HOUSE FILE 17

BY  PETTENGILL and DE BOEF

A BILL FOR

An Act increasing the number of members serving on the utilities board within the utilities division of the department of commerce and changing the membership from an appointed to an elected board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 39.21, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5.  Members of the utilities board within the utilities division of the department of commerce as provided in section 474.1.
   Sec. 2.  Section 474.1, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2011, are amended by striking the subsections and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   1.
  a.  A utilities division is created within the department of commerce. The policymaking body for the division is the utilities board which is created within the division.
   b.  The board is composed of five members, one to be elected by the registered voters of each congressional district and one to be elected from the state at large. Board members shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis at the general election for staggered four-year terms commencing on the first day of January that is not a Sunday or holiday following their election. Any eligible elector is entitled to membership on the board, and, except for the member elected at large, no more than one member shall at any one time be a resident of any one congressional district. A vacancy shall be filled by the chairperson of the board for the unexpired balance of the term until the next succeeding general election.
   c.  At each general election a successor shall be chosen for each commissioner whose term will expire in the succeeding January. Nomination of candidates shall be made by petition in accordance with chapter 45, except that each candidate’s nominating petition shall be signed by at least three hundred eligible electors residing in the congressional district or, for an at-large candidate, by seventy-five eligible electors residing in each congressional district in the state. The petition form shall be furnished by the county commissioner of elections. Every candidate shall file with the nomination papers an affidavit stating the candidate’s name, the candidate’s residence, that the person is a candidate and is eligible for board membership, and that if elected the candidate will qualify for the office. The affidavit shall also state that the candidate is aware that the candidate is disqualified from holding office if the candidate has been convicted of a felony or other infamous crime and the candidate’s rights have not been restored by the governor or by the president of the United States.
   d.  The signed petitions shall be filed with the county commissioner of elections not later than 5 p.m. on the sixty-ninth day before the general election. The votes for board membership shall be canvassed in the same manner as the votes for state officers, and the returns shall be certified to the state commissioner of elections. A plurality is sufficient to elect members, and a primary election for the office shall not be held.
   e.  As used in this subsection,“congressional district”means those districts established following the 2010 federal decennial census.
   2.  The utilities board shall organize by appointing an executive secretary, who shall take the same oath as the members. The board shall set the salary of the executive secretary within the limits of the pay plan for exempt positions provided for in section 8A.413, subsection 3, unless otherwise provided by the general assembly. The board may employ additional personnel as it finds necessary. Board members shall elect a member to serve as the chairperson of the board. The chairperson shall be the administrator of the utilities division. A member shall serve as chairperson for a two-year term.
   Sec. 3.  TRANSITION PROVISIONS.  Membership terms of utilities board members serving on the board on the effective date of this Act and otherwise expiring prior to the general election to be conducted in 2012 shall be extended until the first day of January that is not a Sunday or holiday following the election. Membership terms of utilities board members appointed to the board after the effective date of this Act shall expire in 2013 on the first day of January that is not a Sunday or holiday.
EXPLANATION
   This bill changes the composition of the utilities board within the utilities division of the department of commerce from the current membership of three appointed members to a membership of five elected members.
   The bill provides that four members shall be elected by the registered voters of each congressional district, as those districts were established following the 2010 federal census, and one member shall be elected from the state at large. The members are elected on a nonpartisan basis for staggered four-year terms. The election shall be held biennially at the same time as the general election, and any eligible elector is entitled to membership on the board.
   The bill specifies nomination of candidates for the board shall be made by petition pursuant to Code chapter 45, with the exception that each candidate’s nominating petition shall be signed by at least 300 eligible electors residing in the district or, if an at-large candidate, by 75 eligible electors residing in each congressional district in the state. The bill states that the votes for board membership shall be canvassed in the same manner as the votes for state officers, that returns shall be certified to the state commissioner of elections, that a plurality is sufficient to elect members, and that a primary election for the office shall not be held.
   The bill provides that a chairperson of the board shall be elected from among the board membership for a two-year term. Currently, a chairperson is appointed by the governor.
   The bill provides transition provisions for the general election in 2012. The terms of utilities board members serving on the board on the bill’s effective date and otherwise expiring prior to the general election in 2012 shall be extended until the first day of January that is not a Sunday or holiday following the election. The terms of members appointed after the effective date shall expire in 2013 on the first day of January that is not a Sunday or a holiday.