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Senate File 563 - ReprintedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to the judicial branch, including
2appropriations to the judicial branch, apportionment of
3district associate judges, video recordings, noncontract
4attorney appointment, and contracting authority.
5BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1DIVISION I
2FY 2023-2024 APPROPRIATIONS
3 Section 1. JUDICIAL BRANCH.
41. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state
5to the judicial branch for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
62023, and ending June 30, 2024, the following amounts, or so
7much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes
8designated:
9a. For salaries of supreme court justices, appellate court
10judges, district court judges, district associate judges,
11associate juvenile judges, associate probate judges, judicial
12magistrates and staff, state court administrator, clerk of
13the supreme court, district court administrators, clerks of
14the district court, juvenile court officers, board of law
15examiners, board of examiners of shorthand reporters, and
16commission on judicial qualifications; receipt and disbursement
17of child support payments; reimbursement of the auditor
18of state for expenses incurred in completing audits of the
19offices of the clerks of the district court during the fiscal
20year beginning July 1, 2023; and maintenance, equipment, and
21miscellaneous purposes:
.................................................. $22193,350,550
23Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
24no more than $250,000 is allocated for reimbursement to the
25indigent defense fund created in section 815.11 for travel
26time claims as required under section 815.7A, subsection 2, if
27enacted by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 562 or House Study Bill
28251, or successor legislation.
29b. For deposit in the revolving fund created pursuant to
30section 602.1302, subsection 3, for jury and witness fees,
31mileage, costs related to summoning jurors, costs and fees for
32interpreters and translators, and reimbursement of attorney
33fees paid by the state public defender:
.................................................. $343,600,000
35c. For payment of expenses for court-ordered services
-1-1provided to juveniles who are under the supervision of juvenile
2court services, which expenses are a charge upon the state
3pursuant to section 232.141, subsection 4:
.................................................. $43,290,000
5(1) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
6no more than $1,556,000 is allocated to provide school-based
7supervision of children under chapter 232, of which no more
8than $15,000 may be used for purposes of training. A portion
9of the cost of each school-based liaison officer shall be paid
10by the school district or other funding source as approved by
11the chief juvenile court officer.
12(2) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
13no more than $748,000 is allocated for the payment of expenses
14for court-ordered services provided to children who are under
15the supervision of the department of health and human services,
16which expenses are a charge upon the state pursuant to section
17232.141, subsection 4.
18(3) Notwithstanding section 232.141 or any other provision
19of law to the contrary, the moneys appropriated in this
20lettered paragraph shall be distributed to the judicial
21districts as determined by the state court administrator. The
22state court administrator shall make the determination of the
23distribution amounts on or before June 15, 2023.
24(4) Notwithstanding chapter 232 or any other provision of
25law to the contrary, a district or juvenile court shall not
26order any service which is a charge upon the state pursuant
27to section 232.141 if there are insufficient court-ordered
28services moneys available in the district court distribution
29amounts to pay for the service. The chief juvenile court
30officer shall encourage use of the moneys appropriated in this
31lettered paragraph such that there are sufficient moneys to pay
32for all court-ordered services during the entire fiscal year.
33The chief juvenile court officer shall attempt to anticipate
34potential surpluses and shortfalls in the distribution amounts
35and shall cooperatively request the state court administrator
-2-1to transfer moneys between the judicial districts’ distribution
2amounts as prudent.
3(5) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
4a district or juvenile court shall not order a county to pay
5for any service provided to a juvenile pursuant to an order
6entered under chapter 232 which is a charge upon the state
7under section 232.141, subsection 4.
8(6) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
9no more than $83,000 may be used by the judicial branch
10for administration of the requirements under this lettered
11paragraph.
12(7) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
13$23,000 is allocated to the judicial branch to support the
14interstate commission for juveniles in accordance with the
15interstate compact for juveniles as provided in section
16232.173.
17d. For juvenile justice delinquency prevention pursuant to
18section 232.192, if enacted by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 285
19or House File 699, or if not enacted, for juvenile delinquent
20graduated sanctions services pursuant to section 232.192, as
21enacted by 2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1098, section 70:
.................................................. $2212,253,000
23Any state moneys saved as a result of efforts by juvenile
24court services to earn a federal fund match pursuant to Tit.
25IV-E of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act
26of 2018, Pub.L.No.115-123, for juvenile court services
27administration is appropriated to the judicial branch for
28purposes of this lettered paragraph.
