House File 473 - Introduced HOUSE FILE BY KAUFMANN Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays Approved A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to the appointment or election of district 2 judicial nominating commissioners and the appointment of 3 district judges. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 1582YH 82 6 jm/es/88 PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 46.3, Code 2007, is amended to read as 1 2 follows: 1 3 46.3 APPOINTMENT OF DISTRICT JUDICIAL NOMINATING 1 4 COMMISSIONERS. 1 5 1. The governor shall appoint five eligible electors of 1 6 each judicial election district to the district judicial 1 7 nominating commission. 1 8 2.AppointmentsThe appointments made by the governor 1 9 shall be to staggered terms of six years each and shall be 1 10 made in the month of January for terms commencing February 1 1 11 of even=numbered years. 1 12 3.No more than aA simple majority of the commissioners 1 13 appointed by the governor shall be of the same gender. 1 14 4. Beginning with terms commencing February 1, 2008, there 1 15 shall not be more than one appointed commissioner from a 1 16 county within a judicial election district unless each county 1 17 within the judicial election district has an appointed 1 18 commissioner and the number of appointed commissioners exceeds 1 19 the number of counties within the judicial election district. 1 20 This subsection shall not be used to remove an appointed 1 21 commissioner from office prior to the expiration of the 1 22 commissioner's term. 1 23 Sec. 2. Section 46.4, Code 2007, is amended to read as 1 24 follows: 1 25 46.4 ELECTION OF DISTRICT JUDICIAL NOMINATING 1 26 COMMISSIONERS. 1 27 1. The resident members of the bar of each judicial 1 28 election district shall elect five eligible electors of the 1 29 district to the district judicial nominating commission. 1 30 Commissioners shall be elected to staggered terms of six years 1 31 each. The elections shall be held in the month of January for 1 32 terms commencing February 1 of even=numbered years. 1 33 2. For terms commencing February 1, 1988, and every six 1 34 years thereafter, one elected commissioner in each district 1 35 shall be a woman and one shall be a man. For terms commencing 2 1 February 1, 1990, and every six years thereafter, one elected 2 2 commissioner in each district shall be a woman and one shall 2 3 be a man. For the term commencing February 1, 1992, in the 2 4 odd=numbered districts the elected commissioner shall be a 2 5 woman and in the even=numbered districts the elected 2 6 commissioner shall be a man. For the terms commencing every 2 7 six years thereafter, the districts shall alternate between 2 8 women and men elected commissioners. 2 9 3. Beginning with the terms commencing February 1, 2008, 2 10 there shall not be more than one commissioner from a county 2 11 within a judicial election district unless each county within 2 12 the judicial election district has an elected commissioner and 2 13 the number of elected commissioners exceeds the number of 2 14 counties within the judicial election district. This 2 15 subsection shall not be used to remove an elected commissioner 2 16 from office prior to the expiration of the commissioner's 2 17 term. 2 18 Sec. 3. Section 46.14, Code 2007, is amended to read as 2 19 follows: 2 20 46.14 NOMINATION. 2 21 1. Each judicial nominating commission shall carefully 2 22 consider the individuals available for judge, and within sixty 2 23 days after receiving notice of a vacancy shall certify to the 2 24 governor and the chief justice the proper number of nominees, 2 25 in alphabetical order. Such nominees shall be chosen by the 2 26 affirmative vote of a majority of the full statutory number of 2 27 commissioners upon the basis of their qualifications and 2 28 without regard to political affiliation. Nominees shall be 2 29 members of the bar of Iowa, shall be residents of the state or 2 30 district of the court to which they are nominated, and shall 2 31 be of such age that they will be able to serve an initial and 2 32 one regular term of office to which they are nominated before 2 33 reaching the age of seventy=two years.Nominees for district 2 34 judge shall file a certified application form, to be provided 2 35 by the supreme court, with the chairperson of the district 3 1 judicial nominating commission.Absence of a commissioner or 3 2 vacancy upon the commission shall not invalidate a nomination. 3 3 The chairperson of the commission shall promptly certify the 3 4 names of the nominees, in alphabetical order, to the governor 3 5 and the chief justice. 3 6 2. Nominees for district judge shall file a certified 3 7 application form, to be provided by the supreme court, with 3 8 the chairperson of the district judicial nominating 3 9 commission. If a county within a judicial election district 3 10 does not have a district judge residing in the county when a 3 11 vacancy for the office of district judge occurs, the nominees 3 12 for the vacancy shall be from those counties within the 3 13 judicial election district that do not have a district judge 3 14 residing in the county. For purposes of this subsection, a 3 15 nominee is considered residing in the county if the nominee 3 16 has resided in the county for at least ten years. 3 172.3. A commissioner shall not be eligible for nomination 3 18 by the commission during the term for which the commissioner 3 19 was elected or appointed to that commission. A commissioner 3 20 shall not be eligible to vote for the nomination of a family 3 21 member, current law partner, or current business partner. For 3 22 purposes of this subsection, "family member" means a spouse, 3 23 son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, 3 24 nephew, niece, father=in=law, mother=in=law, son=in=law, 3 25 daughter=in=law, brother=in=law, sister=in=law, father, 3 26 mother, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, 3 27 stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister. 3 28 EXPLANATION 3 29 This bill relates to the appointment or election of 3 30 district judicial nominating commissioners and the appointment 3 31 of district judges. 3 32 The bill requires that each appointed commissioner of a 3 33 district judicial nominating commission be from a different 3 34 county within the judicial election district unless each 3 35 county within the judicial election district has an appointed 4 1 commissioner and the number of appointed commissioners exceeds 4 2 the number of counties within the judicial election district. 4 3 The bill also requires that each elected commissioner of a 4 4 district judicial nominating commission be from a different 4 5 county within the judicial election district unless each 4 6 county within the judicial election district has an appointed 4 7 commissioner and the number of appointed commissioners exceeds 4 8 the number of counties within the judicial election district. 4 9 A district judicial nominating commission makes nominations 4 10 to the governor to fill district judge vacancies. Under the 4 11 bill and in current law, the governor appoints five 4 12 commissioners to the district judicial nominating commission 4 13 and the attorneys of the judicial election district elect five 4 14 commissioners to the district judicial nominating commission. 4 15 Under the bill and in current law, the district judge who has 4 16 served the longest in the judicial election district serves as 4 17 a chairperson of the district judicial nominating commission. 4 18 Under the bill, if a county within a judicial election 4 19 district does not have a district judge residing in the county 4 20 when a vacancy for the office of district judge occurs, the 4 21 nominees for the vacancy shall be from those counties within 4 22 the judicial election district that do not have a district 4 23 judge residing in the county. In addition, the bill requires 4 24 a person to reside in a county for at least ten years prior to 4 25 the person being eligible to be a nominee for district judge 4 26 from that county. 4 27 LSB 1582YH 82 4 28 jm:nh/es/88