Bill Text: IA SSB3181 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act regarding legislative oversight of supreme court decisions, and including applicability provisions.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-17 - Subcommittee: Garrett, Bisignano, and Whiting. [SSB3181 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-SSB3181-Introduced.html
Senate Study Bill 3181 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ZAUN) A BILL FOR An Act regarding legislative oversight of supreme court 1 decisions, and including applicability provisions. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 6068XC (1) 88 mo/jh
S.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 602.1615 Legislative findings —— 1 challenges to the validity of a statute —— exclusive jurisdiction 2 —— public hearings —— legislative oversight. 1. The general assembly finds and declares all of the 4 following: 5 a. The power to impeach subsumes reasonable less severe 6 remedies. 7 b. The intent of this section is to provide for a mechanism 8 in which to resolve disputes regarding the constitutionality of 9 laws between the courts and the legislature, both of which are 10 composed of constitutional scholars. 11 c. Article 5, section 4 of the Constitution of the State 12 of Iowa states that the supreme court is “a court for the 13 correction of errors at law, under such restriction as the 14 general assembly may, by law, prescribe . . .”. 15 d. Article 3, section 20 of the Constitution of the State 16 of Iowa gives the legislature the power to impeach judges for 17 “malfeasance in office”, which is generally defined to include 18 acting without authority and abusing power. The power to 19 impeach subsumes all lesser remedies. 20 e. The Constitution of the State of Iowa does not give the 21 courts of this state the power to invalidate laws enacted by 22 the legislature, to require the legislature to enact different 23 laws, or to publish rulings that have the same effect as new 24 legislation. Article 3, section 1 of the Constitution of 25 the State of Iowa states: “The powers of the government of 26 Iowa shall be divided into three separate departments —— the 27 legislative, the executive, and the judicial: and no person 28 charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one 29 of these departments shall exercise any function appertaining 30 to either of the others, except in cases hereinafter expressly 31 directed or permitted”. 32 f. Although the courts of Iowa have usurped those powers 33 without constitutional authority, it has been done for reasons 34 which the general assembly respects. The general assembly 35 -1- LSB 6068XC (1) 88 mo/jh 1/ 4
S.F. _____ welcomes the expertise and guidance of the courts in evaluating 1 the constitutionality of its laws. But when the reasoning of 2 rulings which function as legislation appears to be not only 3 unsound, but unconstitutional, the general assembly has the 4 constitutional duty and authority to determine that judges and 5 justices have abused their power and exceeded their authority, 6 which are grounds for impeachment under the malfeasance in 7 office clause. 8 g. A remedy short of impeachment should advance wisdom, 9 build consensus, and educate voters so that informed voters 10 may hold both judges and legislators accountable. Article 1, 11 section 2 of the Constitution of the State of Iowa states: 12 “All political power is inherent in the people. Government is 13 instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the 14 people, and they have the right, at all times, to alter or 15 reform the same, whenever the public good may require it”. 16 2. The supreme court shall have discretionary and exclusive 17 original jurisdiction over any challenge to any law. A 18 district court or the court of appeals shall not invalidate a 19 law on any grounds. 20 3. A decision of the supreme court that invalidates 21 existing law or has the effect of creating new law shall not 22 have any effect unless agreed to by five or more of the seven 23 justices, and otherwise shall not have any effect for one 24 year. The supreme court shall also have the power to suspend 25 implementation of a new law provided the supreme court produces 26 an expedited ruling within three months of the law’s enactment. 27 4. a. Within one year of the date a supreme court decision 28 is published that invalidates existing law or has the effect 29 of creating new law, the general assembly may, by resolution, 30 compel the attendance of specified justices to a public hearing 31 to discuss and debate the justification for the decision with 32 members of the general assembly. A public record of the 33 hearing shall be made. 34 b. During or after the hearing, the general assembly shall 35 -2- LSB 6068XC (1) 88 mo/jh 2/ 4
S.F. _____ determine if grounds to begin impeachment exist as to any 1 of the justices present at the hearing for acting without 2 authority or malfeasance in office. 3 c. Based on the results of a hearing commenced pursuant to 4 this subsection, a justice whose presence was required at the 5 hearing may change the justice’s vote or alter the justice’s 6 individual contribution to the decision. 7 5. A supreme court decision invalidating existing law or 8 having the effect of creating new law will not take effect if 9 two-thirds of both the senate and the house of representatives 10 approve a resolution to overturn the decision within one year 11 of the date the decision was published. The resolution must 12 specify the basis for overturning the decision, including 13 its reasoning, not to be limited by court precedent that is 14 responsive to the supreme court’s initial published decision, 15 and must be documented by expert testimony and constitutional 16 authority. 17 6. The general assembly may issue its own statement to a 18 published supreme court decision that invalidates existing law 19 or has the effect of creating new law if done within one year of 20 the date the decision was published. The statement must regard 21 the constitutionality of the invalidated existing law or the 22 newly created law. 23 Sec. 2. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to decisions 24 published by the supreme court on or after the effective date 25 of this Act. 26 EXPLANATION 27 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 28 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 29 This bill gives the supreme court discretionary and 30 exclusive jurisdiction over any challenge to any law and 31 provides that district courts and the court of appeals shall 32 not invalidate a law on any grounds. 33 The bill includes legislative findings relating to 34 the powers of the supreme court, and the supreme court’s 35 -3- LSB 6068XC (1) 88 mo/jh 3/ 4
S.F. _____ relationship with the legislative branch. 1 The bill provides that any decision of the supreme court that 2 invalidates existing law or has the effect of creating a new 3 law does not have any effect unless agreed to by five or more of 4 the seven justices, and otherwise does not have any effect for 5 one year. The supreme court may also suspend implementation 6 of a new law if it produces an expedited ruling within three 7 months of the law’s enactment. 8 The bill provides that, if within one year of the date a 9 supreme court decision is rendered that invalidates existing 10 law or has the effect of creating new law, the general assembly 11 may hold a public hearing and compel the attendance of justices 12 to justify the decision. 13 Based on the results of the hearing, a justice present at the 14 hearing may change the justice’s vote or alter the justice’s 15 individual contribution to a decision that invalidates existing 16 law or has the effect of creating a new law if done before that 17 decision takes effect. 18 Lastly, the bill provides that a supreme court decision 19 that invalidates existing law or has the effect of creating 20 new law will not take effect if two-thirds of both the senate 21 and the house of representatives approves of a resolution 22 to overturn the decision within one year of the date the 23 decision was published. The general assembly may also issue 24 its own statement to a published supreme court decision that 25 invalidates existing law or has the effect of creating new 26 law if issued within one year of the date the decision was 27 published, which must regard the constitutionality of the 28 invalidated existing law or newly created law. 29 The bill applies to decisions published by the supreme court 30 on or after the effective date of the bill. 31 -4- LSB 6068XC (1) 88 mo/jh 4/ 4
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