H-1328

   Amend Senate File 558, as amended, passed, and reprinted by the Senate, as follows:
   1.  Page 21, after line 1 by inserting: 
<DIVISION ___
DRIFTLESS AREA DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION AUTHORITY

   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  161D.14  Driftless area development and conservation authority —— membership and duties.
   1.  A driftless area development and conservation authority is created. The counties of Allamakee, Clayton, Dubuque, Delaware, Fayette, Jackson, and Winneshiek are entitled to one voting member each on the authority, but membership or participation in projects of the authority is not required. Each member of the authority shall be appointed by the respective board of supervisors for a term to be determined by each board of supervisors, but the term shall not be for less than one year. An appointee shall serve without compensation, but an appointee may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred while performing the duties of the authority as determined by each board of supervisors. The authority shall meet, organize, and adopt rules of procedures as deemed necessary to carry out its duties. The authority may appoint working committees that include other individuals in addition to voting members.
   2.  The mission of the authority is to develop and coordinate plans for projects related to the unique natural resources, rural development, and infrastructure problems and opportunities in the driftless region of northeast Iowa.
   3.  The authority shall cooperate with the department of natural resources, the division of soil conservation and water quality created within the department of agriculture and land stewardship pursuant to section 159A.5, the affected soil and water conservation districts, any watershed management authorities established within the authority’s jurisdiction, the Mississippi river parkway commission, and the state department of transportation in carrying out the authority’s mission and duties. The authority shall also cooperate with appropriate federal agencies, including the United States environmental protection agency, the United States department of the interior, and the United States department of agriculture natural resources conservation service. The authority shall make use of technical resources available through member counties and cooperating agencies.
   4.  The authority shall administer the driftless area development and conservation fund created under section 161D.15 and shall deposit and expend moneys in the fund for the planning, development, and implementation of development and conservation activities or measures in the member counties.
   5.  This section is not intended to affect the authority of the department of natural resources in its acquisition, development, and management of public lands within the counties represented by the authority.
   6.  In matters relating to the conservation, preservation, or development of the driftless area, state agencies shall coordinate, cooperate, and consult with the driftless area development and conservation authority and its associated alliances.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  161D.15  Driftless area development and conservation fund.
   A driftless area development and conservation fund is created in the state treasury, to be administered by the driftless area development and conservation authority. The moneys in the fund are appropriated to the authority for the purposes specified in section 161D.14 as applicable. The driftless area development and conservation authority may accept gifts, bequests, other moneys including but not limited to state or federal moneys, and in-kind contributions for deposit in the fund. The gifts, grants, bequests from public and private sources, state and federal moneys, and other moneys received by the authority shall be deposited in the fund and notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, any interest earned on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund to be used for the purposes specified in section 161D.14. Notwithstanding section 8.33, any unencumbered or unobligated moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure by the authority in succeeding fiscal years.>
   2.  By renumbering as necessary.

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ISENHART of Dubuque