House File 243 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON STATE
GOVERNMENT
(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 12)
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for gender balance on local boards, commissions,
2 committees, and councils, and including an applicability
3 provision.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 1345HV 83
6 ec/rj/8
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 69.16A, Code 2009, is amended to read
1 2 as follows:
1 3 69.16A GENDER BALANCE.
1 4 1. All appointive boards, commissions, committees, and
1 5 councils of the state established by the Code, if not
1 6 otherwise provided by law, shall be gender balanced. No
1 7 person shall be appointed or reappointed to any board,
1 8 commission, committee, or council established by the Code if
1 9 that appointment or reappointment would cause the number of
1 10 members of the board, commission, committee, or council of one
1 11 gender to be greater than one=half the membership of the
1 12 board, commission, committee, or council plus one if the
1 13 board, commission, committee, or council is composed of an odd
1 14 number of members. If the board, commission, committee, or
1 15 council is composed of an even number of members, not more
1 16 than one=half of the membership shall be of one gender. If
1 17 there are multiple appointing authorities for a board,
1 18 commission, committee, or council, they shall consult each
1 19 other to avoid a violation of this section. This section
1 20 shall not prohibit an individual from completing a term being
1 21 served on June 30, 1987.
1 22 2. All appointive boards, commissions, committees, and
1 23 councils of a political subdivision of the state that are
1 24 established by the Code, if not otherwise provided by law,
1 25 shall be gender balanced as provided by subsection 1 unless
1 26 any of the following applies:
1 27 a. The political subdivision is a city with a population
1 28 of less than one thousand persons.
1 29 b. The board, commission, committee, or council pertains
1 30 to professional licensure or otherwise requires members with
1 31 highly specialized technical expertise.
1 32 c. The political subdivision has made a good faith effort
1 33 to appoint a person to fill a vacancy on a board, commission,
1 34 committee, or council in compliance with subsection 1 for a
1 35 period of three months but has been unable to make a compliant
2 1 appointment.
2 2 Sec. 2. APPLICABILITY. This Act is applicable to
2 3 appointive boards, commissions, committees, and councils of a
2 4 political subdivision of the state on and after January 1,
2 5 2012.
2 6 EXPLANATION
2 7 This bill requires appointive boards, commissions,
2 8 committees, and councils of a political subdivision of the
2 9 state that are established by the Iowa Code to be gender
2 10 balanced. However, the bill provides that the gender balance
2 11 requirement for political subdivisions does not apply to
2 12 cities with a population of less than 1,000 persons, boards
2 13 pertaining to professional licensure or otherwise requiring
2 14 members with technical expertise, or to political subdivisions
2 15 that have made a good faith effort to comply but have been
2 16 unable to make a compliant appointment for a period of three
2 17 months.
2 18 Current law only applies the gender balance requirement to
2 19 state boards, commissions, committees, and councils.
2 20 The bill provides that the gender balance requirement for
2 21 political subdivisions applies beginning on and after January
2 22 1, 2012.
2 23 LSB 1345HV 83
2 24 ec/rj/8