House File 509 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 509 BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 124) A BILL FOR An Act concerning government accountability, relating to 1 state employee bonuses, personnel records and settlement 2 agreements and disciplinary actions, and including effective 3 date and retroactive applicability provisions. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj

H.F. 509 DIVISION I 1 PERSONNEL RECORDS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS 2 Section 1. Section 22.7, subsection 11, paragraph a, Code 3 2015, is amended to read as follows: 4 a. Personal information in confidential personnel records 5 of government bodies relating to identified or identifiable 6 individuals who are officials, officers, or employees of the 7 government bodies. However, the following information relating 8 to such individuals contained as of or after January 1, 2004, 9 in personnel records shall be public records: 10 (1) The name and compensation of the individual including 11 any written agreement establishing compensation or any other 12 terms of employment excluding any information otherwise 13 excludable from public information pursuant to this section or 14 any other applicable provision of law. For purposes of this 15 paragraph, “compensation” means payment of, or agreement to pay, 16 any money, thing of value, or financial benefit conferred in 17 return for labor or services rendered by an official, officer, 18 or employee plus the value of benefits conferred including but 19 not limited to casualty, disability, life, or health insurance, 20 other health or wellness benefits, vacation, holiday, and sick 21 leave, severance payments, retirement benefits, and deferred 22 compensation. 23 (2) The dates the individual was employed by the government 24 body. 25 (3) The positions the individual holds or has held with the 26 government body. 27 (4) The educational institutions attended by the 28 individual, including any diplomas and degrees earned, and 29 the names of the individual’s previous employers, positions 30 previously held, and dates of previous employment. 31 (5) The fact that the individual resigned in lieu of 32 termination, was discharged , or was demoted as the result 33 of a final disciplinary action upon the exhaustion of all 34 applicable contractual, legal, and statutory remedies , and the 35 -1- LSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj 1/ 6

H.F. 509 documented reasons and rationale for the resignation in lieu 1 of termination, the discharge, or the demotion . For purposes 2 of this subparagraph, “demoted” and “demotion” mean a change 3 of an employee from a position in a given classification to a 4 position in a classification having a lower pay grade. 5 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 22.13A Personnel settlement agreements 6 —— state employees —— confidentiality —— disclosure. 7 1. For purposes of this section: 8 a. “Personnel settlement agreement” means a binding legal 9 agreement between a state employee and the state employee’s 10 employer, subject to section 22.13, to resolve a personnel 11 dispute including but not limited to a grievance. “Personnel 12 settlement agreement” does not include an initial decision by a 13 state employee’s immediate supervisor concerning a personnel 14 dispute or grievance. 15 b. “State employee” means an employee of the state who is 16 an employee of the executive branch as described in sections 17 7E.2 and 7E.5. 18 2. Personnel settlement agreements shall not contain any 19 confidentiality or nondisclosure provision that attempts to 20 prevent the disclosure of the personnel settlement agreement. 21 In addition, any confidentiality or nondisclosure provision in 22 a personnel settlement agreement is void and unenforceable. 23 3. The requirements of this section shall not be superseded 24 by any provision of a collective bargaining agreement. 25 4. All personnel settlement agreements shall be made easily 26 accessible to the public on an internet site maintained as 27 follows: 28 a. For personnel settlement agreements with an employee of 29 the executive branch, excluding an employee of the state board 30 of regents or institution under the control of the state board 31 of regents, by the department of administrative services. 32 b. For personnel settlement agreements with an employee of 33 the state board of regents or institution under the control of 34 the state board of regents, by the state board of regents. 35 -2- LSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj 2/ 6

