LOCAL GOVERNMENT

SENATE FILE 94 - Veterans' Military Service Information - County Records - Confidentiality
SENATE FILE 134 - Treasurers - Funds, Records, and Other Responsibilities - Miscellaneous Provisions
SENATE FILE 230 - City Councils - Reductions in Membership
SENATE FILE 272 - County, City, and School Contracts - Prohibited Interest Exceptions
SENATE FILE 352 - Certified Law Enforcement Officer Training - Applicants
SENATE FILE 390 - Alternative Forms of Local Government - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
HOUSE FILE 289 - Electronic Financial Transactions and Governmental Entities
HOUSE FILE 311 - County Recorders - Duties and Records
HOUSE FILE 595 - Voluntary and Involuntary Annexations by Cities
HOUSE FILE 615 - Legalizing Act - Urbandale City Council Approval of Partial Property Tax Exemption
HOUSE FILE 650 - Criminal Offenses and Offenders - County and Municipal Fees and Jurisdiction

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 97 - Transportation and Transportation-Related Regulation

SEE TRANSPORTATION. This Act repeals the authority of the Iowa Department of Transportation to regulate junkyards along primary highways, leaving that responsibility to local jurisdictions. The Act contains several provisions relating to the issuance of motor vehicle certificates of title and recording of security interests by county treasurers. The Act addresses the issuance of driver's licenses and nonoperator's identification cards by county treasurers by enacting a temporary increase in the fee retained by the county and by requiring a study of the county issuance program. The Act imposes a requirement on urban public transit systems to utilize private-sector operators in the planning and provision of transit services.

SENATE FILE 343 - Disposal System Operation Permits - Cold Water Stream Designations - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR

SEE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. This bill related to operation permits for publicly owned disposal systems when permit amendments are established by administrative rule in response to the change of a use designation of a cold water stream.

SENATE FILE 348 - Fishing Licenses and Fees - Habitat Development and Trout Program Funding

SEE NATURAL RESOURCES & OUTDOOR RECREATION. This Act relates to fishing licenses and fees and to the development of fish habitat.

SENATE FILE 353 - Child Protection Assistance Teams

SEE CHILDREN & YOUTH. This Act requires each county attorney to establish a child protection assistance team that may be consulted in certain child abuse cases involving a forcible felony.

SENATE FILE 357 - City Hospital or Health Care Facility Trustees - Residency - Vacancies

SEE ELECTIONS, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE. This Act makes changes relating to election of the board of trustees of a city hospital or city health care facility.

SENATE FILE 401 - Regulation of Tobacco Retailers

SEE BUSINESS, BANKING & INSURANCE. This Act relates to regulation of tobacco products and cigarette retailers. The Act provides for the transfer of certain violations by tobacco product and cigarette manufacturers from a county health department, city health department, or city to the Iowa Department of Public Health. This provision applies to violations pending on April 11, 2003, for which a penalty has not been assessed.

SENATE FILE 424 - Urban Renewal Indebtedness Reporting

SEE TAXATION. This Act requires each city and county that has established an urban renewal area to report, on or before April 1, 2003, the amount of loans, advances, indebtedness, or bonds which qualify for payment with tax increment financing revenues in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003.

SENATE FILE 444 - Open Prairie or Wildlife Habitat Restoration Property Tax Credits - Inspection and Certification

SEE TAXATION. This Act specifies requirements to be met before restored and reestablished prairies or wildlife habitats may receive a property tax exemption. The Act applies to assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2004.

SENATE FILE 451 - Jurisdiction and Funding of Streets and Roads

SEE TRANSPORTATION. This Act provides for the transfer of jurisdiction of certain primary and farm-to-market roads and for the transfer of funds associated with those roads, modifies the procedure required for reclassification of certain county roads, and establishes a study committee to evaluate the distribution of moneys in the street construction fund of the cities.

SENATE FILE 453 - State and Local Government Financial and Regulatory Matters - Miscellaneous Provisions

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act addresses state and local government financial and regulatory matters. Legislators referred to this legislation as the "Government Reinvention Bill" during debate and discussion. The Act includes provisions eliminating certain appropriations made for payments to local governments for replacement of property tax revenues, revising various local government requirements involving parking tickets and tax increment financing reporting, addressing Iowa Law Enforcement Academy training, revising county budget appeal requirements, increasing the civil penalty for infractions of ordinances, implementing a new county recorder transaction fee, revising voting requirements for joint local government authority leases, establishing a Local Government Innovations Fund, and providing for a study of the Department of Natural Resources requirements and penalties applicable to cities and counties.

