SF 2242 (LSB 5975SV (3) 86)

RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF CITY ELECTIONS BY PERMITTING THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER OF ELECTIONS TO DESIGNATE A CITY CLERK TO RECEIVE CITY CANDIDATE FILINGS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 376.4, subsections 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6, Code 2016, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  a.  An eligible elector of a city may become a candidate for an elective city office by filing with the county commissioner of elections responsible under section 47.2 for conducting elections held for the city a valid petition requesting that the elector’s name be placed on the ballot for that office, or by filing a valid petition with the designated city clerk. The petition must be filed not more than seventy-one days and not less than forty-seven days before the date of the election, and must be signed by eligible electors equal in number to at least two percent of those who voted to fill the same office at the last regular city election, but not less than ten persons. However, for those cities which may be required to hold a primary election, the petition must be filed not more than eighty-five days and not less than sixty-eight 

days before the date of the regular city election. Nomination petitions shall be filed not later than 5:00 p.m. on the last day for filing.
   b.  The petitioners for an individual seeking election from a ward must be residents of the ward at the time of signing the petition. An individual is not eligible for election from a ward unless the individual is a resident of the ward at the time the individual files the petition and at the time of election.
   c.  The county commissioner may designate the city clerk of a city to receive nomination papers for elective city offices. If so designated, the city clerk shall have all the duties of the county commissioner provided in this section.
   3.  On the final date for filing nomination papers the office of the county commissioner and the office of the city clerk designated pursuant to subsection 1 shall remain open until 5:00 p.m.
   4.  The county commissioner or the city clerk designated pursuant to subsection 1 shall review each petition and affidavit of candidacy for completeness following the standards in section 45.5 and shall accept the petition for filing if on its face it appears to have the requisite number of signatures and if it is timely filed. The county commissioner or the designated city clerk shall note upon each petition and affidavit accepted for filing the date and time that they were filed. The county commissioner or the designated city clerk shall return any rejected nomination papers to the person on whose behalf the nomination papers were filed.
   5.  Nomination papers filed with the county commissioner or the city clerk designated pursuant to subsection 1 shall be available for public inspection.
   6.  The city clerk shall deliver the text of any public measure being submitted by the city council to the electorate to the county commissioner of elections. If the county commissioner has designated the city clerk to receive nomination papers for elective city offices pursuant to subsection 1, the city clerk shall deliver the nomination papers accepted for filing to the county commissioner. The text of any public measure and nomination papers required to be delivered under this subsection shall be delivered no later than the day after the last day on which nomination petitions can be filed, and not later than 5:00 p.m. 12:00 noon on that day.

______________________________
PAM JOCHUM

President of the Senate

______________________________
LINDA UPMEYER

Speaker of the House

   I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and is known as Senate File 2242, Eighty-sixth General Assembly.

______________________________
MICHAEL E. MARSHALL

Secretary of the Senate

Approved _______________, 2016

______________________________
TERRY E. BRANSTAD

Governor