292. The judicial branch, except for purposes of internal
30processing, shall use the current state budget system, the
31state payroll system, and the Iowa finance and accounting
32system in administration of programs and payments for services,
33and shall not duplicate the state payroll, accounting, and
34budgeting systems.
353. The judicial branch shall submit monthly financial
-3-1statements to the legislative services agency and the
2department of management containing all appropriated accounts
3in the same manner as provided in the monthly financial status
4reports and personal services usage reports of the department
5of administrative services. The monthly financial statements
6shall include a comparison of the dollars and percentage
7spent of budgeted versus actual revenues and expenditures on
8a cumulative basis for full-time equivalent positions and
9dollars.
104. The judicial branch shall focus efforts upon the
11collection of delinquent fines, penalties, court costs, fees,
12surcharges, or similar amounts.
135. It is the intent of the general assembly that the offices
14of the clerks of the district court operate in all 99 counties
15and be accessible to the public as much as is reasonably
16possible in order to address the relative needs of the citizens
17of each county. An office of the clerk of the district court
18shall be open regular courthouse hours.
196. In addition to the requirements for transfers under
20section 8.39, the judicial branch shall not change the
21appropriations from the amounts appropriated to the judicial
22branch in this division of this Act, unless notice of the
23revisions is given to the legislative services agency prior
24to the effective date. The notice shall include information
25on the judicial branch’s rationale for making the changes and
26details concerning the workload and performance measures upon
27which the changes are based.
287. The judicial branch shall submit a semiannual update
29to the legislative services agency specifying the amounts of
30fines, surcharges, and court costs collected using the Iowa
31court information system since the last report. The judicial
32branch shall continue to facilitate the sharing of vital
33sentencing and other information with other state departments
34and governmental agencies involved in the criminal justice
35system through the Iowa court information system.
-4- 18. The judicial branch shall provide a report to the general
2assembly by January 1, 2024, concerning the amounts received
3and expended from the court technology and modernization fund
4created in section 602.8108, subsection 7, during the fiscal
5year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, and the
6plans for expenditures from each fund during the fiscal year
7beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024.
8 Sec. 2. CIVIL TRIALS — LOCATION. Notwithstanding any
9provision to the contrary, for the fiscal year beginning July
101, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, if all parties in a case
11agree, a civil trial including a jury trial may take place in a
12county contiguous to the county with proper jurisdiction, even
13if the contiguous county is located in an adjacent judicial
14district or judicial election district. If the trial is moved
15pursuant to this section, court personnel shall treat the case
16as if a change of venue occurred.
17 Sec. 3. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT. Notwithstanding section
18602.1509, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, and
19ending June 30, 2024, a judicial officer may waive travel
20reimbursement for any travel outside the judicial officer’s
21county of residence to conduct official judicial business.
22 Sec. 4. JUDICIAL OFFICER — UNPAID LEAVE. Notwithstanding
23the annual salary rates for judicial officers established by
242022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1145, section 6, for the fiscal year
25beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, the supreme
26court may by order place all judicial officers on unpaid leave
27status on any day employees of the judicial branch are placed
28on temporary layoff status. The biweekly pay of the judicial
29officers shall be reduced accordingly for the pay period in
30which the unpaid leave date occurred in the same manner as
31for noncontract employees of the judicial branch. Through
32the course of the fiscal year, the judicial branch may use an
33amount equal to the aggregate amount of salary reductions due
34to the judicial officer unpaid leave days for any purpose other
35than for judicial salaries.
-5-1 Sec. 5. IOWA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. It is the intent
2of the general assembly that the judicial branch utilize
3the Iowa communications network or other secure electronic
4communications in lieu of traveling for the fiscal year
5beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024.
6DIVISION II
7Apportionment of district Associate Judges
8 Sec. 6. Section 602.6301, Code 2023, is amended to read as
9follows:
10602.6301 Number and apportionment of district associate
11judges.