HOUSE FILE 216 - Dissemination of Intelligence Data and Intelligence Assessments

SEE CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS. This Act relates to intelligence data and intelligence assessment dissemination to an agency, organization or person.

HOUSE FILE 329 - Targeted Economic Development Projects

SEE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. This Act relates to site preparation for targeted economic development.

HOUSE FILE 344 - Motor Fuel Tax Refunds - Benefited Fire Districts

SEE TAXATION. This Act allows benefited fire districts to receive a refund of the motor fuel and special fuel taxes paid when the fuel is used for public purposes.

HOUSE FILE 387 - Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities - Facilities - Programs - Commission

SEE HUMAN SERVICES. This Act relates to mental health and developmental disabilities services and includes reenactment of an exemption to health care licensing requirements for certain residential programs that receive funding under a medical assistance (Medicaid) home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver. The exemption provisions provide for input by county government.

HOUSE FILE 394 - Community Attraction and Tourism Program - Regional Marketing

SEE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. This Act adds, as a component of the Community Attraction and Tourism Program, assisting communities in the regional marketing of multiple-purpose attraction and tourism facilities.

HOUSE FILE 455 - Burn Injury Reports by Treatment Providers

SEE CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS. This Act requires licensed health-related professionals to report certain burn injuries to a law enforcement agency.

HOUSE FILE 489 - Human Services Programs and Services - Miscellaneous Provisions

SEE HUMAN SERVICES. This Act relates to programs and services under the purview of the Department of Human Services and includes provisions clarifying state and county responsibilities for costs paid under the Medical Assistance (Medicaid) Program that are attributable to an assessment fee and to services for persons with chronic mental illness.

HOUSE FILE 529 - Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Services System Review

SEE HUMAN SERVICES. This Act directs the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Commission to make recommendations for redesigning the mental health and developmental disabilities services system for adults. Counties have primary responsibility for financing and managing the system.

HOUSE FILE 545 - Newspapers Designated for Official Publications

SEE STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act specifies that in order to be designated for official publication of notices and reports of proceedings, a newspaper must be published at least once a week for at least 50 weeks per year, rather than just at a regular frequency.

HOUSE FILE 548 - Certified Law Enforcement Officers - Training - Tribal Government Police

SEE STATE GOVERNMENT. This Act relates to law enforcement training at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

HOUSE FILE 560 - Medical Assistance - Home and Community-Based Services Waivers

SEE HUMAN SERVICES. This Act relates to home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers under the Medical Assistance (Medicaid) Program. The Act provides that for FY 2003-2004, the Department of Human Services, in cooperation with the Iowa State Association of Counties and the Iowa Association of Community Providers, is to establish payment rate limitations for services provided under the HCBS waiver for persons with mental retardation that are consistent with the limitations used for the same or similar services that are funded 100 percent by the counties.

HOUSE FILE 576 - Enterprise Zone Program - Miscellaneous Changes

SEE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. This Act amends provisions of the Enterprise Zone Program relating to amendments to and decertifications of enterprise zones by cities and counties.

HOUSE FILE 671 - Taxation of Personal Property - Recycling Property

SEE TAXATION. This Act provides that recycling property for which an exemption from property tax is granted is expanded to include the recycling of waste wood products into new raw materials and products.

HOUSE FILE 674 - Military Service and Military Personnel - Education, Employment, Benefits, and Taxation

SEE TAXATION. This Act provides a number of exclusions and deductions in determining Iowa income tax, property tax, and other related benefits for military personnel including the following:

• A person is considered to be a veteran if the person would have served during specified conflict periods except for the fact of opting to serve five years in the reserve forces. This provision takes effect May 21, 2003.
• State and local personnel called to state active duty, active state service, or federal service are entitled to a leave of absence for such time and are also entitled to return to the same position or classification held prior to such service or duty or to the position or classification that the employee would have attained if not for the interruption in civil service. This provision takes effect May 21, 2003, and applies retroactively to January 1, 2003.

HOUSE FILE 685 - Healthy Iowans Tobacco Trust and Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund - Appropriations

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act relates to and makes appropriations from the Healthy Iowans Tobacco Trust. The Act appropriates funds to the Property Tax Relief Fund for FY 2003-2004 for assistance to counties with limited county mental health, mental retardation, and developmental disabilities services fund balances to continue reimbursement increases to service providers in the same amount as provided in FY 2001-2002. The Act also provides for the transfer of moneys appropriated for the county mental health, mental retardation, and developmental disabilities allowed growth factor for deposit in the risk pool for FY 2003-2004 to the medical assistance appropriation for FY 2003-2004.

