HF 112 (LSB 1560YH (1) 88)

HOUSE FILE 112

BY  ISENHART

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to leases between local governments and persons using land for farming.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  161A.90  Definitions.
   As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Farming” means the same as defined in section 9H.1.
   2.  “Farming practice” includes but is not limited to a decision regarding crop production, including crop types and varieties to plant, cultivation and harvesting methods, and the application of materials including manure and commercial fertilizers, tillage, and crop rotation systems.
   3.  “Local government” means a county, city, township, school district, or any special-purpose district or authority.
   4.  “Soil and water conservation practice” means the same as defined in section 161A.42.
   5.  “Soil health practice” means a practice to provide for the continued capacity of soil to permanently sustain plant and animal life.
   6.  a.  “Water quality practice” means a land use change or the establishment and maintenance of a measure that limits sediment or nutrients from being conveyed by surface water runoff or leaching.
   b.  “Water quality practice” includes the establishment of any of the following:
   (1)  A terrace.
   (2)  A cover crop that is used as part of crop rotation cycle.
   (3)  A bioreactor installed as part of or connected to a field drainage system.
   (4)  A wetland established as part of or connected to a crop field.
   (5)  A saturated buffer.
   (6)  Cropland integrated with a prairie grass strip. 
   (7)  A riparian buffer strip.
   (8)  A grassed waterway.
   (9)  An area maintained in permanent vegetation cover, including perennial vegetation cover consisting of grasses or legumes, including but not limited to grasslands or forages.
   (10)  A wetland area if the area is mostly underwater or waterlogged during the growing season and is characterized by vegetation of hydric soils.
   (11)  Any other measure recognized by the division that manages nutrients and reduces contributing contaminant loads to receiving surface waters, including by detaining sediment-laden water, reducing the volume or velocity of precipitation-induced surface water, filtering sediment-laden water, or reducing nutrient loss through tile drainage systems.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  161A.91  Restrictions on leases by local governments.
   1.  A local government that holds a legal or equitable interest in agricultural land shall not enter into a lease with another person, if the person may use the agricultural land for farming, unless the lease is in writing and a farm unit agreement is made part of the lease. The parties to the agreement shall be the lessee and the soil and water conservation commissioners of the district where the land is located.
   2.  The farm unit agreement shall apply to the same farm unit as an applicable farm unit conservation plan or conservation agreement. The agreement may be made part of a farm unit conservation plan or soil conservation agreement. A farm unit agreement may cover one or more farm units as specified in the agreement so long as all farm units are located as part of the same district. The agreement shall identify those soil and water conservation practices, water quality practices, farming practices, and soil health practices that best prevent soil loss, manage nutrients, reduce contributing contaminant loads to receiving surface water, and promote soil health.
   3.  The farm unit agreement shall be completed on forms prepared by the division in consultation with the Iowa nutrient research center established pursuant to section 466B.47.
   4.  The commissioners of the district shall assist the parties to the lease in developing a farm unit agreement. The commissioners shall respond to a request by a local government to develop a farm unit agreement within sixty days of receiving the request. The lessee shall file the agreement with the commissioners subject to their approval. The commissioners shall deliver a copy of the agreement to the division. Each year, an updated agreement must be approved and filed in the same manner as the original agreement.
   5.  If a farm unit agreement is not filed as required in this section, the lease shall be void in sixty days.
   6.  The commissioners shall inspect or cause to be inspected land covered by a farm unit agreement if reasonable grounds exist to believe that a failure to comply with the agreement is occurring. If the commissioners determine a failure is occurring, a notice of that finding shall be delivered to the parties to the lease. The notice shall describe the land affected and shall describe the failure. The notice shall also describe the corrective action required and the time limit for commencing and accomplishing such action.
   7.  If corrective action has not been commenced or accomplished as described in the notice, the commissioners shall issue an administrative order to the person who filed the farm unit agreement. The administrative order shall address the same subjects provided in the notice. However, the corrective action must be commenced not more than six months after the date the order is issued and must be completed not more than one year after that date.
   8.  a.  The commissioners shall petition the district court to issue an order requiring immediate compliance with an administrative order if the commissioners have determined any of the following:
   (1)  The corrective action has not been commenced or completed by the date specified in the administrative order.
   (2)  The corrective action has been commenced but is not being performed with due diligence or in a manner that will reasonably result in compliance with the administrative order.
   b.  The district court may grant injunctive relief necessary in order to enforce the terms and conditions of the agreement. Alternatively, district court may void the lease. If a lease is voided, the local government shall have any remedy available to a lessor who brings an action against a lessee for the wrongful termination of a lease.
   9.  This section shall not apply if the duration of the lease is for less than sixty days. However, this section shall apply if the local government and the same person enter into multiple subsequent leases that involve the same tract of land.
    Sec. 3.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection 3, shall not apply to this Act.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires a farm unit agreement be executed when any lease is entered into by a local government and a person who may use the leased land for farming purposes. The agreement requires the lessee to comply with applicable soil and water conservation practices, farming practices, water quality practices, and soil health practices during the period of the lease. The agreement must be developed in cooperation with the commissioners of the soil and water conservation district where the land is located who are parties to the agreement. The commissioners may conduct inspections to ensure compliance with the agreement and take administrative or judicial action to enforce its provisions. The bill does not apply to a lease that is for less than 60 days unless the local government and the same person have entered into multiple subsequent leases involving the same land.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with any state mandate included in the bill.