SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 6

BY  ZAUN, BACON, BARTZ, BEHN, CHELGREN, FEENSTRA, GREINER, JOHNSON, and SORENSON

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to the appointment of nominees to the supreme court by the governor.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  The following amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is proposed:
   Section 15 of Article V of the Constitution of the State of Iowa, as added by the Amendment of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
   Vacancies in courts.  SEC. 15.  Vacancies in the supreme court and district court shall be filled by appointment by the governor from lists of nominees submitted by the appropriate judicial nominating commission. Three nominees shall be submitted for each supreme court vacancy, and two nominees shall be submitted for each district court vacancy. If the governor fails for thirty days to make the an appointment from the district court nominees, it the appointment shall be made from such the nominees by the chief justice of the supreme court.  The governor may reject all three nominees for a supreme court vacancy and the nomination process shall start anew until the governor appoints a nominee to fill the vacancy.
   Sec. 2.
  REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION.
  The foregoing amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred to the general assembly to be chosen at the next general election for members of the general assembly, and the secretary of state is directed to cause the same to be published for three consecutive months previous to the date of that election as provided by law.
EXPLANATION
   This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa relating to the appointment of nominees to the supreme court by the governor.
   The resolution provides that the governor may reject all three nominees for a supreme court vacancy by the state judicial nominating commission, in which case, the nomination process shall start anew until the governor appoints a nominee to fill the vacancy.
   The Constitution currently requires the governor to appoint a nominee from the list of three nominees submitted by the state judicial nominating commission, and if the governor does not make an appointment within 30 days of receiving the list of nominees, the chief justice is required to make the appointment from the list of such nominees.
   The resolution, if adopted, would be referred to the next general assembly (Eighty-fifth) for adoption before the amendment is submitted to the electorate for ratification.