HOUSE FILE 694 - Judicial Administration and Procedures

SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION. This Act relates to procedures and duties of the judicial branch, including requiring the county sheriff to serve a summons, notice or subpoena in a juvenile delinquency proceeding, and to serve a summons, subpoena, or other legal process in child in need of assistance proceedings under Code Section 232.88. The Act also makes substantial changes to the process related to petitioning for medical treatment by indigent persons.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

SENATE FILE 94 - Veterans' Military Service Information - County Records - Confidentiality (full text of bill)
BY WARNSTADT. This Act provides that military personnel records of veterans that are maintained by the county recorder are confidential records, notwithstanding the Open Records Law, unless the person who requested the recording of the record does not want the record to be confidential. The records shall not be available for examination and copying except by a person who is the subject of the record, that person's immediate family, or that person's duly authorized agent or representative, by a person requesting to examine or copy a record of an event occurring more than 75 years prior to the request, by a person who is a licensed funeral director and who has custody of the body of a deceased veteran, when otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, when required by a department or agency of the state or federal government or a political subdivision thereof, or by a person conducting research who has received written approval from the county commissioner of veteran affairs to view the records. The Act also provides that if a certified copy of such a record is required to perfect the claim of a veteran or a dependent of a veteran, the certified copy shall be furnished by the custodian of the record without charge.

SENATE FILE 134 - Treasurers - Funds, Records, and Other Responsibilities - Miscellaneous Provisions (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act amends provisions relating to various duties of county treasurers as follows:

• Provides that a statement of moneys or funds on deposit with a depository authorized by a county treasurer does not have to be certified by an officer of the depository.
• Provides that a registration year for a leased vehicle registered by the county treasurer, except for certain vehicles, is the period of 12 consecutive months beginning on the first day of the month following the month in which the lease expires.
• Provides that vehicle registrations, registration cards, and registration plates expire on vehicles registered by the county treasurer at midnight on the last day that the vehicle is eligible to be registered without penalty, and that for vehicles on which the first or second installment of an annual fee has been paid, the registration, registration cards, and registration plates expire on June 30 or the first business day of July when June 30 falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, or the first business day of January when December 31 falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday.
• Directs county treasurers to destroy tax sale redemption certificates and all associated tax sale records after 10 years from the end of the fiscal year in which the tax sale certificates of purchase were redeemed.
• Allows the payment of installments of special assessments for a public improvement against property assessed as agricultural property to be deferred for as long as the assessor continues to classify the property as agricultural land on January 1 of each assessment year and for six months following any January 1 assessment date in which property is no longer classified as agricultural land.
• Removes a provision that allows a city council to provide that payments of property assessments in an incorporated area can be made to the county treasurer instead of to the city clerk.
• Allows a county treasurer to deliver a statement of taxes due and payable to a property titleholder by either regular mail, or, if requested by a titleholder, by electronic transmission.
• Allows certain persons who own manufactured homes to surrender the manufactured home's certificate of title to the county treasurer to assure eligibility for certain mortgage lending programs. This provision takes effect April 11, 2003.
• Removes a requirement that county treasurers report to the county board of supervisors or to the drainage or levee district trustees when any lands in a drainage or levee district or subdistrict are subject to an unpaid assessment and levy for drainage purposes and are sold at tax sale for the amount of delinquent taxes.

SENATE FILE 230 - City Councils - Reductions in Membership (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act provides that city councils of cities with less than 500 population may, by resolution, reduce the size of the city council from five to three members. The Act requires the council to adopt a resolution of intent and to hold a public hearing on the proposal. The council may, at the hearing or at a subsequent meeting, adopt a final resolution to reduce the council from five to three members. If a petition requesting an election on the proposal is filed within 30 days of adoption of the final resolution, the council is required to direct the county commissioner of elections to place the proposal on the ballot at the next regular city election. If the ballot proposal is adopted, the new council shall be elected at the next regular city election following the election at which the proposal was adopted. If no petition is filed, the council must notify the county commissioner of elections of the change from five to three members by July 1 of the year of the regular city election. If the council notifies the commissioner of elections after July 1 of the year of the regular city election, the change takes effect at the next following regular city election.

The Act takes effect April 28, 2003.

