House Study Bill 180 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS BILL BY CHAIRPERSON STANERSON) A BILL FOR An Act related to appointment and employment preferences for 1 veterans in the public sector. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2406YC (3) 86 aw/sc

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 35C.1, subsections 1, 3, and 4, Code 1 2015, are amended to read as follows: 2 1. In every public department and upon all public works in 3 the state, and of the counties, cities, and school corporations 4 of the state all jobs of the state and its political 5 subdivisions filled by appointment or examination , veterans who 6 are citizens and residents of the United States are entitled to 7 preference in appointment and employment over other applicants 8 of no greater qualifications. The preference in appointment 9 and employment for employees of cities under a municipal 10 civil service is the same as provided in section 400.10 . For 11 purposes of this section , “veteran” means as defined in section 12 35.1 except that the requirement that the person be a resident 13 of this state shall not apply. 14 3. In all jobs of the state and its political subdivisions 15 of the state which that are to be filled by competitive 16 examination or by appointment, public notice of the application 17 deadline to fill a job shall be posted at least ten days before 18 the deadline in the same manner as notices of meetings are 19 posted under section 21.4 . 20 4. For jobs in of the state and its political subdivisions 21 of the state that are filled through a point-rated qualifying 22 examination, the preference afforded to veterans shall be 23 equivalent to that provided for municipal civil service systems 24 in section 400.10 35C.3A . 25 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 35C.3A Preferences. 26 In all examinations and appointments under this chapter, 27 other than promotions or the appointment of a chief of police 28 or chief of a fire department, veterans who are citizens and 29 residents of the United States, shall have five percentage 30 points added to the veteran’s grade or score attained in 31 qualifying examinations or tests for appointment to positions 32 and five additional percentage points added to the grade or 33 score if the veteran has a service-connected disability or 34 is receiving compensation, disability benefits, or pension 35 -1- LSB 2406YC (3) 86 aw/sc 1/ 3

H.F. _____ benefits under laws administered by the United States 1 department of veterans affairs. An honorably discharged 2 veteran who has been awarded the purple heart incurred in 3 action shall be considered to have a service-connected 4 disability. However, the percentage points shall be given only 5 upon passing the exam and shall not be the determining factor 6 in passing. Veteran’s preference percentage points shall be 7 applied once to the final scores used to rank applicants for 8 selection for an interview. For purposes of this section, 9 “veteran” means as defined in section 35.1 except that the 10 requirement that the person be a resident of this state shall 11 not apply. 12 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 35C.9 Administration —— enforcement. 13 The department of workforce development shall administer and 14 enforce the provisions of this chapter. 15 Sec. 4. Section 84A.5, Code 2015, is amended by adding the 16 following new subsection: 17 NEW SUBSECTION . 12. The department of workforce 18 development shall administer and enforce the laws of this state 19 under chapter 35C. 20 Sec. 5. REPEAL. Section 400.10, Code 2015, is repealed. 21 EXPLANATION 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 23 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 24 This bill relates to appointment and employment preferences 25 for veterans in the public sector. 26 The bill amends Code chapter 35C (veterans preference) 27 to provide that all jobs of the state and its political 28 subdivisions filled by appointment or examination, veterans who 29 are citizens and residents of the United States are entitled to 30 preference in appointment and employment over other applicants 31 of no greater qualifications under Code chapter 35C and repeals 32 the veterans preferences in city employment that are contained 33 in Code section 400.10. 34 The bill also provides a preference of five percentage 35 -2- LSB 2406YC (3) 86 aw/sc 2/ 3

H.F. _____ points for veterans in all examinations and appointments 1 by the state and its political subdivisions except for in 2 promotions or in the appointment of a chief of police or a 3 chief of fire department. The bill further provides an 4 additional preference of five percentage points for veterans 5 with service-connected disabilities and for veterans who have 6 been awarded the purple heart incurred in action. 7 The bill also requires that the department of workforce 8 development administer and enforce the provisions of Code 9 chapter 35C. 10 -3- LSB 2406YC (3) 86 aw/sc 3/ 3