HOUSE FILE 138

BY  KAUFMANN, SCHULTZ, SCHULTE, MOORE, LOFGREN, BAUDLER, PETTENGILL, HEATON, L. MILLER, RAYHONS, FORRISTALL, ALONS, HUSEMAN, CHAMBERS, ANDERSON, BRANDENBURG, S. OLSON, PAUSTIAN, KLEIN, BYRNES, VANDER LINDEN, MASSIE, VAN ENGELENHOVEN, WORTHAN, FRY, KOESTER, SODERBERG, ROGERS, GRASSLEY, SWAIM, BERRY, KRESSIG, KAJTAZOVIC, WITTNEBEN, WILLEMS, STECKMAN, GASKILL, KEARNS, WENTHE, QUIRK, and SANDS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to gubernatorial appointments made to a district judicial nominating commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 46.3, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   46.3  Appointment of district judicial nominating commissioners.
   1.  The governor shall appoint five eligible electors of each judicial election district to the district judicial nominating commission.
   2.  Appointments The appointments made by the governor shall be to staggered terms of six years each and shall be made in the month of January for terms commencing February 1 of even-numbered years.
   3.  No more than a A simple majority of the commissioners appointed shall be of the same gender.
   4.  Beginning with terms commencing February 1, 2012, there shall not be more than one appointed commissioner from a county within a judicial election district unless each county within the judicial election district has an appointed or elected commissioner or the number of appointed commissioners exceeds the number of counties within the judicial election district. This subsection shall not be used to remove an appointed commissioner from office prior to the expiration of the commissioner’s term.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to gubernatorial appointments made to a district judicial nominating commission.
   Beginning with the terms commencing on February 1, 2012, the bill provides that the governor shall not appoint more than one commissioner from a county within a judicial election district unless each county within the judicial election district has an appointed or elected commissioner or the number of appointed commissioners exceeds the number of counties within the judicial election district. Current law does not place residency restrictions on governor appointments to the commission other than the person shall reside within the judicial election district.
   A district judicial nominating commission nominates three persons to the governor who then selects a person from the list of nominees for appointment to fill a vacancy in district court.
   A district judicial nominating commission consists of five eligible electors of the judicial election district appointed to staggered terms by the governor, five eligible electors of the judicial election district elected to staggered terms by the lawyers of the judicial election district, and the most senior district judge of the judicial election district.