House Joint Resolution 2012 - Introduced HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2012 BY ROBERTS HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution 1 of the State of Iowa relating to the number of supreme 2 court justices and the nomination and appointment of such 3 justices. 4 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 5658YH (5) 83 jm/rj

H.J.R. 2012 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of 1 the State of Iowa is proposed: 2 1. Section 2 of Article V of the Constitution of the State 3 of Iowa is amended beginning July 1, 2013, to read as follows: 4 Supreme court. SEC. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of 5 three nine Judges, two five of whom shall constitute a quorum 6 to hold Court. 7 Each judicial district shall have a resident appointed to 8 the Supreme Court, and there shall be at least one appointment 9 to the Supreme Court from a resident statewide without regard 10 to judicial district residency. A Supreme Court Judge must 11 remain a resident of the judicial district of appointment 12 during the entire term of office unless the appointment 13 is statewide. Each Supreme Court Judge shall be retained 14 statewide. 15 2. Section 16, unnumbered paragraph 1, of Article V of the 16 Constitution of the State of Iowa is amended beginning July 1, 17 2013, to read as follows: 18 There shall be a State Judicial Nominating Commission. Such 19 Commission shall make nominations to fill vacancies in the 20 Supreme Court from resident nominees of each judicial district 21 and as otherwise provided on a statewide basis . Until July 22 4, 1973, and thereafter unless otherwise provided by law, the 23 State Judicial Nominating Commission shall be composed and 24 selected as follows: There shall be not less than three nor 25 more than eight appointive members, as provided by law, and an 26 equal number of elective members on such Commission, all of 27 whom shall be electors of the state. The appointive members 28 shall be appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation 29 by the Senate. The elective members shall be elected by the 30 resident members of the bar of the state. The judge of the 31 Supreme Court who is senior in length of service on said Court, 32 other than the Chief Justice, shall also be a member of such 33 Commission and shall be its chairman. 34 Sec. 2. REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION. The foregoing amendment 35 -1- LSB 5658YH (5) 83 jm/rj 1/ 3

H.J.R. 2012 to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred to the 1 General Assembly to be chosen at the next general election 2 for members of the General Assembly, and the Secretary of 3 State is directed to cause the same to be published for three 4 consecutive months previous to the date of that election as 5 provided by law. 6 EXPLANATION 7 This joint resolution relates to the nomination, 8 appointment, and number of supreme court justices. 9 The resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution of 10 the State of Iowa setting the number of supreme court justices 11 at nine justices. The Constitution currently authorizes the 12 general assembly to establish the number of supreme court 13 justices in Article V, Section 10, as long as the number of 14 justices does not fall below three as provided in Article 15 V, Section 2. Under the authority of the Constitution, the 16 general assembly established the number of supreme court 17 justices at seven in Code section 602.4101. 18 The resolution requires that each judicial district have a 19 resident appointed to the supreme court, and requires at least 20 one appointment to the supreme court from a resident statewide 21 without regard to judicial district residency. The resolution 22 also requires a supreme court judge to remain a resident of 23 the judicial district of appointment during the entire term of 24 office unless the appointment is statewide. Current law does 25 not place a residency requirement on supreme court justices 26 other than the requirement to be a resident of the state. 27 The resolution requires a nominee for appointment to the 28 supreme court to be a resident of the judicial district unless 29 the nomination is for a statewide appointment regardless of 30 judicial district residency. Article V, Sections 15 and 16 of 31 the Constitution require the governor to appoint the supreme 32 court justice from the list of nominees submitted by the state 33 judicial nominating commission. 34 The resolution specifies that each supreme court justice 35 -2- LSB 5658YH (5) 83 jm/rj 2/ 3

H.J.R. 2012 shall be retained in office statewide. 1 Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution requires the 2 general assembly to pass all laws necessary to effectuate the 3 provisions of the Constitution. 4 The resolution, if adopted, would be referred to the next 5 General Assembly (Eighty-fourth) for adoption before the 6 amendment is submitted to the electorate for ratification. 7 The resolution becomes effective July 1, 2013, if ratified 8 by the electorate. 9 -3- LSB 5658YH (5) 83 jm/rj 3/ 3