House File 246 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY REICHERT
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the vote of qualified electors for elections
2 in drainage or levee districts managed by a board of trustees
3 and including transition provisions.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 1902YH 83
6 da/sc/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 468.510, Code 2009, is amended to read
1 2 as follows:
1 3 468.510 QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS.
1 4 Each landowner eighteen years of age or over without regard
1 5 to sex and any railway or other corporation owning land in
1 6 said district assessed for benefits shall be entitled to one
1 7 vote only, except as provided in section 468.511.
1 8 Sec. 2. Section 468.511, subsection 1, Code 2009, is
1 9 amended to read as follows:
1 10 1. When a petition asking for the right to vote in
1 11 proportion to assessment of benefits at all elections for any
1 12 purpose thereafter to be held within said district, signed by
1 13 a majority of the landowners owning land within said district
1 14 assessed for benefits, is filed with the board of trustees,
1 15 then, in all elections of trustees thereafter held within said
1 16 district, any person whose land is assessed for benefits
1 17 without regard to age, sex, or condition shall be entitled to
1 18 one vote for each ten dollars or fraction thereof of the
1 19 original assessment under the current classification against
1 20 the land actually owned by the person in said district at the
1 21 time of the election, but in order to have such ballot counted
1 22 for more than one vote the voter shall write the voter's name
1 23 upon the ballot. The vote of any landowner of the district
1 24 may be cast by absent voters ballot as provided in chapter 53
1 25 except that the form of the applications for ballots, the
1 26 voters' affidavits on the envelopes, and the endorsement of
1 27 the carrier envelope for preserving the ballot shall be
1 28 substantially in the form provided in subsections 2, 3 and 4,
1 29 below. Application blanks, envelopes and ballots shall be
1 30 provided by and submitted to the office of the county auditor
1 31 in which the election is held. The cost of such blanks,
1 32 envelopes, ballots and postage shall be paid by the district.
1 33 For the purpose of this subchapter all landowners of the
1 34 district shall be considered qualified voters, regardless of
1 35 their place of residence.
2 1 Sec. 3. Section 468.512, Code 2009, is amended to read as
2 2 follows:
2 3 468.512 VOTE BY AGENT.
2 4 Except where the provisions of section 468.511, providing
2 5 for vote in proportion to assessment are invoked, any A person
2 6 or corporation owning land or right of way within the district
2 7 and assessed for benefits may have the person's or the
2 8 corporation's vote cast by the person's or the corporation's
2 9 agent or proxy authorized to cast such vote by a power of
2 10 attorney signed and acknowledged by such person or
2 11 corporation, and filed before such vote is cast in the
2 12 auditor's office of the county in which such election is held.
2 13 Every such power of attorney shall specify the particular
2 14 election for which it is to be used, indicating the day,
2 15 month, and year of such election, and shall be void for all
2 16 elections subsequently held. The vote of the owner of any
2 17 land in a drainage or levee district in any election, where
2 18 the vote is not determined by assessment, may be cast by
2 19 absent voters ballot in the same manner and form and subject
2 20 to the same rights and restrictions as is provided in section
2 21 468.511 relating to vote by absentee ballot when votes are
2 22 determined by assessment.
2 23 Sec. 4. AMENDMENT OF ORGANIC DOCUMENTS. A drainage or
2 24 levee district organized as a private entity and under the
2 25 control and management of a board of trustees as provided in
2 26 chapter 468, subchapter III, shall amend the district's
2 27 organic documents, including its articles of incorporation and
2 28 bylaws, in order to comply with this Act.
2 29 Sec. 5. TRANSITION AND ELECTION PROVISIONS. The term of
2 30 office for those trustees of a levee or drainage district in
2 31 which the vote of qualified electors for office of trustee was
2 32 in proportion to assessment of benefits as provided in section
2 33 468.511 shall terminate on the fourth Saturday in January
2 34 2010. Successors to the office of trustee in such districts
2 35 shall be elected at the election held on the third Saturday of
3 1 January 2010, as if it were an original election under section
3 2 468.518, and the tenure of office and election of successors
3 3 shall be as provided in that section.
3 4 EXPLANATION
3 5 Code chapter 468, subchapter III, provides for the
3 6 management of drainage or levee districts by a board of
3 7 trustees elected by landowners in the district.
3 8 Code section 468.510 provides that each landowner in the
3 9 district who is at least 18 years old or corporations are
3 10 entitled to one vote, with one exception provided in Code
3 11 section 468.511, which in part allows landowners to vote in
3 12 proportion to their assessment of benefits at all elections
3 13 within the district. The bill eliminates that exception.
3 14 The bill provides that the board of trustees of such a
3 15 district that is organized as a private entity (e.g., a
3 16 nonprofit corporation) must amend its articles of
3 17 incorporation and bylaws, in order to comply with the
3 18 one=person, one=vote requirement. In addition, the district
3 19 must conduct a new election to elect trustees to serve
3 20 staggered terms.
3 21 LSB 1902YH 83
3 22 da/sc/14