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.NoA 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 tobe greaterexceed by more thanone=half the 1 11 membershipone the members of the board, commission, or 1 12 councilplus onebelonging 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