House File 2019 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2019 BY ISENHART A BILL FOR An Act relating to deliberations or actions of governmental 1 bodies under Iowa’s open meetings law. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5128HH (5) 85 rh/rj

H.F. 2019 Section 1. Section 21.2, subsection 1, paragraphs e, h, and 1 j, Code 2014, are amended to read as follows: 2 e. An advisory board, advisory commission, or task force 3 created by the governor or the general assembly to develop and 4 make recommendations on public policy issues . 5 h. An advisory board, advisory commission, advisory 6 committee, task force, or other body created by statute or 7 executive order of this state or created by an executive order 8 of a political subdivision of this state to develop and make 9 recommendations on public policy issues . 10 j. An advisory board, advisory commission, advisory 11 committee, task force, or other body created by an entity 12 organized under chapter 28E , or by the administrator or joint 13 board specified in a chapter 28E agreement , to develop and make 14 recommendations on public policy issues . 15 Sec. 2. Section 21.2, subsection 2, Code 2014, is amended 16 to read as follows: 17 2. “Meeting” means a gathering in person or by electronic 18 means, formal or informal, of a majority of the members of 19 a governmental body where there is deliberation or action 20 upon any matter within the scope of the governmental body’s 21 policy-making duties. Meetings shall not include a gathering 22 of members of a governmental body for purely ministerial or 23 social purposes when there is no discussion of policy or no 24 intent to avoid the purposes of this chapter . 25 EXPLANATION 26 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 27 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 28 Current law requires that meetings of governmental bodies be 29 preceded by public notice and be held in open session unless 30 certain exemptions apply. 31 Under Code section 21.2, “governmental body” is defined 32 as a board, council, commission, or other governing body 33 expressly created by state law or executive order or of 34 a political subdivision or tax-supported district in this 35 -1- LSB 5128HH (5) 85 rh/rj 1/ 2

H.F. 2019 state; a multimember body formally and directly created by 1 one or more boards, councils, or commissions of the state 2 or a political subdivision; and board of regents-directed 3 bodies in charge of managing intercollegiate athletic programs 4 at state universities. This definition includes certain 5 advisory boards, commissions, and task forces that develop and 6 make public policy recommendations, and an advisory board, 7 advisory commission, advisory committee, task force, or other 8 body organized under Code chapter 28E (joint exercise of 9 governmental powers) that develops and makes recommendations 10 on public policy issues. This definition also includes the 11 governing body of a drainage or levee district. The definition 12 does not include nonprofit organizations and publicly supported 13 nonprofit organizations which conduct pari-mutuel wagering 14 generally, except for nonprofit corporations whose facilities 15 or indebtedness are supported in whole or in part with property 16 tax revenue and who are licensed to conduct pari-mutuel 17 wagering under Code chapter 99D, nonprofit corporations that 18 are successors to such a nonprofit corporation that built such 19 facilities, and nonprofit corporations licensed to conduct 20 gambling games under Code chapter 99F. 21 A “meeting” that subjects a governmental body to the notice 22 and open meeting requirements means a gathering in person or 23 by electronic means, either formal or informal, of a majority 24 of the members of the governmental body, for the purpose of 25 deliberating or acting upon any matter within the scope of the 26 governmental body’s policy-making duties. This definition of a 27 meeting for Code chapter 21 purposes does not include purely 28 ministerial or social gatherings when there is no discussion of 29 policy or no intent to avoid the purposes of the open meetings 30 law. 31 This bill eliminates the requirement that the open 32 meeting law only applies when such deliberations or actions 33 of a governmental body relate to the governmental body’s 34 policy-making duties. 35 -2- LSB 5128HH (5) 85 rh/rj 2/ 2