SENATE FILE 272 - County, City, and School Contracts - Prohibited Interest Exceptions (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act relates to conflicts of interest in public contracts by persons who hold certain public offices or employment. The Act provides that members of school boards and city and county officers and employees are not prohibited from serving in that capacity because of an interest, direct or indirect, in certain contracts if the contracts are made by competitive bid, publicly invited and opened, or if the remuneration of employment for the person is not directly affected as a result of the contract and the duties of the person's employment do not directly involve the procurement or preparation of any part of the contract.

The conflict of interest provisions also do not apply to contracts in which a member of a school board or a city or county officer or employee has a direct or indirect interest, when the contracts are bonds, notes, or other obligations of the school corporation, county, or city that are not acquired directly from that body but instead are acquired in transactions with a third party, who may or may not be the original underwriter, purchaser or obligee of the contract.

SENATE FILE 352 - Certified Law Enforcement Officer Training - Applicants (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act relates to the training of an individual who intends to become certified as a law enforcement officer through a short course of study program. The Act provides that such an individual may apply for attendance at an approved law enforcement academy training program that offers a short course of study if the individual is sponsored by a law enforcement agency that either intends to hire or has hired the individual as a law enforcement officer. The Act further provides that such individual must meet certain educational, physical and psychological academy-approved requirements and is subject to a background investigation in order to be eligible for this certification program.

SENATE FILE 390 - Alternative Forms of Local Government - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT. This bill would have made technical and substantive changes to the law relating to alternative forms of county government and to certain alternative forms of city government, including the process by which such alternative forms of government are proposed and adopted. The bill would have allowed formation of local government organization review committees to study whether an alternative form of government should be proposed.

The bill would have required that charter commission expenses be paid by the county and cities participating in the charter process.

The bill would have provided that a consolidation commission that recommends a form of government other than the existing form is to include in its final report a statement whether the elected officers shall be elected on a partisan or nonpartisan basis. The bill would also have provided that if a commission recommends no change to the existing form of government, the final report shall state the reasons for and against a change in the existing form of government. The bill would have required that a summary of a commission's final report be published in a newspaper of general circulation in each participating city, in addition to the official newspapers of the participating county.

The bill would also have provided that if a charter proposing a city-county consolidated form or a community commonwealth form is adopted, the charter commission is dissolved on the date on which the terms of office of the members of the new governing body commence.

The bill would have allowed a proposed charter for county government to be submitted to the voters at a special election held on the day of the regular city election or at the general election.

The bill would have provided that the general Code provisions relating to the election on a proposed charter for an alternative form of county government and the effect of adoption of the proposed charter by the electorate do not apply to city county consolidations or to community commonwealths. The bill would have enacted similar provisions relating to the effect of adoption of the charter in those sections of the Code that relate specifically to city county consolidations and to community commonwealths.

The bill also would have provided that the general Code provisions relating to limitations on the alternative forms of county government do not apply to city county consolidations or to community commonwealths. The bill would have enacted provisions similar to the limitations provisions in those sections of the Code that relate specifically to city county consolidations and to community commonwealths.

The bill would have provided that a city county consolidation charter may provide for the merger of a county and participating cities into a single unit of local government which includes a municipal corporation and a county or may provide for a combined government structure of a county and one or more participating cities, each of which would remain separate political subdivisions. Either form would have allowed the county and participating cities to retain a separate debt limitation for purposes of the limitation imposed by the state constitution.

Current law provides that if more than 50 percent of a city's population resides in a county creating a city county consolidation charter commission, the city will be included on the commission. The bill would have provided for such a city's inclusion even if the population of the city falls below the 50 percent threshold at a later date.

Under the bill, a petition to join a city county consolidated government would have required signatures in an amount equal to 25 percent of the persons voting at the last regular city election, rather than at the general election. After receiving such a petition calling for participation, the city council would have to adopt a resolution and forward it to the city county consolidated governing body within 10 days of adoption, rather than immediately.

The bill would have provided for amendment of a city county consolidation charter by resolution of the governing body and approval of the electorate; or by ordinance of the governing body, which ordinance could be petitioned for approval by referendum; or by petition and election.

The bill would have required that a city county consolidation charter provide for a governing body of not less than five members and for the initial compensation for the members and for a method of changing the compensation. The bill also would have required that the charter provide for a representation plan for the governing body, which could differ from the representation plans in current Code for counties and cities.

