House File 59 - Introduced



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  ROBERTS


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act providing for the determination of partisan balance on
  2    boards and commissions and including an applicability
  3    provision.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  5 TLSB 1014HH 81
  6 ec/pj/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 69.16, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code
  1  2 2005, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    All appointive boards, commissions, and councils of the
  1  4 state established by the Code if not otherwise provided by law
  1  5 shall be bipartisan in their composition.  No A person shall
  1  6 not be appointed or reappointed to any board, commission, or
  1  7 council established by the Code if the effect of that
  1  8 appointment or reappointment would cause the number of members
  1  9 of the board, commission, or council belonging to one eligible
  1 10 political party to be greater exceed by more than one=half the
  1 11 membership one the members of the board, commission, or
  1 12 council plus one belonging to another eligible political
  1 13 party.  For purposes of this section, an eligible political
  1 14 party is a political party, as defined in section 43.2, that
  1 15 has one of the two highest numbers of registered voters in
  1 16 this state.  The political party to which a person belongs for
  1 17 purposes of this section shall be determined prior to the date
  1 18 of the person's appointment or reappointment, based on the
  1 19 party registration, if any, of the person as of the date of
  1 20 the most recent general election, the date of the most recent
  1 21 primary election, or the date the person becomes eligible to
  1 22 register to vote, whichever is latest.
  1 23    Sec. 2.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act is applicable to
  1 24 appointments or reappointments made on or after the effective
  1 25 date of this Act to appointive boards, commissions, and
  1 26 councils subject to Code section 69.16.
  1 27                           EXPLANATION
  1 28    This bill concerns the determination of partisan balance
  1 29 for appointive boards, commissions, and councils.  The bill
  1 30 provides that the number of members of an appointive board,
  1 31 commission, or council of one eligible political party shall
  1 32 not exceed by more than one the number of members from another
  1 33 eligible political party.  Under current law, the number of
  1 34 members of such a body belonging to one political party shall
  1 35 not be greater than one=half of the membership of the body.
  2  1    The bill defines an eligible political party as a party
  2  2 that has one of the two highest numbers of registered voters
  2  3 in the state.  In addition, the political party of a person to
  2  4 be appointed or reappointed is determined based upon the
  2  5 person's party registration as of the most recent general
  2  6 election, most recent primary election, or the date the person
  2  7 became eligible to vote, whichever is latest.  The bill
  2  8 provides that this change applies to appointments and
  2  9 reappointments made on or after the effective date of the
  2 10 bill.
  2 11 LSB 1014HH 81
  2 12 ec/pj/5