House File 2124 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2124 BY ISENHART A BILL FOR An Act relating to the process to bind the state to 1 international trade agreements. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5147YH (3) 86 aw/sc

H.F. 2124 Section 1. Section 15.108, Code 2016, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 12. Trade agreements. To review, analyze, 3 and report on trade agreements, as required pursuant to section 4 15E.81. 5 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 15E.81 Trade agreements. 6 1. If the United States government provides the state with 7 the opportunity to consent to or to reject binding the state 8 to a trade agreement, or a designated provision within a trade 9 agreement, then an official of the state, including but not 10 limited to the governor, shall not give consent to the United 11 States government to bind the state to the trade agreement, 12 except as provided in this section. 13 2. When a communication from the United States trade 14 representative concerning a trade agreement is received by the 15 state, the governor shall transmit a copy of the communication 16 and the trade agreement, or relevant provisions of the trade 17 agreement, to the director of the authority, the president of 18 the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and 19 the chairpersons and ranking members of the general assembly’s 20 standing committees on economic growth. 21 3. The director of the authority, in consultation with 22 the attorney general and the faculty of the international and 23 comparative law program at the college of law at the university 24 of Iowa, shall, immediately upon receipt, review and analyze a 25 trade agreement and submit a report to the general assembly and 26 the governor on the potential impact on the state of consenting 27 to be bound by the trade agreement. 28 4. An official of the state, including but not limited to 29 the governor, shall not consent to bind the state to the terms 30 or provisions of a trade agreement unless the general assembly 31 has passed a joint resolution authorizing the governor or 32 other official to give consent to bind the state to the trade 33 agreement or to a provision designated by the United States 34 government within the trade agreement. 35 -1- LSB 5147YH (3) 86 aw/sc 1/ 3

H.F. 2124 5. As used in this section, “trade agreement” means 1 an agreement reached between the United States government 2 and any other country, countries, or other international 3 political entity or entities that proposes to regulate trade, 4 procurement, services, or investment among the parties to the 5 agreement. “Trade agreement” includes but is not limited to any 6 agreements under the auspices of the world trade organization, 7 all regional free trade agreements, and all bilateral trade 8 agreements entered into by the United States, as well as 9 requests for binding agreement received from a United States 10 trade representative. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill relates to the process to bind the state to 15 international trade agreements if the federal government 16 provides the option to states to consent or not consent. 17 The bill provides that an official of the state, including 18 the governor, is not able to give consent to bind the state 19 to the terms or provisions of a trade agreement unless the 20 general assembly has passed a joint resolution authorizing the 21 governor or other official of the state to bind the state to 22 the trade agreement or to a designated provision within the 23 trade agreement. 24 Under the bill, the governor is required to transmit 25 a copy of a trade agreement, or relevant provisions of a 26 trade agreement, to the director of the economic development 27 authority, the president of the senate, the speaker of the 28 house of representatives, and the chairpersons and ranking 29 members of the general assembly’s standing committees on 30 economic growth. 31 The bill requires that the director of the economic 32 development authority, in consultation with the attorney 33 general and the faculty of the international and comparative 34 law program at the college of law at the university of Iowa, 35 -2- LSB 5147YH (3) 86 aw/sc 2/ 3

H.F. 2124 immediately review, analyze, and submit a report on such a 1 trade agreement. The bill requires the authority to submit the 2 report to the general assembly and the governor. 3 -3- LSB 5147YH (3) 86 aw/sc 3/ 3