HF 316 (LSB 2478YH (3) 86)

HOUSE FILE 316

BY  KELLEY

A BILL FOR

An Act appropriating moneys to support soil and water conservation districts in this state, by funding secretary positions assigned to each district office.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS —— APPROPRIATION.  There is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the department of agriculture and land stewardship for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, and ending June 30, 2016, the following amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes designated:
   1.  For purposes of supporting soil and water conservation districts in this state as provided in chapter 161A:

.................................................. $  6,700,000

............................................... FTEs     100.00

   2.  The appropriation made in subsection 1 shall be used to fund salaries, support, and maintenance of one full-time field office secretary I position in each soil and water conservation district office.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   There are 100 soil and water conservation districts organized in this state, one located in each county except for Pottawattamie county which maintains two districts. A soil conservation district is associated with local governments, state government, and the federal government, including locally elected district commissioners (Code section 161A.5), a state soil conservation committee and soil conservation division established within the department of agriculture and land stewardship (DALS) (Code section 161A.4), and the national resource conservation service (NRCS) a subagency of the United States department of agriculture. District offices are staffed by an NRCS employee and sometimes a secretary employed by the DALS. This bill appropriates moneys to DALS for FY 2015-2016 and requires that the agency support each district office by employing one full-time secretary.