121. There shall be one district associate judge in counties
13having a population of more than thirty-five thousand and less
14than eighty thousand; two in counties having a population of
15eighty thousand or more and less than one hundred twenty-five
16thousand; three in counties having a population of one
17hundred twenty-five thousand or more and less than one hundred
18seventy thousand; four in counties having a population of one
19hundred seventy thousand or more and less than two hundred
20fifteen thousand; five in counties having a population of two
21hundred fifteen thousand or more and less than two hundred
22sixty thousand; six in counties having a population of two
23hundred sixty thousand or more and less than three hundred
24five thousand; seven in counties having a population of three
25hundred five thousand or more and less than three hundred
26fifty thousand; eight in counties having a population of three
27hundred fifty thousand or more and less than three hundred
28ninety-five thousand; nine in counties having a population of
29three hundred ninety-five thousand or more and less than four
30hundred forty thousand; ten in counties having a population of
31four hundred forty thousand or more and less than four hundred
32eighty-five thousand; and one additional judge for every
33population increment of thirty-five thousand which is over
34four hundred eighty-five thousand in such counties. However,
35a county shall not lose a district associate judgeship solely
-6-1because of a reduction in the county’s population. If the
2formula provided in this section results in the allocation
3of an additional district associate judgeship to a county,
4implementation of the allocation shall be subject to prior
5approval of the supreme court and availability of funds to the
6judicial branch. The supreme court shall prescribe, subject
7to the restrictions of this section, a formula to determine
8the number of district associate judges who will serve in each
9judicial election district. The formula shall be based upon
10a model that measures and applies an estimated case-related
11workload formula of judicial officers, and shall account for
12administrative duties, travel time, and other judicial duties
13not related to a specific case. A district associate judge
14appointed pursuant to section 602.6302 or 602.6307 shall not
15be counted for purposes of this section and the reduction of
16a district associate judge pursuant to section 602.6303 also
17shall not be counted for purposes of this section.
182. For purposes of this section, “vacancy” means the death,
19resignation, retirement, or removal of a district associate
20judge, or the failure of a district associate judge to be
21retained in office at the judicial election, or an increase in
22judgeships under the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
233. In those judicial election districts having more
24district associate judges than the number of judgeships
25specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies
26shall not be filled.
274. In those judicial election districts having fewer or
28the same number of district associate judges as the number of
29judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1,
30vacancies shall be filled as the vacancies occur.
315. In those judicial districts that contain more than one
32judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election
33district shall not be filled if the total number of district
34associate judges in all judicial election districts within
35the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number
-7-1of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts
2of the judicial district are authorized by the formula in
3subsection 1.
46. An incumbent district associate judge shall not be
5removed from office because of a reduction in the number of
6authorized judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in
7subsection 1.
8DIVISION III
9video recordings
10 Sec. 7. Section 602.3205, Code 2023, is amended to read as
11follows:
12602.3205 Audio and video recordings.
131. Except as provided in subsection 2 or 3, a certified
14shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely
15for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of
16a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation
17of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal
18property and private work product of the certified shorthand
19reporter.
202. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
21reporter appointed under section 602.6603 shall be provided to
22the presiding judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon
23court order for good cause shown.
243. a. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
25reporter shall be provided to the board upon request by the
26board if a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the
27certified shorthand reporter who is a respondent under the
28provisions of section 602.3203 or the rules of the board of
29examiners of shorthand reporters, Iowa court rules, ch.46.
30b. The audio and video recordings provided to the board
31pursuant to this subsection shall be kept confidential by the
32board in a manner as provided in section 272C.6, subsection 4.
33DIVISION IV
34NONCONTRACT ATTORNEY APPOINTMENT
35 Sec. 8. NONCONTRACT ATTORNEY APPOINTMENT. For the fiscal
-8-1year beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, a court
2shall not appoint a noncontract attorney under section 815.10,
3subsection 3, without the noncontract attorney’s consent.
4DIVISION V
5Contracting authority
6 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 602.1209A State court administrator
7may contractually limit vendor liability.
81. The state court administrator may authorize the
9procurement of goods and services in which a contractual
10limitation of vendor liability is provided for and set forth in
11the documents initiating the procurement.
122. a. The state court administrator shall consider all of
13the following criteria when determining whether to permit a
14contractual limitation of vendor liability with regard to any
15procurement of goods or services:
16(1) Whether authorizing a contractual limitation of vendor
17liability is necessary to prevent harm to the state from
18a failure to obtain the goods or services sought, or from
19obtaining the goods or services at a higher price if the state
20refuses to allow a contractual limitation of vendor liability.
21(2) Whether the contractual limitation of vendor liability
22is commercially reasonable when taking into account any risk to
23the state created by the goods or services to be procured and
24the purpose for which they will be used.
25b. The state court administrator may consider additional
26criteria.
273. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a contractual limitation
28of vendor liability shall not include any limitation on the
29liability of any vendor for intentional torts, criminal acts,
30or fraudulent conduct.
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2appropriations to the judicial branch, apportionment of
3district associate judges, video recordings, noncontract
4attorney appointment, and contracting authority.
5BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1DIVISION I
2FY 2023-2024 APPROPRIATIONS
3 Section 1. JUDICIAL BRANCH.
41. There is appropriated from the general fund of the state
5to the judicial branch for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
62023, and ending June 30, 2024, the following amounts, or so
7much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes
8designated:
9a. For salaries of supreme court justices, appellate court
10judges, district court judges, district associate judges,
11associate juvenile judges, associate probate judges, judicial
12magistrates and staff, state court administrator, clerk of
13the supreme court, district court administrators, clerks of
14the district court, juvenile court officers, board of law
15examiners, board of examiners of shorthand reporters, and
16commission on judicial qualifications; receipt and disbursement
17of child support payments; reimbursement of the auditor
18of state for expenses incurred in completing audits of the
19offices of the clerks of the district court during the fiscal
20year beginning July 1, 2023; and maintenance, equipment, and
21miscellaneous purposes:
.................................................. $22193,350,550
23Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
24no more than $250,000 is allocated for reimbursement to the
25indigent defense fund created in section 815.11 for travel
26time claims as required under section 815.7A, subsection 2, if
27enacted by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 562 or House Study Bill
28251, or successor legislation.
29b. For deposit in the revolving fund created pursuant to
30section 602.1302, subsection 3, for jury and witness fees,
31mileage, costs related to summoning jurors, costs and fees for
32interpreters and translators, and reimbursement of attorney
33fees paid by the state public defender:
.................................................. $343,600,000
35c. For payment of expenses for court-ordered services
-1-1provided to juveniles who are under the supervision of juvenile
2court services, which expenses are a charge upon the state
3pursuant to section 232.141, subsection 4:
.................................................. $43,290,000
5(1) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
6no more than $1,556,000 is allocated to provide school-based
7supervision of children under chapter 232, of which no more
8than $15,000 may be used for purposes of training. A portion
9of the cost of each school-based liaison officer shall be paid
10by the school district or other funding source as approved by
11the chief juvenile court officer.
12(2) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
13no more than $748,000 is allocated for the payment of expenses
14for court-ordered services provided to children who are under
15the supervision of the department of health and human services,
16which expenses are a charge upon the state pursuant to section
17232.141, subsection 4.
18(3) Notwithstanding section 232.141 or any other provision
19of law to the contrary, the moneys appropriated in this
20lettered paragraph shall be distributed to the judicial
21districts as determined by the state court administrator. The
22state court administrator shall make the determination of the
23distribution amounts on or before June 15, 2023.
24(4) Notwithstanding chapter 232 or any other provision of
25law to the contrary, a district or juvenile court shall not
26order any service which is a charge upon the state pursuant
27to section 232.141 if there are insufficient court-ordered
28services moneys available in the district court distribution
29amounts to pay for the service. The chief juvenile court
30officer shall encourage use of the moneys appropriated in this
31lettered paragraph such that there are sufficient moneys to pay
32for all court-ordered services during the entire fiscal year.
33The chief juvenile court officer shall attempt to anticipate
34potential surpluses and shortfalls in the distribution amounts
35and shall cooperatively request the state court administrator
-2-1to transfer moneys between the judicial districts’ distribution
2amounts as prudent.
3(5) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
4a district or juvenile court shall not order a county to pay
5for any service provided to a juvenile pursuant to an order
6entered under chapter 232 which is a charge upon the state
7under section 232.141, subsection 4.
8(6) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
9no more than $83,000 may be used by the judicial branch
10for administration of the requirements under this lettered
11paragraph.
12(7) Of the moneys appropriated in this lettered paragraph,
13$23,000 is allocated to the judicial branch to support the
14interstate commission for juveniles in accordance with the
15interstate compact for juveniles as provided in section
16232.173.
17d. For juvenile justice delinquency prevention pursuant to
18section 232.192, if enacted by 2023 Iowa Acts, Senate File 285
19or House File 699, or if not enacted, for juvenile delinquent
20graduated sanctions services pursuant to section 232.192, as
21enacted by 2022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1098, section 70:
.................................................. $2212,253,000
23Any state moneys saved as a result of efforts by juvenile
24court services to earn a federal fund match pursuant to Tit.
25IV-E of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act
26of 2018, Pub.L.No.115-123, for juvenile court services
27administration is appropriated to the judicial branch for
28purposes of this lettered paragraph.
