H-8028

   Amend House File 2242 as follows:
   1.  Page 1, before line 1 by inserting: 
<DIVISION I
ELECTION OF STATE BOARD OF REGENTS

   Section 1.  Section 262.1, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   262.1  Membership.
   The state board of regents consists of nine members, eight of whom shall be selected from the state at large solely with regard to their qualifications and fitness to discharge the duties of the office elected pursuant to section 262.3. The ninth member shall be appointed by the elected members of the board and shall be a student enrolled on a full-time basis in good standing at either the graduate or undergraduate level at one of the institutions listed in section 262.7, subsection 1, 2, or 3, at the time of the member’s appointment. Not more than five members shall be of the same political party.  The elected members of the state board of regents may, by a majority vote of those members, remove or suspend the ninth member.
   Sec. ___.  Section 262.2, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   262.2  Appointment —— term of office.
   The members shall be appointed by the governor subject to confirmation by the senate. Prior to appointing the ninth member as specified in section 262.1, the governor shall consult with the appropriate student body government at the institution at which the proposed appointee is enrolled. The term of each member of the board shall be for six years, except as provided in section 262.3, unless the ninth member, appointed in accordance with section 262.1, graduates or is no longer enrolled at an institution of higher education under the board’s control, at which time the term of the ninth member shall expire one year from the date on which the member graduates or is no longer enrolled in an institution of higher education under the board’s control. However, if within that year the ninth member reenrolls in any institution of higher education under the board’s control on a full-time basis and is a student in good standing at either the graduate or undergraduate level, the term of the ninth member shall continue in effect. The terms of three members of the board shall begin and expire in each odd-numbered year as provided in section 69.19.
   Sec. ___.  NEW SECTION.  262.3  Election of certain members —— vacancies.
   1.  Of the eight elective members of the board, two shall be elected by the registered voters of each of the three congressional districts in which is located an institution of higher learning governed by the board, one shall be elected from the remaining congressional district, and one shall be elected on a statewide basis. Members of the board shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis at the regular school election under section 277.1 for staggered six-year terms, with terms commencing on the first day of January that is not a Sunday or holiday following their election. Any eligible elector who is a resident of this state is entitled to elective membership on the board, except that a member elected by the voters of a congressional district must be a resident of that congressional district. A vacancy in an elected position on the board shall be filled by the chairperson of the board for the unexpired balance of the term as provided in section 69.12 until the next succeeding regular election for school districts.
   2.  a.  At each regular school election, a successor shall be chosen for each board member whose term will expire in the succeeding January. Nominations of candidates shall be made by petition in accordance with chapter 45. Nominations of candidates for the statewide elected member shall be signed by at least three hundred eligible electors residing in the state. Nominations of all other candidates shall be signed by at least three hundred eligible electors residing in the congressional district. The petition form shall be furnished by the county commissioner of elections. Every candidate shall file with the nomination papers an affidavit stating the candidate’s name, the candidate’s residence, that the person is a candidate and is eligible for board membership, and that if elected the candidate will qualify for the office. The affidavit shall also state that the candidate is aware that the candidate is disqualified from holding office if the candidate has been convicted of an infamous crime and the candidate’s rights have not been restored by the governor or by the president of the United States.
   b.  The signed petitions shall be filed with the county commissioner of elections not later than 5:00 p.m. on the sixty-ninth day before the regular election held pursuant to section 277.1. The votes for board membership shall be canvassed in the same manner as the votes for state officers, and the returns shall be certified to the state commissioner of elections. A plurality is sufficient to elect members, and a primary election for the office shall not be held.
   3.  As used in this section, “congressional district” means those districts established following the 2020 federal decennial census.
   Sec. ___.  REPEAL.  Sections 262.4, 262.5, and 262.6, Code 2026, are repealed.
   Sec. ___.  TRANSITION PROVISIONS.
   1.  Membership terms of all regents board members on the effective date of this division of this Act shall expire on December 31, 2027.
   2.  a.  At the regular election for school districts to be held in 2027, and at the regular election for school districts immediately preceding the expiration of the member’s term, one member each shall be elected as follows:
   (1)  Statewide, for a full term.
   (2)  By the registered voters of the third congressional district, for a full term.
   (3)  By the registered voters of the first congressional district, for an initial four-year term.
   (4)  By the registered voters of the second congressional district, for an initial four-year term.
   (5)  By the registered voters of the fourth congressional district, for an initial four-year term.
   (6)  By the registered voters of the first congressional district, for an initial two-year term.
   (7)  By the registered voters of the second congressional district, for an initial two-year term.
   (8)  By the registered voters of the fourth congressional district, for an initial two-year term.
DIVISION ___
PROHIBITION OF TUITION INCREASES AT REGENTS INSTITUTIONS>
   2.  Page 1, line 8, after <This> by inserting <division of this>
   3.  Title page, by striking lines 1 through 3 and inserting <An Act concerning matters relating to the state board of regents and regents institutions and including transition and effective>
   4.  By renumbering as necessary.

______________________________
JACOBY of Johnson