House File 2005 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2005 BY PAULSEN A BILL FOR An Act requiring that county attorneys be elected on a 1 nonpartisan basis. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5125YH (3) 86 aw/sc

H.F. 2005 Section 1. Section 39.17, Code 2016, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 39.17 County officers. 3 1. There shall be elected in each county at the general 4 election to be held in the year 1976 and every four years 5 thereafter, an auditor and a sheriff, each to hold office for a 6 term of four years. 7 2. There shall be elected in each county at the general 8 election to be held in 1974 and each four years thereafter, a 9 treasurer , and a recorder and a county attorney who shall , each 10 to hold office for a term of four years. 11 Sec. 2. Section 39.21, Code 2016, is amended to read as 12 follows: 13 39.21 Nonpartisan offices. 14 1. There shall be elected at each general election, on a 15 nonpartisan basis, the following officers: 16 1. a. County public hospital trustees as required by 17 section 347.25 . 18 2. b. Soil and water conservation district commissioners 19 as required by section 161A.5 . 20 3. c. County agricultural extension council members as 21 provided in section 176A.6 . 22 4. d. Township officers as provided in section 39.22, 23 subsection 2 . 24 2. There shall be elected in each county at the general 25 election to be held in the year 2018 and every four years 26 thereafter, on a nonpartisan basis, a county attorney, to hold 27 office for a term of four years. 28 Sec. 3. Section 69.14A, subsection 2, unnumbered paragraph 29 1, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows: 30 A vacancy in any of the offices listed in section 39.17 or 31 in the office of county attorney shall be filled by one of the 32 two following procedures: 33 Sec. 4. Section 69.14A, subsection 4, Code 2016, is amended 34 to read as follows: 35 -1- LSB 5125YH (3) 86 aw/sc 1/ 3

H.F. 2005 4. Notwithstanding subsections 1 and 2 , if a nomination 1 has been made at the primary election for an a partisan office 2 in which a vacancy has been filled by appointment, the office 3 shall be filled at the next general election, and not at any 4 special election in the same political subdivision. 5 Sec. 5. Section 331.751, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended 6 to read as follows: 7 1. The office of county attorney is an a nonpartisan 8 elective office except that if a vacancy occurs in the office, 9 a successor shall be elected or appointed to the unexpired term 10 as provided in chapter 69 section 69.14A . 11 Sec. 6. Section 331.752, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 12 to read as follows: 13 2. The board may provide, by resolution, that the county 14 attorney shall be a full-time county officer. The resolution 15 shall include an effective date which shall not be less than 16 sixty days from the date of adoption. However, if the county 17 attorney or county attorney-elect objects to the full-time 18 status, the effective date of the change to a full-time status 19 shall be delayed until January 1 of the year following the next 20 general election at which a county attorney is elected. The 21 board shall not adopt a resolution changing the status of the 22 county attorney between March 1 and the date of the general 23 election of the year in which the county attorney is regularly 24 elected as provided in section 39.17 39.21 . 25 Sec. 7. Section 331.753, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended 26 to read as follows: 27 2. The effective date of the agreement shall be January 1 28 of the year following the next general election at which the 29 county attorney is elected as provided by this section and 30 section 39.17 39.21 . 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill provides that county attorneys shall be elected 35 -2- LSB 5125YH (3) 86 aw/sc 2/ 3

H.F. 2005 on a nonpartisan basis beginning with the general election 1 in November 2018. The bill also provides that vacancies in 2 the office of county attorney shall be filled in the manner 3 provided for partisan county offices. 4 -3- LSB 5125YH (3) 86 aw/sc 3/ 3