House File 2294
HOUSE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON
NATURAL RESOURCES
(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 566)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to certain activities and property under the
2 jurisdiction of the natural resource commission and the
3 department of natural resources, including leases and
4 easements of property and the issuance and suspension of
5 certain licenses.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 461A.25, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code
1 2 2003, is amended to read as follows:
1 3 The commission may recommend that the executive council
1 4 lease property under the commission's jurisdiction. All
1 5 leases shall reserve to the public of the state the right to
1 6 enter upon the property leased for any lawful purpose. The
1 7 council may, if it approves the recommendation and the If a
1 8 lease to be entered into is for a period of five years or
1 9 less, upon approval by the commission, the director shall
1 10 execute the lease in on behalf of the state and commission.
1 11 If the recommendation is for a lease is for a period in excess
1 12 of five years, with the exception of agricultural lands
1 13 specifically dealt with in Article I, section 24 of the
1 14 Constitution of the State of Iowa, the council commission
1 15 shall advertise for bids. If a bid is accepted, the lease
1 16 shall be let or executed by the council in accordance with the
1 17 most desirable bid. The commission may accept bids and
1 18 approve leases that the commission determines are in the best
1 19 interests of the state. The A lease shall not be executed for
1 20 a term longer than fifty years. Any such leasehold interest,
1 21 including any improvements placed on it, shall be listed on
1 22 the tax rolls as provided in chapters 428 and 443; assessed
1 23 and valued as provided in chapter 441; taxes shall be levied
1 24 on it as provided in chapter 444 and collected as provided in
1 25 chapter 445; and the leasehold interest is subject to tax
1 26 sale, redemption, and apportionment of taxes as provided in
1 27 chapters 446, 447, and 448. The lessee shall discharge and
1 28 pay all taxes.
1 29 Sec. 2. Section 481A.133, Code 2003, is amended to read as
1 30 follows:
1 31 481A.133 SUSPENSION OF LICENSES, CERTIFICATES, AND
1 32 PERMITS.
1 33 A person who is assessed damages pursuant to section
1 34 481A.130 shall immediately surrender all licenses,
1 35 certificates, and permits to hunt, fish, or trap in the state
2 1 to the department. The licenses, permits, and certificates,
2 2 and the privileges associated with them shall remain suspended
2 3 until the assessed damages and any accrued interest are paid
2 4 or a payment schedule is established by the court in full.
2 5 Upon payment of the assessed damages and any accrued interest,
2 6 the suspension shall be lifted. If a payment schedule is
2 7 established, the suspension shall be lifted and remain so
2 8 unless the person fails to make a payment pursuant to that
2 9 schedule. Failure to make a payment shall cause the
2 10 suspension to be renewed. Interest shall begin to accrue as
2 11 of the date of judgment at a rate of ten percent per year.
2 12 Sec. 3. Section 483A.27, subsections 1 and 7, Code 2003,
2 13 are amended to read as follows:
2 14 1. A person born after January 1, 1967 1972, shall not
2 15 obtain a hunting license unless the person has satisfactorily
2 16 completed a hunter safety and ethics education course approved
2 17 by the commission. A person who is eleven years of age or
2 18 more may enroll in an approved hunter safety and ethics
2 19 education course, but a person who is eleven years of age and
2 20 who has successfully completed the course shall be issued a
2 21 certificate of completion which becomes valid on the person's
2 22 twelfth birthday. A certificate of completion from an
2 23 approved hunter safety and ethics education course issued in
2 24 this state since 1960, by another state, or by a foreign
2 25 nation, is valid for the requirements of this section.
2 26 7. A hunting license obtained under this section by a
2 27 person who gave false information or presented a fraudulent
2 28 certificate of completion shall be revoked and a new hunting
2 29 license shall not be issued for at least two years from the
2 30 date of conviction. A hunting license obtained by a person
2 31 who was born after January 1, 1967 1972, but has not
2 32 satisfactorily completed the hunter safety and ethics
2 33 education course or has not met the requirements established
2 34 by the commission, shall be revoked.
2 35 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 564.9 DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL
3 1 RESOURCES == EASEMENT.
3 2 1. The department of natural resources shall grant the
3 3 owner of a parcel of land an easement to allow the owner
3 4 access from the parcel to a public road if any of the
3 5 following applies:
3 6 a. It is otherwise impossible for the owner to access the
3 7 public road because the parcel is surrounded by land held by
3 8 the department.
3 9 b. The parcel is otherwise surrounded by land with a
3 10 topography that makes access impracticable. The easement
3 11 shall reasonably provide access for automobile traffic from
3 12 the parcel to the public road without substantial improvement
3 13 by the owner. However, the owner shall be responsible for
3 14 constructing and maintaining any private road from the parcel
3 15 to the public road.
3 16 c. Access by another way would cause degradation or
3 17 destroy the integrity of the land.
3 18 EXPLANATION
3 19 This bill relates to certain activities under the
3 20 jurisdiction of the natural resource commission and the
3 21 department of natural resources.
3 22 Code section 461A.25 is amended to allow the director of
3 23 the department of natural resources, rather than the executive
3 24 council, to execute a lease of property under the jurisdiction
3 25 of the natural resource commission on behalf of the state and
3 26 the commission for a period of five years or less upon
3 27 approval by the commission. If a proposed lease of property
3 28 is for a period in excess of five years, the commission must
3 29 advertise for bids and accept bids and approve leases that the
3 30 commission determines are in the best interests of the state.
3 31 Code section 481A.133 is amended to provide that a person
3 32 who is assessed damages upon conviction of unlawfully selling,
3 33 taking, catching, killing, injuring, destroying, or possessing
3 34 an animal will have all hunting, fishing, and trapping
3 35 licenses suspended until the assessed damages and accrued
4 1 interest are paid in full. Currently, the suspension
4 2 continues until the assessed damages and interest are paid or
4 3 until a payment schedule is established by the court. This
4 4 provision is also amended to provide that interest shall
4 5 accrue as of the date of judgment at a rate of 10 percent per
4 6 year.
4 7 Code section 483A.27 is amended to provide that a person
4 8 does not have to provide proof of completion of a hunter
4 9 safety and ethics education course approved by the commission
4 10 in order to obtain a hunting license unless the person was
4 11 born after 1972 instead of after 1967. The bill provides that
4 12 a hunting license shall be revoked if the license was obtained
4 13 by a person who has not completed the hunter safety and ethics
4 14 education course and who was born after 1972 instead of after
4 15 1967.
4 16 New Code section 564.9 is created and applies to a parcel
4 17 of landlocked property. According to the provisions of the
4 18 bill, if the department of natural resources holds the
4 19 surrounding land, it must provide an easement to the owner of
4 20 the landlocked property if it is otherwise impossible for the
4 21 owner to access the public road because the parcel is
4 22 surrounded by land held by the department; the parcel is
4 23 otherwise surrounded by land with a topography that makes
4 24 access impracticable; or access by another way would cause
4 25 degradation or destroy the integrity of the land. The
4 26 easement must reasonably provide for automobile traffic from
4 27 the parcel to the public road, although it is the owner's
4 28 responsibility for constructing and maintaining any private
4 29 road there.
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