292. The judicial branch, except for purposes of internal
30processing, shall use the current state budget system, the
31state payroll system, and the Iowa finance and accounting
32system in administration of programs and payments for services,
33and shall not duplicate the state payroll, accounting, and
34budgeting systems.
353. The judicial branch shall submit monthly financial
-3-1statements to the legislative services agency and the
2department of management containing all appropriated accounts
3in the same manner as provided in the monthly financial status
4reports and personal services usage reports of the department
5of administrative services. The monthly financial statements
6shall include a comparison of the dollars and percentage
7spent of budgeted versus actual revenues and expenditures on
8a cumulative basis for full-time equivalent positions and
9dollars.
104. The judicial branch shall focus efforts upon the
11collection of delinquent fines, penalties, court costs, fees,
12surcharges, or similar amounts.
135. It is the intent of the general assembly that the offices
14of the clerks of the district court operate in all 99 counties
15and be accessible to the public as much as is reasonably
16possible in order to address the relative needs of the citizens
17of each county. An office of the clerk of the district court
18shall be open regular courthouse hours.
196. In addition to the requirements for transfers under
20section 8.39, the judicial branch shall not change the
21appropriations from the amounts appropriated to the judicial
22branch in this division of this Act, unless notice of the
23revisions is given to the legislative services agency prior
24to the effective date. The notice shall include information
25on the judicial branch’s rationale for making the changes and
26details concerning the workload and performance measures upon
27which the changes are based.
287. The judicial branch shall submit a semiannual update
29to the legislative services agency specifying the amounts of
30fines, surcharges, and court costs collected using the Iowa
31court information system since the last report. The judicial
32branch shall continue to facilitate the sharing of vital
33sentencing and other information with other state departments
34and governmental agencies involved in the criminal justice
35system through the Iowa court information system.
-4- 18. The judicial branch shall provide a report to the general
2assembly by January 1, 2024, concerning the amounts received
3and expended from the court technology and modernization fund
4created in section 602.8108, subsection 7, during the fiscal
5year beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023, and the
6plans for expenditures from each fund during the fiscal year
7beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024.
8 Sec. 2. CIVIL TRIALS — LOCATION. Notwithstanding any
9provision to the contrary, for the fiscal year beginning July
101, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, if all parties in a case
11agree, a civil trial including a jury trial may take place in a
12county contiguous to the county with proper jurisdiction, even
13if the contiguous county is located in an adjacent judicial
14district or judicial election district. If the trial is moved
15pursuant to this section, court personnel shall treat the case
16as if a change of venue occurred.
17 Sec. 3. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT. Notwithstanding section
18602.1509, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, and
19ending June 30, 2024, a judicial officer may waive travel
20reimbursement for any travel outside the judicial officer’s
21county of residence to conduct official judicial business.
22 Sec. 4. JUDICIAL OFFICER — UNPAID LEAVE. Notwithstanding
23the annual salary rates for judicial officers established by
242022 Iowa Acts, chapter 1145, section 6, for the fiscal year
25beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, the supreme
26court may by order place all judicial officers on unpaid leave
27status on any day employees of the judicial branch are placed
28on temporary layoff status. The biweekly pay of the judicial
29officers shall be reduced accordingly for the pay period in
30which the unpaid leave date occurred in the same manner as
31for noncontract employees of the judicial branch. Through
32the course of the fiscal year, the judicial branch may use an
33amount equal to the aggregate amount of salary reductions due
34to the judicial officer unpaid leave days for any purpose other
35than for judicial salaries.
-5-1 Sec. 5. IOWA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. It is the intent
2of the general assembly that the judicial branch utilize
3the Iowa communications network or other secure electronic
4communications in lieu of traveling for the fiscal year
5beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024.
6DIVISION II
7Apportionment of district Associate Judges
8 Sec. 6. Section 602.6301, Code 2023, is amended to read as
9follows:
10602.6301 Number and apportionment of district associate
11judges.
121. There shall be one district associate judge in counties
13having a population of more than thirty-five thousand and less
14than eighty thousand; two in counties having a population of
15eighty thousand or more and less than one hundred twenty-five
16thousand; three in counties having a population of one
17hundred twenty-five thousand or more and less than one hundred
18seventy thousand; four in counties having a population of one
19hundred seventy thousand or more and less than two hundred
20fifteen thousand; five in counties having a population of two
21hundred fifteen thousand or more and less than two hundred
22sixty thousand; six in counties having a population of two
23hundred sixty thousand or more and less than three hundred
24five thousand; seven in counties having a population of three
25hundred five thousand or more and less than three hundred
26fifty thousand; eight in counties having a population of three
27hundred fifty thousand or more and less than three hundred
28ninety-five thousand; nine in counties having a population of
29three hundred ninety-five thousand or more and less than four
30hundred forty thousand; ten in counties having a population of
31four hundred forty thousand or more and less than four hundred
32eighty-five thousand; and one additional judge for every
33population increment of thirty-five thousand which is over
34four hundred eighty-five thousand in such counties. However,
35a county shall not lose a district associate judgeship solely
-6-1because of a reduction in the county’s population. If the
2formula provided in this section results in the allocation
3of an additional district associate judgeship to a county,
4implementation of the allocation shall be subject to prior
5approval of the supreme court and availability of funds to the
6judicial branch. The supreme court shall prescribe, subject
7to the restrictions of this section, a formula to determine
8the number of district associate judges who will serve in each
9judicial election district. The formula shall be based upon
10a model that measures and applies an estimated case-related
11workload formula of judicial officers, and shall account for
12administrative duties, travel time, and other judicial duties
13not related to a specific case. A district associate judge
14appointed pursuant to section 602.6302 or 602.6307 shall not
15be counted for purposes of this section and the reduction of
16a district associate judge pursuant to section 602.6303 also
17shall not be counted for purposes of this section.
182. For purposes of this section, “vacancy” means the death,
19resignation, retirement, or removal of a district associate
20judge, or the failure of a district associate judge to be
21retained in office at the judicial election, or an increase in
22judgeships under the formula prescribed in subsection 1.
233. In those judicial election districts having more
24district associate judges than the number of judgeships
25specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1, vacancies
26shall not be filled.
274. In those judicial election districts having fewer or
28the same number of district associate judges as the number of
29judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in subsection 1,
30vacancies shall be filled as the vacancies occur.
315. In those judicial districts that contain more than one
32judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election
33district shall not be filled if the total number of district
34associate judges in all judicial election districts within
35the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number
-7-1of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts
2of the judicial district are authorized by the formula in
3subsection 1.
46. An incumbent district associate judge shall not be
5removed from office because of a reduction in the number of
6authorized judgeships specified by the formula prescribed in
7subsection 1.
8DIVISION III
9video recordings
10 Sec. 7. Section 602.3205, Code 2023, is amended to read as
11follows:
12602.3205 Audio and video recordings.
131. Except as provided in subsection 2 or 3, a certified
14shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely
15for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of
16a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation
17of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal
18property and private work product of the certified shorthand
19reporter.
202. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
21reporter appointed under section 602.6603 shall be provided to
22the presiding judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon
23court order for good cause shown.
243. a. An audio or video recording of a certified shorthand
25reporter shall be provided to the board upon request by the
26board if a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the
27certified shorthand reporter who is a respondent under the
28provisions of section 602.3203 or the rules of the board of
29examiners of shorthand reporters, Iowa court rules, ch.46.
30b. The audio and video recordings provided to the board
31pursuant to this subsection shall be kept confidential by the
32board in a manner as provided in section 272C.6, subsection 4.
33DIVISION IV
34NONCONTRACT ATTORNEY APPOINTMENT
35 Sec. 8. NONCONTRACT ATTORNEY APPOINTMENT. For the fiscal
-8-1year beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024, a court
2shall not appoint a noncontract attorney under section 815.10,
3subsection 3, without the noncontract attorney’s consent.
4DIVISION V
5Contracting authority
6 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 602.1209A State court administrator
7may contractually limit vendor liability.
81. The state court administrator may authorize the
9procurement of goods and services in which a contractual
10limitation of vendor liability is provided for and set forth in
11the documents initiating the procurement.
122. a. The state court administrator shall consider all of
13the following criteria when determining whether to permit a
14contractual limitation of vendor liability with regard to any
15procurement of goods or services:
16(1) Whether authorizing a contractual limitation of vendor
17liability is necessary to prevent harm to the state from
18a failure to obtain the goods or services sought, or from
19obtaining the goods or services at a higher price if the state
20refuses to allow a contractual limitation of vendor liability.
21(2) Whether the contractual limitation of vendor liability
22is commercially reasonable when taking into account any risk to
23the state created by the goods or services to be procured and
24the purpose for which they will be used.
25b. The state court administrator may consider additional
26criteria.
273. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a contractual limitation
28of vendor liability shall not include any limitation on the
29liability of any vendor for intentional torts, criminal acts,
30or fraudulent conduct.
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