HF 2286 (LSB 5513YH (4) 86)

HOUSE FILE 2286

BY  GUSTAFSON

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to notice and election requirements and limitations for the issuance of certain bonds by political subdivisions of the state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 53.37, Code 2016, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  3A.  The term “bond election”, as used in this subchapter, means an election at which a proposition to authorize an issuance of bonds by a county, township, school corporation, or city, or by any local board or commission authorized by law to issue bonds.
    Sec. 2.  Section 53.39, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  All official ballots to be voted by qualified absent voters in the armed forces of the United States at the primary election and the general election, and all bond elections that are not the general election, shall be printed prior to forty-five days before the respective elections and shall be available for transmittal to such qualified voters in the armed forces of the United States at least forty-five days before the respective elections. The provisions of this chapter apply to absent voting by qualified voters in the armed forces of the United States except as modified by the provisions of this subchapter.
   b.  For the purposes of this subsection, the ballot for a bond election that is not held in conjunction with the general election shall only consist of propositions to authorize the issuance of bonds by a county, township, school corporation, city, or by a local board or commission.
    Sec. 3.  Section 53.40, subsection 1, paragraphs a and b, Code 2016, are amended to read as follows:
   a.  A request in writing for a ballot may be made by any member of the armed forces of the United States who is or will be a qualified voter on the day of the election at which the ballot is to be cast, at any time before the election. Any member of the armed forces of the United States may request ballots for all elections to be held during a calendar year. The request may be made by using the federal postcard application form and indicating that the applicant wishes to receive ballots for all elections as permitted by state law. If the applicant does not specify which elections the request is for, the county commissioner shall send the applicant a ballot for each federal election and each bond election held after the application is received until the end of the calendar year in which the request is received. If the applicant requests ballots for all elections to be held in a calendar year, the commissioner, if necessary, shall forward a copy of the absentee ballot request to other commissioners who are responsible under section 47.2, subsection 2, for conducting elections in which the applicant is eligible to vote.
   b.  Unless the request specifies otherwise, a request for the primary election shall also be considered a request for the general election. In the case of the general election or a bond election, request may be made not more than seventy days before the election, for and on behalf of a voter in the armed forces of the United States by a spouse, parent, parent-in-law, adult brother, adult sister, or adult child of the voter, residing in the county of the voter’s residence. However, a request made by other than the voter may be required to be made on forms prescribed by the state commissioner.
    Sec. 4.  Section 75.1, Code 2016, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  1A.  a.  For a proposition to authorize an issuance of bonds by a political subdivision that is not a county, school corporation, or city, or by any local board or commission authorized by law to issue bonds, to be submitted to the electors at a bond election, the political subdivision shall publish, at least sixty days before the day of the bond election, notice including the complete text of the public measure, the date of the meeting at which the election was called, and the date of the bond election. The notice shall be in addition to the notice of election provided in section 49.53.
   b.  The term “bond election”, as used in this subsection, means an election at which a proposition to authorize an issuance of bonds by a political subdivision that is not a county, school corporation, or city, or by any local board or commission authorized by law to issue bonds, is submitted to the electors.
    Sec. 5.  Section 75.1, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  a.  When a proposition to authorize an issuance of bonds has been submitted for the first time to the electors under this section and the proposal fails to gain approval by the required percentage of votes, such proposal, or any proposal which incorporates any portion of the defeated proposal, shall not be submitted to the electors for a period of six months one year from the date of such regular or special election and.
   b.  If a proposal fails to gain approval by the required percentage of votes at an election following the one-year period described in paragraph “a” or the two-year period described in this paragraph, such proposal, or any proposal which incorporates any portion of the defeated proposal, shall not be submitted to the electors for a period of two years from the date of such regular or special election.
   c.  Proposals submitted to the electors under this subsection  may only be submitted on a date specified in section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph “a”, “b”, or “c”, as applicable.
    Sec. 6.  Section 260C.15, subsection 1, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  a.  Regular elections held by the merged area for the election of members of the board of directors as required by section 260C.11 or for any other matter authorized by law and designated for election by the board of directors of the merged area shall be held on the date of the school election as fixed by section 277.1. However, elections held for the imposition, rate increase, or discontinuance of the twenty and one-fourth cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation levy authorized in section 260C.22 shall be held either on the date of the school election as fixed by section 277.1 or at a special election held on the second Tuesday in September of the even-numbered year. The election notice shall be made a part of the local school election notice published as provided in section 49.53 in each local school district where voting is to occur in the merged area election and the election shall be conducted by the county commissioner of elections pursuant to chapters 39 through 53 and section 277.20.
   b.  Additional notice of an election to authorize a bond issuance shall be given as provided in section 277.2, as if the merged area were a school district.
    Sec. 7.  Section 277.2, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   277.2  Elections on public measures.
   1.  Unless otherwise stated, the date of an election on a public measure authorized to be held by a school district is limited to the dates specified in section 39.2, subsection 4, paragraph “c”.