The bill would further have provided that if a county adopted a charter for city county consolidated form or community commonwealth form that provides for representation by districts and the county's population exceeds 180,000, the county's initial plan for districts, and its first plan for districts after each federal decennial census, would be drawn by the Legislative Service Bureau (LSB) based upon the standards applicable to congressional and legislative redistricting. The temporary county redistricting commission would have been required to review the plan and could have requested that a second plan be prepared by LSB. If the plan drawn by LSB and submitted by the temporary county redistricting commission is rejected by the governing body, the governing body would have been required to direct the temporary county redistricting commission to prepare another plan as provided by current law.

The bill also would have provided that when a charter for city county consolidation is challenged in district court, the court is to expedite its review and determination on the challenge.

The bill would have provided that if a city county consolidation charter or a community commonwealth charter is rejected by the electorate, another charter cannot be submitted to the electorate for at least two years after the election at which the charter was rejected. The bill also would have provided that if a charter for either form of government is adopted, a proposed charter for another alternative form of government cannot be submitted to the electorate for at least six years from the date of the election at which the charter was adopted.

The bill would have stricken language relating to city county consolidation that required the governing body, within two years of ratification of the charter, to revise, repeal or reaffirm all rules, ordinances and resolutions in force at the time of consolidation, and instead would have provided that each rule, ordinance and resolution remain in force unless superseded by action of the governing body or superseded by a charter provision.

The bill would have amended the form of the ballot to present only one question on adoption of the city county consolidation government and its charter. These provisions would also apply to community commonwealth proposed charters.

The bill would have allowed a city county consolidation charter, a multicounty consolidation charter, or a community commonwealth charter to provide for the election of its officers on a partisan or nonpartisan basis.

The bill would have allowed establishment of a local government organization review committee in a county to study whether a charter of consolidation should be presented to the voters. Membership on the committee would have included city council members, county supervisors, members appointed by state legislators, and members appointed by township trustees.

Within seven months of organizing, the committee would have to submit a preliminary report to the county board of supervisors on what alternative form of government it recommends and publish the report in the official newspapers of the county and in a newspaper of general circulation in each city. A committee that recommends city county consolidation, multicounty consolidation, or a community commonwealth would become the commission that would draft the proposal in lieu of the commission member requirements currently in statute. The requirement to establish a consolidation committee would not have applied to a county in which a charter commission has been established and is operating as of July 1, 2003.

Division X of S.F. 458 (see Appropriations) would have amended S.F. 390 to provide that a local government organization review committee may be created in counties having a population over 100,000. The division also would have required that the legislative appointee to the local government organization review committee be a resident of the unincorporated area of the county if more than one-half of the population of the legislative district resides in the unincorporated area.

The bill may have included a state mandate as defined in Code Section 25B.3. However, the bill made 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 would have been required to comply with any state mandate included in the bill.

The bill would have taken effect upon enactment and would have applied to charter commissions in existence on that date.

HOUSE FILE 289 - Electronic Financial Transactions and Governmental Entities (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act relates to electronic funds transactions with county treasurers. The Act amends the definition of "public funds" and "public deposits" to provide that moneys placed in a depository for the purpose of completing an electronic financial transaction pursuant to Code Section 14B.203 using the IowAccess information and transaction service or Code Section 331.427, concerning county revenues from taxes and other sources, are considered public funds or public deposits and such deposits may be made in any depository in the state. The Act also permits county treasurers to accept credit cards as well as electronic funds transfers for payments owed to the county and to adjust fees to reflect the cost of processing such payments. The Act also provides that fees and charges including service delivery fees, credit card fees, and electronic funds transfer charges payable to a third party, not to the county, that are imposed for completing an electronic financial transaction with the county are not considered county revenues.

HOUSE FILE 311 - County Recorders - Duties and Records (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act removes the requirements that information relating to farms be recorded by the county recorder in a register kept for that purpose, that the county recorder issue owners of farms a certificate setting forth the owner's name and a description of the land, and that the county recorder serve as a member of the jury commission to draw jurors.

HOUSE FILE 595 - Voluntary and Involuntary Annexations by Cities
BY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT. This Act makes changes to the law relating to annexation of territory by cities. The Act removes the requirement that notice of a public hearing on an annexing moratorium agreement be served on all persons owning land within the area subject to the agreement and provides instead that notice be published in an official county newspaper in each county containing a city conducting a hearing regarding the agreement and in any county within two miles of any such city and in an official newspaper of each city conducting a hearing regarding the agreement.