H.F. 509 Sec. 3. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISION. This division of this 1 Act shall not be construed to limit or impair the ability of 2 law enforcement personnel to investigate any activity that may 3 violate the laws of the state. 4 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. This division of this 5 Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon 6 enactment. 7 Sec. 5. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. The section of this 8 division of this Act amending section 22.7, subsection 11, 9 applies retroactively to all information described in section 10 22.7, subsection 11, paragraph “a”, subparagraphs (1) through 11 (5), as amended by this division of this Act, relating to 12 information of such individuals contained as of or after 13 January 1, 2004, in personnel records. 14 DIVISION II 15 STATE EMPLOYEE BONUSES 16 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 22.13B Executive branch bonuses —— 17 disclosure. 18 1. For purposes of this section: 19 a. “Bonus pay” means any additional remuneration provided an 20 employee in the form of a bonus, including but not limited to a 21 retention bonus, recruitment bonus, exceptional job performance 22 pay, extraordinary job performance pay, exceptional performance 23 pay, extraordinary duty pay, or extraordinary or special duty 24 pay, and any extra benefit not otherwise provided to other 25 similarly situated employees. 26 b. “Executive branch employee” means an employee of the 27 executive branch of state government, which includes any 28 unit of state government, including but not limited to an 29 authority, board, commission, committee, council, department, 30 or independent agency as defined in section 7E.4, and each 31 principal central department enumerated in section 7E.5; 32 the office of the governor; and the office of an elective 33 constitutional or statutory officer. 34 2. A decision to provide bonus pay to an executive branch 35 -3- LSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj 3/ 6

H.F. 509 employee, including the amount paid and the documented reasons 1 and rationale for the bonus paid, shall be a public record. 2 3. All decisions to provide bonus pay to an executive branch 3 employee, including information described in subsection 2, 4 shall be made easily accessible to the public on an internet 5 site maintained as follows: 6 a. For decisions to provide bonus pay to an employee of the 7 executive branch, excluding an employee of the state board of 8 regents or institution under the control of the state board of 9 regents, by the department of administrative services. 10 b. For decisions to provide bonus pay to an employee of the 11 state board of regents or institution under the control of the 12 state board of regents, by the state board of regents. 13 Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. This division of this 14 Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon 15 enactment. 16 EXPLANATION 17 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 18 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 19 This bill concerns government accountability and government 20 employment practices. 21 PERSONNEL RECORDS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS. This division 22 of the bill relates to personal information in confidential 23 personnel records of government bodies and personnel settlement 24 agreements. 25 Code section 22.7(11), governing personal information 26 in confidential personnel records of government bodies, 27 is amended. Previous legislation, effective May 12, 2011, 28 provides that certain information in confidential personnel 29 records is considered a public record. The bill provides 30 that this information in a confidential personnel record as 31 of or after January 1, 2004, is a public record. The bill 32 further amends this subsection to provide that information 33 in an official’s, officer’s, or employee’s personnel records 34 concerning the fact that such an individual resigned in 35 -4- LSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj 4/ 6

H.F. 509 lieu of termination or was demoted as the result of a final 1 disciplinary action by a government body and the documented 2 reasons and rationale for any resignation in lieu of 3 termination, discharge, or demotion against an individual 4 are public records and not confidential. Under current law, 5 only the fact in a personnel record that the individual was 6 discharged is considered a public record and not confidential. 7 The amendments to this subsection take effect upon enactment 8 and apply retroactively to information contained as of or after 9 January 1, 2004, in personnel records. 10 New Code section 22.13A provides that personnel settlement 11 agreements between the state and an employee of the state shall 12 not contain any confidentiality or nondisclosure provisions 13 that attempt to prevent the disclosure of the personnel 14 settlement agreement and shall be made available to the public 15 on an internet site. In addition, the bill provides that any 16 confidentiality or nondisclosure provision in a personnel 17 settlement agreement is not enforceable. New Code section 18 22.13A is applicable to employees of the executive branch of 19 government and defines a personnel settlement agreement as a 20 binding legal agreement between a state employee and the state 21 employee’s employer, subject to Code section 22.13 relating to 22 settlement agreements as public records, to resolve a personnel 23 dispute including but not limited to certain grievances. The 24 bill provides that the internet site be maintained by the 25 department of administrative services or board of regents, 26 as applicable, based on the employee covered. The bill also 27 provides that the requirements of this new provision shall not 28 be superseded by any collective bargaining agreement. These 29 provisions of this division of this bill take effect upon 30 enactment. 31 The division further provides that this division of the bill 32 shall not be construed to limit the ability of law enforcement 33 personnel to investigate any activity that may violate state 34 law. 35 -5- LSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj 5/ 6

H.F. 509 STATE EMPLOYEE BONUSES. This division of the bill concerns 1 executive branch bonuses. New Code section 22.13B requires 2 that information concerning bonus pay awarded to an executive 3 branch employee in any amount, including the name of the 4 employee, the amount paid and the reasons for the bonus, shall 5 be made easily accessible to the public on an internet site. 6 This division of the bill takes effect upon enactment. 7 -6- LSB 2214HV (1) 86 ec/rj 6/ 6