House Study Bill 563 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON KOESTER) A BILL FOR An Act related to civil service employees by removing state 1 residency requirements and modifying a city’s authority to 2 set distance or travel-based residency requirements. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5803YC (3) 86 aw/sc

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 400.17, subsection 3, Code 2016, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 3. Employees shall not be required to be a resident of 3 the city in which they are employed , but they shall become 4 a resident of the state within two years of such appointment 5 or the date employment begins and shall remain a resident 6 of the state during the remainder of employment . However, 7 cities Cities may set a reasonable maximum distance outside 8 of the corporate limits of the city, or a reasonable maximum 9 travel time, that police officers, fire fighters, and other 10 critical municipal city employees may live from their place 11 of employment. Each An employee residing outside the state 12 subject to a residency requirement based on distance or travel 13 time who does not meet that residency requirement on the date 14 of appointment or on the date employment begins shall take 15 reasonable steps to become a resident of the state meet the 16 requirement as soon as practicable following appointment or 17 beginning of employment , and a city may provide the employee 18 up to two years from the date of appointment or the date 19 employment begins to meet the residency requirement . 20 EXPLANATION 21 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 22 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 23 This bill relates to residency requirements for civil 24 service employees. 25 Under current law, city employees in Iowa are not required 26 to be a resident of the city in which they are employed, but 27 are required to become Iowa residents within two years of 28 appointment or employment and remain Iowa residents throughout 29 their term of employment. City employees residing outside the 30 state when initially employed are required to take reasonable 31 steps to become an Iowa resident as soon as practicable. 32 Current law also provides that cities may set a reasonable 33 maximum distance outside of the corporate limits of the city, 34 or a reasonable maximum travel time, that police officers, fire 35 -1- LSB 5803YC (3) 86 aw/sc 1/ 2

H.F. _____ fighters, and other critical municipal employees may live from 1 their place of employment. 2 The bill removes the requirement that civil service 3 employees obtain Iowa residency within two years of employment 4 and maintain Iowa residency throughout the term of employment. 5 The bill maintains current law allowing cities to set residency 6 requirements based on distance or travel time for police, 7 fire, and other critical employees, but provides that such 8 critical employees living outside the distance or travel time 9 limitations at the time of appointment or hiring must take 10 steps to meet the requirement as soon as practicable. The 11 bill also allows cities to provide such critical employees 12 with up to two years from the date of appointment or the date 13 employment begins to meet the residency requirement. 14 -2- LSB 5803YC (3) 86 aw/sc 2/ 2