Senate File 257 - Introduced



                                       SENATE FILE       
                                       BY  TINSMAN


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

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to protesting a county or city budget.
  2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  3 TLSB 2405XS 81
  4 sc/gg/14

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 331.436, Code 2005, is amended to read
  1  2 as follows:
  1  3    331.436  PROTEST.
  1  4    Protests to the adopted budget must be made in accordance
  1  5 with sections 24.27 through 24.32 as if the county were the
  1  6 municipality under those sections except that the number of
  1  7 people necessary to file a protest under this section shall
  1  8 not be less than one hundred.  The written protest filed with
  1  9 the county auditor shall, in detail, describe the item or
  1 10 items being protested.  The hearing on the protest shall be
  1 11 limited to consideration of those items described in the
  1 12 written protest.
  1 13    For purposes of a protest to the adopted budget, "item"
  1 14 means a budgeted expenditure, appropriation, or cash reserve
  1 15 from a fund for a service area, program, program element, or
  1 16 purpose.
  1 17    Sec. 2.  Section 384.19, unnumbered paragraphs 1 and 3,
  1 18 Code 2005, are amended to read as follows:
  1 19    Within a period of ten days after the final date that a
  1 20 budget or amended budget may be certified to the county
  1 21 auditor, persons affected by the budget may file a written
  1 22 protest with the county auditor specifying their objections to
  1 23 the budget or any part of it.  A protest must be signed by
  1 24 registered voters equal in number to one=fourth of one percent
  1 25 of the votes cast for governor in the last preceding general
  1 26 election in the city, but the number shall not be less than
  1 27 ten persons and the number need not be more than one hundred
  1 28 persons.  The written protest filed with the county auditor
  1 29 shall, in detail, describe the item or items being protested.
  1 30    The state appeal board shall proceed to consider the
  1 31 protest in accordance with the same provisions that protests
  1 32 to budgets of municipalities are considered under chapter 24,
  1 33 except that the hearing on the protest shall be limited to
  1 34 consideration of those items described in the written protest.
  1 35 The state appeal board shall certify its decision with respect
  2  1 to the protest to the county auditor and to the parties to the
  2  2 appeal as provided by rule, and the decision shall be final.
  2  3    Sec. 3.  Section 384.19, Code 2005, is amended by adding
  2  4 the following new unnumbered paragraph:
  2  5    NEW UNNUMBERED PARAGRAPH.  For purposes of a protest to the
  2  6 adopted budget, "item" means a budgeted expenditure,
  2  7 appropriation, or cash reserve from a fund for a service area,
  2  8 program, program element, or purpose.
  2  9                           EXPLANATION
  2 10    This bill provides that a protest filed to a county or city
  2 11 budget shall, in detail, describe the item or items being
  2 12 protested.  The bill further provides that the hearing on a
  2 13 protest filed to a county or city budget shall be limited to
  2 14 consideration of those items described in the written protest.
  2 15 The bill defines "item" as a budgeted expenditure,
  2 16 appropriation, or cash reserve from a fund for a service area,
  2 17 program, program element, or purpose.
  2 18 LSB 2405XS 81
  2 19 sc:nh/gg/14.1