   2.  For a bond election, the board shall, at least sixty days before the day of the bond election, publish notice in addition to the notice required by section 49.53. The additional notice shall include the complete text of the public measure, the date of the meeting at which the bond election was called, and the date of the bond election. The term “bond election”, as used in this section, shall mean an election at which a proposition to authorize an issuance of bonds by the school district is submitted to the electors.
    Sec. 8.  Section 296.4, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   296.4  Notice —— ballots.
   1.  Notice of the election shall be given by the county commissioner of elections by publication in accordance with section 49.53.  Additional notice of the election shall be given as provided in section 277.2. 
   2.  The county commissioner of elections shall conduct the election pursuant to the provisions of chapters 39 to 53 and certify the results to the board of directors.
    Sec. 9.  Section 298.18, subsection 3, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  a.  Notice of the election shall be given by the county commissioner of elections according to section 49.53.  Additional notice of the election shall be given as provided in section 277.2.
   b.  The county commissioner of elections shall conduct the election pursuant to the provisions of chapters 39 through 53 and certify the results to the board of directors. The proposition shall not be deemed carried or adopted unless the vote in favor of such proposition is equal to at least sixty percent of the total vote cast for and against the proposition at the election. Whenever such a proposition has been approved by the voters of a school corporation as hereinbefore provided, no further approval of the voters of such school corporation shall be required as a result of any subsequent change in the boundaries of such school corporation.
    Sec. 10.  Section 331.305, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   331.305  Publication of notices.
   Unless otherwise provided by state law, if notice of an election, hearing, or other official action is required by this chapter, the board shall publish the notice at least once, not less than four nor more than twenty days before the date of the election, hearing, or other action, in one or more newspapers which meet the requirements of section 618.14. Notice of an election shall also comply with section 49.53.  For a bond election, the board shall, at least sixty days before the day of the bond election, publish an additional notice. The additional notice shall include the complete text of the public measure, the date of the meeting at which the bond election was called, and the date of the bond election. The term “bond election”, as used in this section, shall mean an election at which a proposition to authorize an issuance of bonds by the county is submitted to the electors.
    Sec. 11.  Section 362.3, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  If notice of an election, hearing, or other official action is required by the city code, the notice must be published at least once, not less than four nor more than twenty days before the date of the election, hearing, or other action.  For a bond election the city council shall, at least sixty days before the day of the bond election, publish an additional notice. The additional notice shall include the complete text of the public measure, the date of the meeting at which the bond election was called, and the date of the bond election. The term “bond election”, as used in this paragraph “a”, shall mean an election at which a proposition to authorize an issuance of bonds by the city is submitted to the electors.
    Sec. 12.  Section 384.26, subsection 3, Code 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  Notice of the election must be given by publication as required by section sections 49.53 and 362.3. Notwithstanding the authorization to post notice in section 362.3, subsection 2, a city shall publish the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the city. At the election the ballot used for the submission of the proposition must be in substantially the form for submitting special questions at general elections.
    Sec. 13.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection 3, shall not apply to this Act.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill makes changes relating to notice and election requirements and limitations for the issuance of certain bonds by political subdivisions of the state.
   Current law specifies those bond issuances requiring voter approval and the dates of the elections at which these public measures may be submitted to the voters and requires that notice of the election be published between 4 and 20 days prior to the election. The notice is required to show all public measures to be voted on at election. The bill requires counties, cities, townships, school districts, and merged areas, and any local board or commission authorized by law to issue bonds, to publish notice of the election on the proposition to issue the bonds at least 60 days before the day of the election. The bill applies to those bond issuances that under current law may be issued only upon voter approval. The additional notice is required to include the complete text of the public measure, the date of the meeting at which the bond election was called, and the date of the bond election.
   The bill also provides that a military or overseas voter may request and vote an armed forces absentee ballot for a local bond election. Under current law, armed forces absentee ballots must be printed 45 days before an associated election and must be mailed to military and overseas voters at specified times. Under current law, armed forces absentee ballots are only available for federal elections. Current law also allows certain family members of military and overseas voters to request armed forces absentee ballots on behalf of an eligible voter and requires that a county commissioner of elections (county auditor) send armed forces absentee ballots to an eligible voter for every federal election during a given calendar year, if a voter’s request for such a ballot in that year does not specify a particular election. The bill extends these provisions to include bond elections.
   Current law provides that when a bond proposition is submitted to voters and fails to gain approval, the entity submitting the proposal is prohibited from resubmitting the proposal to voters, in any form, for a period of six months. Under the bill, if an entity submits a proposal which fails to gain approval of the voters, the entity is then prohibited from resubmitting the proposal to voters for a period of one year. If a failed proposal is later resubmitted and again fails to gain approval, the entity is then prohibited from resubmitting the proposal for two years.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified. Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with any state mandate included in the bill.