For voluntary annexations that include territory comprising not more than 20 percent of the land area without consent of the property owner, the Act makes the following changes:

• Public land may not be used when determining the percentage of territory being annexed with and without consent of property owners unless the agency with jurisdiction over the public land consents to the annexation. The Act defines "public land."
• Prior to notification of property owners and affected public utilities, the annexing city must notify the board of supervisors and township trustees of each county and township that contains all or a portion of the territory to be annexed and provide for consultation with them on the proposed annexation.
• Within 30 days of the consultation, the county board of supervisors in each county where the territory to be annexed is located shall, by resolution, state whether or not it supports the application for annexation or whether it takes no position on the application. The resolution shall be filed with the annexing city and shall be considered by the city council when taking action on the application. The annexing city shall forward a copy of the resolution to the City Development Board.
• An applicant or a landowner who has consented to the annexation may, within three business days of the public hearing, withdraw the application or the consent unless an agreement to extend services is in place or the right to withdraw has been waived.
• The annexing city may not assess the costs of providing notice to the applicants for annexation.
• When considering an annexation application, the City Development Board must take into consideration the amount of land currently located in the annexing city that is vacant or undeveloped and whether municipal services are being provided to current residents of the annexing city.

Relating to involuntary annexations of territory, the Act provides that before a petition for involuntary annexation may be submitted to the City Development Board, the board of supervisors of each county where the territory to be annexed is located shall, by resolution, state whether or not it supports the petition or whether it takes no position on the petition. The Act also provides that the minutes of a public meeting held on a petition for involuntary annexation and all documents submitted at the meeting shall be forwarded to the county board of supervisors where the territory is located. The Act requires a city to include with its petition for involuntary annexation a plan for extending municipal services to the annexed territory within three years of July 1 of the fiscal year in which city taxes are collected against property in the annexed territory. The Act further provides that prior to expiration of the three-year period, the city is to report to the City Development Board on the status of the provision of municipal services identified in the plan. If a city has failed to provide services or fails to show substantial and continuing progress in the provision of services, the City Development Board may, after notice and a public hearing, order the severance of the territory. The order to sever is not subject to approval at an election. As an alternative to severance, the board may impose a moratorium on additional annexation by the city until the city complies with its plan for extending municipal services.

The Act provides that an owner or operator of protected farmland that has been annexed who did not consent to the annexation shall have the option of continuing to comply with a county ordinance or regulation if the equivalent ordinance or regulation of the annexing city is more stringent than the county's. The Act defines "protected farmland."

The Act takes effect May 23, 2003.

HOUSE FILE 615 - Legalizing Act - Urbandale City Council Approval of Partial Property Tax Exemption (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act legalizes acts and proceedings relating to an ordinance passed by the Urbandale City Council on December 10, 2002, approving a partial exemption from property taxation of the actual value added to industrial real estate located in Urbandale in accordance with Code Chapter 427B. According to Code Section 427B.4, an application for the property tax exemption must be filed with a city council prior to construction. In this case, the city council approved the tax exemption after construction.

The Act provides that the exemption must be calculated in accordance with the schedule provided in Code Section 427B.3 beginning on and after the effective date of the city council's ordinance (January 3, 2003). The Act also provides that its provisions do not entitle a person to a refund or adjustment of property taxes paid prior to that date.

The Act takes effect on April 9, 2003, and is retroactively applicable on or after December 10, 2002.

HOUSE FILE 650 - Criminal Offenses and Offenders - County and Municipal Fees and Jurisdiction
BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY. This Act relates to assessment and collection of certain correctional fees and to prosecution of certain criminal offenses.

The Act provides that a municipality operating a temporary holding facility or jail and the county operating the county jail may assess and collect a correctional fee for administrative costs related to admitting a prisoner into the jail or facility. The administrative costs include the costs related to booking, photographing, fingerprinting, searching, bathing, clothing, and medical and dental screening. Under the Act, administrative costs also include document preparation, inventorying a prisoner's property, and general management and supervision of the jail or facility. A municipality operating a temporary holding facility or jail may also charge a prisoner room and board under the Act. Moneys collected by a municipality under the Act shall be deposited into the city general fund, and 60 percent of the moneys deposited into the fund shall be expended on police and law enforcement.

The Act also provides that if a simple misdemeanor offense occurs in a city which is located in two or more counties, the offense shall be prosecuted in the county where the seat of government of the city is located. Current law provides that prosecution of the offense shall be in the county where the offense occurred.