7D.15  Public policy research foundation.
  1.  The public policy research foundation is created for the purpose of conducting studies and making recommendations on critical and long-term issues needing the attention of state government. The foundation is authorized to establish an endowment fund to assist in the financing of its activities. The foundation may exercise any power authorized by chapter 504 and this section.
  2.  The executive council shall cause a public policy research foundation to be created under chapter 504 and this section. The foundation shall be created so that donations and bequests to it qualify as tax deductible under the federal and state income tax laws. The foundation is not a state agency and shall not exercise any sovereign power of the state. The state is not liable for any debts of the foundation.
  3.  The public policy research foundation shall have a board of directors of ten members. One member shall be appointed by the state board of regents and one member shall be appointed by the Iowa association of independent colleges and universities. Four members shall be appointed by the governor and four members shall be appointed by the legislative council, one by each appointing authority representing the interests of each of the following four categories:
  a.  Business.
  b.  Labor.
  c.  Community-based organizations.
  d.  Farming.
  4.  The terms of the members of the board of directors shall be two years beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30. A vacancy on the board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the term. Not more than two of the governor’s appointees and two of the legislative council’s appointees, respectively, shall be of the same gender or of the same political party.
  5.  The governor, the legislative council by motion, and the general assembly by concurrent resolution may request that studies be conducted by the public policy research foundation. The board of directors of the foundation shall establish the priorities of the research requests based upon available financial resources.
  6.  For the purposes of this section “community-based organizations” means private nonprofit organizations which are representative of communities or significant segments of communities. Examples include United Way of America, neighborhood groups and organizations, community action agencies, community development corporations, vocational rehabilitation organizations, rehabilitation facilities as defined in section 7, subsection 10, of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, tribal governments, and agencies serving youth, persons with disabilities, displaced homemakers, or on-reservation Indians.
86 Acts, ch 1154, §1
C87, §19.15
C93, §7D.15
96 Acts, ch 1129, §113; 2004 Acts, ch 1049, §191; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §393