HOUSE FILE 2006

BY  BALTIMORE

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the membership of county and city conference boards.
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.  Public members of a conference board as provided in section 441.2.
    Sec. 2.  Section 49.41, subsection 4, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  For purposes of township office
 
and city and county conference board public membership, “nomination papers” as used in this section means the affidavit of candidacy required in section 45.3.
    Sec. 3.  Section 441.2, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   441.2  Conference board.
   1.  In each county and each city having an assessor there shall be established a conference board.
   a.  In counties the conference board shall consist of the mayors of all incorporated cities in the county whose property is assessed by the county assessor, one representative from the board of directors of each high school district of the county, who is a resident of the county, said board of directors appointing said representative for a one-year term and notifying the clerk of the conference board as to their representative, and members of the board of supervisors, and four public members.

The four public members shall be elected by the voters of the county within the assessing jurisdiction, at the general election in the manner provided in paragraph “c”. Each public member seat on the conference board shall only be held by an individual who owns or holds an interest in taxable property located in the assessing jurisdiction of the county that is classified as residential, agricultural, commercial, or industrial property. Each of the four property classifications shall be assigned to one of the four public member seats and designated as such on the ballot unless one or more of the property classifications is not present within the assessing jurisdiction. If a property classification is not present within the assessing jurisdiction, that public member seat shall not be assigned a classification, shall not be designated on the ballot as being limited to a property classification, and may be occupied by an individual owning or having an interest in any property classification that is present within the assessing jurisdiction.
   b.  In cities having an assessor the conference board shall consist of the members of the city council, school board, and county board of supervisors, and four public members.

The four public members shall be elected by the voters of the city at the regular city election in the manner provided in paragraph “c”. Each public member seat on the conference board shall only be held by an individual who owns or holds an interest in taxable property located in the city that is classified as residential, agricultural, commercial, or industrial property. Each of the four property classifications shall be assigned to one of the four public member seats and designated as such on the ballot unless one or more of the property classifications is not present within the city. If a property classification is not present within the city, that public member seat shall not be assigned a classification, shall not be designated on the ballot as being limited to a property classification, and may be occupied by an individual owning or having an interest in any property classification that is present within the city.
   c.  The election of the four public members of a conference board shall take place at the election specified in paragraphs “a” and “b” on ballots which shall not reflect a nominee’s political affiliation. A person seeking election as a public member of a conference board shall file an affidavit of candidacy with the county commissioner of elections pursuant to section 45.3. A plurality is sufficient to elect the public members of a conference board. The four public members shall each be elected for a four-year term and may be reelected for additional four-year terms. A vacancy among the public member seats prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled by appointment by the remaining public members of the conference board. The appointment shall be for the period until the next pending election as defined in section 69.12, and shall be made within forty days after the vacancy occurs.
   2.  In the counties the chairperson of the board of supervisors shall act as chairperson of the conference board,
 
and in cities having an assessor the mayor of the city council shall act as chairperson of the conference board.
   3.  In any action taken by the conference board, the mayors of all incorporated cities in the county whose property is assessed by the county assessor shall constitute one voting unit, the members of the city board of education or one representative from the board of directors of each high school district of the county shall constitute one voting unit, the members of the city council shall constitute one voting unit, and the county board of supervisors shall constitute one voting unit,
 
and the four public members shall each constitute a separate voting unit, each unit having a single vote and no action shall be valid except by the vote of not less than two
 
four out of the three
 
seven units. The majority vote of the members present of each unit shall determine the vote of the unit.
   4.  The assessor shall be clerk of the conference board.
    Sec. 4.  Section 441.3, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   441.3  Examining board.
   At a regular meeting of the conference board each voting unit of the conference board shall appoint one person who is a resident of the assessor jurisdiction to serve as a member of an examining board to hold an examination for the positions of assessor or deputy assessor. This examining board shall organize as soon as possible after its appointment with a chairperson and secretary. All its necessary expenditures shall be paid as provided. Members of the board shall serve without compensation. The terms of each
 
member shall be for six years, except for the public member appointees whose terms shall be for four years.
EXPLANATION
   This bill increases the membership of county and city conference boards by requiring the addition of four elected public members. The four public members are elected on a nonpartisan basis by the applicable voters of the county or city at the general election or regular city election, as applicable. The bill provides that a person seeking election as a public member of a conference board must only file an affidavit of candidacy. Each public member seat on the conference board may only be held by an individual who owns or holds an interest in taxable property located in the appropriate jurisdiction that is classified as residential, agricultural, commercial, or industrial property. Each of the four property classifications is assigned to one of the four public member seats and designated as such on the ballot. The bill provides that a public member seat is not limited by property classification if that property classification is not present within the jurisdiction. The four public members each serve a four-year term and may be reelected for additional four-year terms. The four public members each constitute a separate voting unit. A vacancy among the public member seats prior to the expiration of a term is filled by appointment by the remaining public members of the conference board. Such an appointment is for the period until the next pending election.
   By operation of current Code section 441.3, the addition of the four public members to the conference board results in an additional four appointments to the examining board of the applicable assessing jurisdiction. Current Code section 441.3 specifies that examining board members serve for six years. However, the bill provides that each person appointed to the examining board by a public member serves a four-year term, which is the same as the length of a public member’s term on the conference board.