Senate Study Bill 1311
SENATE FILE
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
AGRICULTURE BILL BY
CHAIRPERSON FRAISE)
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the state interagency Missouri river
2 authority, by providing for the participation in or withdrawal
3 from interstate associations, providing for the appointment of
4 a vice chairperson, and providing for duties of member
5 agencies.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
7 TLSB 2837SC 82
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 28L.1, Code 2007, is amended to read as
1 2 follows:
1 3 28L.1 STATE INTERAGENCY MISSOURI RIVER AUTHORITY CREATED
1 4 == DUTIES.
1 5 1. A state interagency Missouri river authority is
1 6 created.
1 7 1. a. The members of the authority shall include are the
1 8 governor or the governor's designee, and representatives of
1 9 interested state agencies which include the secretary of
1 10 agriculture or the secretary's designee, the chairperson of
1 11 the utilities board or the chairperson's designee, and the
1 12 directors of the department of natural resources, the state
1 13 department of transportation, and the department of economic
1 14 development or the directors' designees.
1 15 b. The governor or the governor's designee shall serve as
1 16 chairperson. The vice chairperson shall be appointed by the
1 17 authority each year from the representatives of the interested
1 18 state agencies on a rotating basis as provided by the
1 19 authority's rules. The director of the department of natural
1 20 resources vice chairperson's agency shall serve as the
1 21 coordinator of the authority's activities and shall the vice
1 22 chairperson shall serve as acting chairperson in the absence
1 23 of the governor or the governor's designee.
1 24 2. The state interagency Missouri river authority shall be
1 25 responsible for representing the interests of this state with
1 26 regard to its membership in the Missouri river basin
1 27 association and to promote for purposes of promoting the
1 28 management of the Missouri river in a manner that does not
1 29 negatively impact landowners along the river or negatively
1 30 impact the state's economy. The Missouri river basin
1 31 association is an authority may participate in or withdraw
1 32 from any interstate association of government representatives
1 33 formed to seek consensus solutions to issues impacting the
1 34 Missouri river basin.
1 35 3. a. The authority shall not participate in or withdraw
2 1 from an interstate association, unless by majority vote of the
2 2 representatives of the interested state agencies.
2 3 b. As chairperson of the authority, the governor or the
2 4 governor's designee shall only vote in the event that a simple
2 5 majority cannot be achieved by the other members of the
2 6 authority, on all matters of policy, including Iowa's
2 7 participation in or withdrawal from, any interstate
2 8 association the authority members may recommend.
2 9 c. The state interagency Missouri river authority shall
2 10 not only vote to approve or disapprove a substantive proposal
2 11 or action being considered by the Missouri river basin an
2 12 interstate association without the agreement by unanimous vote
2 13 of the secretary of agriculture, the directors of all four
2 14 three state departments, and the chairperson of the utilities
2 15 board, or their designees, who are members of the authority.
2 16 If a substantive proposal or action considered by the an
2 17 interstate association is not approved or disapproved by all
2 18 four the secretary of agriculture, the directors of all three
2 19 state departments, and the chairperson of the utilities board,
2 20 or their designees, the state shall abstain from voting on the
2 21 proposal or action.
2 22 d. If the state of Iowa may exercise a right of cumulative
2 23 voting on any issue before an interstate association, it shall
2 24 not split its votes on that issue.
2 25 4. The state interagency Missouri river authority shall
2 26 meet regularly with stakeholder groups in this state to
2 27 receive their recommendations before substantive proposals or
2 28 actions are voted upon or to receive policy positions to
2 29 submit to the Missouri river basin an interstate association
2 30 in which it participates.
2 31 EXPLANATION
2 32 This bill amends provisions in Code section 28L.1 which
2 33 creates the state interagency Missouri river authority
2 34 composed of the governor or the governor's designee and the
2 35 heads of a number of agencies or their designees including the
3 1 secretary of agriculture, the chairperson of the utilities
3 2 board, and the directors of the department of natural
3 3 resources, the state department of transportation, and the
3 4 department of economic development. The authority is
3 5 responsible for representing the interests of this state on
3 6 the Missouri river basin association and to promote the
3 7 management of the Missouri river in a manner that does not
3 8 negatively impact landowners along the river or negatively
3 9 impact the state's economy. The Code section provides that
3 10 the director of the department of natural resources serves as
3 11 the chairperson in the governor's absence, and the department
3 12 of natural resources serves as the coordinating agency for the
3 13 authority.
3 14 The bill provides that each agency representative serves as
3 15 vice chairperson of the authority on an annually rotating
3 16 basis, the vice chairperson acts as chairperson in the absence
3 17 of the governor or the governor's designee, and the vice
3 18 chairperson's agency acts as the coordinating agency for the
3 19 authority during the vice chairperson's tenure. The bill
3 20 provides that the authority by majority vote may participate
3 21 in or withdraw from any interstate association representing
3 22 issues affecting the Missouri river. The bill provides that,
3 23 as chairperson, the governor or the governor's designee is not
3 24 entitled to vote unless the other members' votes end in a tie.
3 25 The bill also provides that if Iowa has a right of cumulative
3 26 voting on an issue before the association, it cannot split its
3 27 vote.
3 28 LSB 2837SC 82
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