House File 138 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 138 BY KAUFMANN , SCHULTZ , SCHULTE , MOORE , LOFGREN , BAUDLER , PETTENGILL , HEATON , L. MILLER , RAYHONS , FORRISTALL , ALONS , HUSEMAN , CHAMBERS , ANDERSON , BRANDENBURG , S. OLSON , PAUSTIAN , KLEIN , BYRNES , VANDER LINDEN , MASSIE , VAN ENGELENHOVEN , WORTHAN , FRY , KOESTER , SODERBERG , ROGERS , GRASSLEY , SWAIM , BERRY , KRESSIG , KAJTAZOVIC , WITTNEBEN , WILLEMS , STECKMAN , GASKILL , KEARNS , WENTHE , QUIRK , and SANDS A BILL FOR An Act relating to gubernatorial appointments made to a 1 district judicial nominating commission. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1654YH (3) 84 jm/rj

H.F. 138 Section 1. Section 46.3, Code 2011, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 46.3 Appointment of district judicial nominating 3 commissioners. 4 1. The governor shall appoint five eligible electors of each 5 judicial election district to the district judicial nominating 6 commission. 7 2. Appointments The appointments made by the governor 8 shall be to staggered terms of six years each and shall be 9 made in the month of January for terms commencing February 1 10 of even-numbered years. 11 3. No more than a A simple majority of the commissioners 12 appointed shall be of the same gender. 13 4. Beginning with terms commencing February 1, 2012, there 14 shall not be more than one appointed commissioner from a 15 county within a judicial election district unless each county 16 within the judicial election district has an appointed or 17 elected commissioner or the number of appointed commissioners 18 exceeds the number of counties within the judicial election 19 district. This subsection shall not be used to remove an 20 appointed commissioner from office prior to the expiration of 21 the commissioner’s term. 22 EXPLANATION 23 This bill relates to gubernatorial appointments made to a 24 district judicial nominating commission. 25 Beginning with the terms commencing on February 1, 2012, 26 the bill provides that the governor shall not appoint more 27 than one commissioner from a county within a judicial election 28 district unless each county within the judicial election 29 district has an appointed or elected commissioner or the number 30 of appointed commissioners exceeds the number of counties 31 within the judicial election district. Current law does not 32 place residency restrictions on governor appointments to the 33 commission other than the person shall reside within the 34 judicial election district. 35 -1- LSB 1654YH (3) 84 jm/rj 1/ 2

H.F. 138 A district judicial nominating commission nominates three 1 persons to the governor who then selects a person from the 2 list of nominees for appointment to fill a vacancy in district 3 court. 4 A district judicial nominating commission consists of five 5 eligible electors of the judicial election district appointed 6 to staggered terms by the governor, five eligible electors of 7 the judicial election district elected to staggered terms by 8 the lawyers of the judicial election district, and the most 9 senior district judge of the judicial election district. 10 -2- LSB 1654YH (3) 84 jm/rj 2/ 2