state the time, date, and place
  1 11 of the meeting and the proposed agenda. The notice shall be
  1 12 provided to the county auditor who shall post the notice in an
  1 13 area of the courthouse where notices to the public are commonly
  1 14 posted.
  1 15    Sec. 2.  Section 359.31, Code 2017, is amended to read as
  1 16 follows:
  1 17    359.31  Power and control.
  1 18    They The board of township trustees shall control any such
  1 19 cemeteries, or appoint trustees for the same, or sell the same
  1 20 to any private corporation for cemetery purposes.  The board of
  1 21 township trustees may contract with a public or private agency
  1 22 under chapter 28E or to establish a joint cemetery board under
  1 23 section 359.36 for the purposes of improving, maintaining, and
  1 24 supporting township cemeteries.
  1 25    Sec. 3.  Section 359.42, Code 2017, is amended to read as
  1 26 follows:
  1 27    359.42  Township fire protection service, emergency warning
  1 28 system, and emergency medical service.
  1 29    1.  Except as otherwise provided in section 331.385, the
  1 30 trustees of each township shall provide fire the following
  1 31 services for the township:
  1 32    a.  Fire protection service for the township, exclusive of
  1 33 any part of the township within a benefited fire district and
  1 34 may provide emergency medical service.
  1 35    b.  Emergency medical service.
  2  1    2.  The trustees may purchase, own, rent, or maintain fire
  2  2 protection service or emergency medical service apparatus or
  2  3 equipment or both kinds of apparatus or equipment and provide
  2  4 housing for the equipment. The trustees of a township which
  2  5 is located within a county having a population of three
  2  6 hundred thousand or more may also establish and maintain an
  2  7 emergency warning system within the township. The trustees
  2  8 may contract with a public or private agency under chapter 28E
  2  9 for the purpose of providing any service or system required or
  2 10 authorized under this section.
  2 11    Sec. 4.  Section 359.49, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended
  2 12 to read as follows:
  2 13    2.  By January 15 of each year, each township fire department
  2 14 in the township shall provide to the board of trustees a
  2 15 proposed budget showing all revenues and all expenses for
  2 16 emergency services for the next fiscal year.  By January 15 of
  2 17 each year, each entity providing emergency medical service in
  2 18 the township shall provide to the board of trustees a proposed
  2 19 budget showing all revenues and all expenses for emergency
  2 20 medical service for the next fiscal year. By January 15 of
  2 21 each year, each township fire department, and each municipal
  2 22 fire department or other entity providing emergency services
  2 23 to a township, shall submit to the board of trustees a report
  2 24 detailing emergency services calls for the prior calendar year
  2 25 for the fire district and a copy of the fire report filed by
  2 26 the fire department with the state fire marshal's office. For
  2 27 purposes of this subsection, "municipal" means relating to a
  2 28 city, county, township, benefited fire district, or chapter 28E
  2 29 agency authorized by law to provide emergency services.
  2 30    Sec. 5.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection
  2 31 3, shall not apply to this Act.
  2 32    Sec. 6.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to fiscal years
  2 33 beginning on or after July 1, 2018.
  2 34                           EXPLANATION
  2 35 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  3  1 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  3  2    This bill requires that a township provide emergency medical
  3  3 service within the township.  Under current law, a township is
  3  4 required to provide fire protection service and is authorized,
  3  5 but not required, to provide emergency medical service. The
  3  6 bill also makes corresponding changes to provisions of law
  3  7 governing the township budgeting process.
  3  8    The bill specifies that each board of township trustees is
  3  9 authorized to contract with a public or private agency under
  3 10 Code chapter 28E (joint exercise of governmental powers) or to
  3 11 establish a joint cemetery board with a city council under Code
  3 12 section 359.36 for the purpose of improving, maintaining, and
  3 13 supporting township cemeteries.
  3 14    The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
  3 15 section 25B.3.  The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2,
  3 16 subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from
  3 17 complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of
  3 18 the state mandate is not provided or specified.  Therefore,
  3 19 political subdivisions are required to comply with any state
  3 20 mandate included in the bill.
  3 21    The bill may cause a state agency or political subdivision to
  3 22 offer for sale to the public a service or product that competes
  3 23 with private enterprise.
  3 24    The bill applies to fiscal years beginning on or after July
  3 25 1, 2018.
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